Fiona Stevens was initially denied boarding with her violin on Eurowings but they found a way around it.

Here’s what happened:

“Dear Eurowings, At the check-in desk at Köln airport I was just told that I would not be able to take my violin on board because it is in a hard case. I know that this is the wording on your website, which is why I wrote to your customer service department last year to let them know that no violinist flies with their instrument in a soft case because no insurance company would insure their instrument if they did.

Many violin cases have a fabric cover, so check-in agents assume that these are soft cases, which they aren’t. My violin case does not have a fabric cover, which is why the check-in agent picked up on it. To be fair, she was simply doing her job. Please would you change the wording on your website, as I asked you to do last year, so that your staff have realistic guidelines and we musicians have no more check-in issues. Luckily the agent’s manager, who was called on the scene, was quite clear that a violin absolutely has to travel as hand luggage – many many thanks to him at this point! I look forward to receiving your reply soon, Regards, Fiona Stevens”

Hours later she had this reply: Dear Fiona, please send me your feedback as e-mail to facebook@eurowings.com and I will forward it to my relevant colleagues. They will get back to you as soon as possible. Best wishes, Jens

Sounds like a friendly airline, for once.

music airport 2

 

Wende Persons, whom we knew in another century when she worked for DG, has got a new gig running a classical strand on a group on some 40 public radio stations, known as the Station Resource Group.

Wende will be in charge of Classical Music Rising (CMR), an initiative that reaches out to what is perceived as a potential growth audience.

CMR has won a $400,000 Mellon Foundation grant, plus $100,000 from five participating stations, including WQXR (New York) and KUSC (LA).

wende persons

Go, Wende!

We told you last week why ‘Maestra’ is no longer a respectable form of address.

So meet Conductrix.

It’s a video game that can, supposedly, teach anyone how to conduct.

conductrix

It says: Conductrix will include tutorials on basic beat patterns and gestures; how to communicate articulations, cuing, dynamics, and tempo changes; and other tools and information to assist people in figuring out their own conducting style.

“I’m absolutely opposed to elitism and keeping people out… I think that enabling people to express their musical spirits, lets them be their best selves.”

More here.

We reported yesterday that Yuliyan Stoyanov is about to be deported with his wife Smiliana and two US-born sons to Bulgaria after 14 years of study, teaching and orchestral performance in the US.

It appears all avenues of appeal have been exhausted. Yuliyan has posted this beautiful and dignified parting message to friends and colleagues:

Yuliyan Stoyanov

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for your support and kind words! They mean so much to us! If there is one thing we will miss the most, that will be the people, the wonderful friendships we have made in the U.S.

Smiliana and I choose to look at this turn-around in our lives as an adventure, as an opportunity. After all, who gets a chance at the age of 36-40, to quit everything they are doing, step back, rethink their life and start anew? With everything we learned at the University of Cincinnati and the experience we gathered through the years, we both are very confident that our work will be valued anywhere in the world.

We will keep working on the project to create high quality online violin education, so more and more people, even in places where there are no teachers and schools available, are given the opportunity to learn to play this beautiful instrument. We feel so fortunate to have two healthy, smart, and energetic boys, who give us a lot of joy and motivate us to keep going.

Thanks again for the great wishes and the positive energy! We wish you back good luck and lots of happiness!

message received:

The Berlin Philharmonic, as part of its Academy Training Programme (formerly the Karajan Academy), has created a Huberman Scholarship – a special place reserved for an Israeli violinist.

Huberman Scholars play with the orchestra in Berlin and on tour, take lessons with section leaders, perform their own chamber music projects at the Philharmonie, and receive a generous monthly stipend.

It is a unique opportunity available only to Israeli violinists up to the age of 27.

The deadline for application is March 31, 2016.

Details here.

berlin phil academy

On Good Friday and Easter Saturday, in Manchester, Streetwise Opera and The Sixteen partnered on a semi-staged, abridged version of Bach’s St Matthew Passion, with a new finale from James MacMillan.

The Passion was broadcast last night on BBC4. It is being uploaded this morning on Youtube and Slipped Disc is privileged to be the first to bring the performance to an international audience.

homeless st matthew passion streetwise

The meticulous artist was asked to select one of 12 Steinway grands for Hamburg’s new Elbphilharmonie.

Apparently, none of them met her exacting requirements – and she is due to give the hall’s first solo recital on January 11, 2017.

What’s to be done?

Apparently, Mitsuko has agreed to test more pianos in the summer, after the hall has undergone further adjustments by its chief acoustician, Yasuhisa Toyota.

Fascinating report here (auf Deutsch).

mitsuko uchida steinway test

photo (c) Roland Magunia / HA

An Argentine newspaper report suggesting more cancellations ahead for the sought-after tenor has provoked an unusually vehement response on his social media:

COMPLETELY UNTRUE All the information contained in the article published in “La Nacion” on March 27th (“Jonas Laufmann tiene un serio problema de salud”) is completely untrue.
The writer is not well informed as Mr. Kaufmann just appeared in a solo all Puccini concert in Prague on March 16 which was acclaimed with standing ovations. He also did a private concert in Vienna on March 19 and appeared on March 21 as soloist with the Berlin Staatskapelle and Daniel Barenboim. Furthermore, Mr. Kaufmann is looking forward to appearing in all his engagements for April as well as all of his other future engagements.
Bruce Zemsky and Alan Green, Managers of Jonas Kaufmann

The response is more revealing than the original report. In normal circumstances, an international artist would not react to speculation in an uninfluential newspaper on the opposite side of the world. And on a normal Easter Sunday it would take more than a small earthquake to stir Messrs Zemsky and Green to pick up a telephone, