Miguel Roa, a zarazuela specialist who conducted many worldwide performances and two DG albums with Placido Domingo, died today in Toledo. He was 71.

In a busy international career, Roa worked with Domingo at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center and London’s Barbican, among many other venues.

© Bernabé Cordón

An emergency call went out after midnight from the Pushkin disctrict, where a building of the music school was on fire. The damage is severe but no casualties have been reported. Arson is suspected.

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Photo (c) Guzal Burtsev

The virtuoso Hariolf Schlichtig was just back from a tour with the pianist Sir Andras Schiff.

 

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He was on his way to teach at Munich University on Monday when he remembered he had left his viola and three precious bows on the S-Bahn S1 regional train at Munich Hauptbahnhof.

No trace has been seen of them since.

The viola was custom made for Schichtig by luthier Wolfgang Scharff. The bows are French.

 

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1 The new music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra was spotted by Kurt Masur at a conducting seminar in 2009.

2 She blew away all competition to win the Salzburg-Nestlé Competition three years later.

3 Gidon Kremer, the most thoughtful of violinists, took her under wing.

4 At the LA Phil, players say she’s the best they’ve seen since Dudamel.

5 She has already been tapped by one US orch with a music director offer.

6 She’s great with kids.

7 She has a musician boyfriend.

mirga graz

As we’ve been forecasting for a while, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has named Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla as its next music director, starting in September.

This is thrilling for all sorts of reasons.

At 29, Mirga is the first shoot of a new generation of music directors. Only Zurich, with Lionel Bringuier, has a younger boss.

Birmingham has once again set the lead, and the tone, for the rest of the country. Since 1979 the city has followed the instincts and enthusiasms of its musicians in picking a music director. Every result was a winner – Simon Rattle, Sakari Oramo (still mostly a violinist at his appointment), Andris Nelsons, and now Mirga.

London is left looking stale and middle-aged.

There is nothing fuddy-duddy about Mirga. She is a very contemporary person and a brilliant musician.

Here are seven more things you need to know about her.

 

Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla

press release:

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is delighted to announce that Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla has been appointed as its 12th Music Director, with effect from September 2016 for an initial three-year period.

Gražinytė-Tyla made her debut with the CBSO in July 2015 and impressed the Orchestra so much that she returned last month to conduct a specially arranged concert featuring works by Debussy, Schumann and Sibelius. Following an extensive search process led by a committee made up of CBSO musicians, board members and management, and with strong support from Orchestra and audience alike, a unanimous decision was made by the board of trustees to invite Gražinytė-Tyla to be the CBSO’s next Music Director. She succeeds Andris Nelsons, who held the position from 2008-2015.

The CBSO is known for performing the widest range of orchestral and choral music, and Gražinytė-Tyla will continue this tradition in her role as Music Director. Her artistic plans with the CBSO will range widely from Mozart and Haydn to 20th century classics and works by living composers. Coming from the strong choral traditions of the Baltic states (her father is a choir conductor in Lithuania), and following her role in Salzburg, she will also lead opera projects in Birmingham and will work closely with Simon Halsey CBE, CBSO Chorus Director, on projects with the CBSO’s internationally renowned choruses. Full details of the CBSO’s 2016-17 concert season in Symphony Hall, Birmingham will be announced in April 2016.

Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla said: ‘Every single musician of the CBSO is an artist with great individuality and sense of responsibility.They are driven to be one of the world’s leading orchestras and their shared spirit for team work helps them to achieve this. I felt so at ease working with the Orchestra at the CBSO Centre and at Symphony Hall and I can’t wait to get started and to call these my homes too. I am also very excited about working with the CBSO family including its brilliant choirs led by Simon Halsey, and getting involved with its extensive learning and participation programme both locally and further afield. I believe we will be a great team and really look forward to making music together.’

CBSO Chief Executive Stephen Maddock commented: ‘We are absolutely delighted to be appointing Mirga as the CBSO’s next Music Director. There was an instant chemistry between Mirga and our musicians, and the excitement in Symphony Hall at her concerts both on stage and in the audience was palpable. The CBSO is world-famous for its track record in finding brilliant young conducting talent: Sir Simon Rattle, appointed at just 25 years old, held the post for 18 years before moving to the Berlin Philharmonic. He passed the baton to the superbly talented Sakari Oramo (appointed at 30), who is now with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Andris Nelsons (appointed at 28) had seven wonderful years here and has gone on to lead the Boston Symphony and Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestras. Mirga is 29 and is thrilling audiences wherever she goes: we can’t wait to start making music with her.’

Gražinytė-Tyla has been Music Director of the Salzburg Landestheater since 2015. She is currently the Assistant Conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where she was a Dudamel Fellow in 2012-13, and she takes up a new post of Associate Conductor from July 2016. She won the prestigious Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award in 2012.

Gustavo Dudamel, Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, said: ‘I am personally delighted that Mirga has made such a strong connection with the musicians in Birmingham. She is an amazing artist, and we’ve been lucky to have her in Los Angeles. I know that she and this Orchestra are going to do great things together.’

Andris Nelsons, former Music Director of the CBSO, commented: ‘Sending my very warmest congratulations to Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla on her appointment with the tremendous City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. My time with the Orchestra will always be very special to me, and I am sure Mirga will also be so inspired by the wonderful musical family of the CBSO. Together, with these gifted musicians, an exciting future lies ahead for Birmingham and I wish them all the very best!’

Zoë Beyers, CBSO Associate Leader said: ‘This is the start of an incredibly exciting time for the Orchestra – to work with someone as talented, vibrant and energetic as Mirga is a dream come true. She is a completely committed and serious musician, but at the same time she manages to convey her enthusiasm and joy in the music to us all on the stage and in the audience. Spirit, dynamism and sincerity – Mirga has all of these qualities in abundance.’

Bridget Blow, Chair of the CBSO, said: ‘The CBSO has, for many decades, brought the best music, artists and musicians to Birmingham while also acting as a proud ambassador for the city through extensive touring. In Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla we have found a new Music Director who will continue to deliver the highest quality music-making at home in Birmingham and the UK as well as internationally. I am delighted to welcome her to the CBSO family.’

Toshiyuki Kamioka, 55, is to be the next chief conductor of the Copenhagen Philharmonic. He’s presently GMD in Wuppertal, Germany.

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From tomorrow’s Daily Mirror:
Dr Andrew Preston, 50, a former maths teacher at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, shared ‘graphic’ fantasies about underage girls online.

A National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) misconduct panel found he had shown a ‘disrespectful and repellent’ attitude towards young people and banned him from teaching for life.

Chetham’s suspended Dr Preston as soon as the police made the school aware of his online life. Today, he was banned from teaching for life.

Chetham’s is seeking to draw a line beneath past trials, convictions and suicides.

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The German budget airline has surreptitiously changed its carry-on policy and is enforcing new rules.

As of last month, they want you to buy an extra seat to take a small instrument on board.

Below are complaints from two violinists:

Adrien La Marca: For all my musician friends playing string instruments, I invite you all to blacklist AIR BERLIN from your flying companies since they changed their policy with instruments last december (violin and viola included), making people buy an extra seat if they want to travel with their instrument in the plane. Like maybe many of you have experienced it (usually cellist), you have to face people not willing to understand and happy to use their power not letting you entering the plane. No matter arguing about the value of instruments and that you can’t check it in, how many times you flew or explaining clearly that the instrument case do fit in the cabin compartments, nothing will do. The arguing made me miss the flight, had to buy a new one, + an extra one for my instrument. I would have been happy to give all this money to an other company but at last minute it was of course even more expensive. Please spread the word and share it: AIR BERLIN is the new Norwegian or Ryanair. ‪#‎blacklistAirBerlin‬

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Jakob Lehmann: Liebes Team von airberlin,
eigentlich bin ich ein Freund von Eurer Airline und bisher habe ich nur positive Erfahrungen gemacht – günstige Preise, sehr lohnende Flugstrecken und guter und freundlicher Service. Als freischaffender Berufsmusiker bin ich viel unterwegs und genau darauf angewiesen. Bisher bin ich sehr gerne mit Euch geflogen und habe es nie bereut. Bis jetzt. Wie gesagt, bin ich Berufsmusiker, um genau zu sein Geiger. Mit seinem Instrument unterwegs zu sein hat viele Nachteile, und vor allem im Flugverkehr ist es nicht immer einfach, wie zahllose Erfahrungsberichte und “Horror”-Geschichten, die man ohne weiteres im Netz finden kann, beweisen. Bestimmte Airlines muss man auf die Blacklist setzen, weil ihre Bestimmungen mit den Anforderungen des sicheren Instrumententransports nicht vereinbar sind. Dass airberlin auf dieser Blacklist landen würde, hätte ich nicht gedacht. Seit ein paar Tagen jedoch kursiert im Netz der Erfahrungsbericht eines Musikers, sowie der Hashtag ‪#‎blacklistAirBerlin‬. Warum? Weil ihr Eure Handgepäckbestimmungen geändert habt, und von nun an alle Instrumente, deren Kästen größer als 55 x 40 x 23 cm sind, einen Extra-Platz im Flieger gebucht haben müssen. Bei wirklich großen Instrumenten, wie Violoncelli, ist das ja sehr nachvollziehbar, und sämtliche andere Airlines handhaben das ja auch genau so. Warum aber Instrumente wie Violinen oder Violen jetzt einen Extraplatz haben müssen, entzieht sich meines logischen Verständnisses. Müsst ihr Euch auf ein Niveau mit Airlines wie RyanAir begeben, die von Musikern deshalb gemieden werden? Weshalb? Wie oft ist es vorgekommen dass wegen einer Geige oder Bratsche ein Gepäckfach zu voll war? Die Kästen sind bequem ganz hinten in den Gepäckfächern zu verstauen, meist kann man sogar, wenn mehrere Streicher in einem Flieger reisen, mehrere Instrumente übereinander stapeln und somit noch mehr Platz sparen. Ich bin gerade mit einem Profiorchester über 50.000 km durch die ganze Welt gereist, und nirgendwo gab es ein Problem – hunderte von Airlines, wie zum Beispiel EasyJet, haben Sonderbestimmungen für Musikinstrumente, die genau dies gewährleisten und für einen schnellen, unkomplizierten und sicheren Transport dieser wertvollen Instrumente sorgen.
Weshalb ihr Eure Bestimmungen geändert habt, kann ich nicht nachvollziehen. Eine andere Airline, die in letzter Zeit genau deswegen in den Schlagzeilen war, Norwegian, hat aufgrund der vielen Beschwerden und Missfallensbekundungen ihre Bestimmungen erneut zugunsten der Musiker geändert – bravo an dieser Stelle! Bis Ihr das gleiche tut, bleibt mir und tausenden anderen Berufsmusikern, deren Alltag vom Fliegen abhängig ist, nichts weiteres übrig als airberlin als keine Option des Reisens mehr anzusehen. Habt ihr das wirklich nötig? Ich finde nicht!
Mit vielen Grüßen,
Jakob

The person succeeding Kathy Schumann as artistic administrator next month is called Liz Mahler.

She’s presently executive director of a Brooklyn ensemble, The Knights. She’s married to a man called Strauss.

That’s all.

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The New York Philharmonic has announced the farewell season of its departing music director. 

Sets pulses racing?

OPENING GALA CONCERT: New York Philharmonic Premieres Past and Present THE NEW WORLD INITIATIVE: Season-Long, Citywide Immersion in DVOŘÁK’S NEW WORLD SYMPHONY

THE NEW YORK COMMISSIONS: Works on NEW YORK Theme by New York–Based WYNTON MARSALIS, SEAN SHEPHERD, and JULIA WOLFE

THE ART OF THE SCORE: Film Week at the Philharmonic Celebrates New York MANHATTAN & WEST SIDE STORY. SPRING GALA: BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S

ALAN GILBERT’S FAREWELL SEASON HIGHLIGHTS SEVEN PREMIERES, FINAL EUROPE TOUR, WAGNER’s Das Rheingold, MAHLER’s Fourth Symphony, BEETHOVEN’s Ninth Symphony with SCHOENBERG’s A Survivor from Warsaw, JOHN ADAMS’s 70th Birthday, LIGETI’s Mysteries of the Macabre, HANDEL’s Messiah, and More SEASON FINALE: A Program Exploring How Music Can Effect Positive Change and Harmony in the World

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Full press release here.

We have been informed of the death of Saulius Sondeckis, founder of the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra in 1960 and its conductor until closure in 2004.

Sondeckis guest conducted widely across the world and made numerous recordings. He was 87.

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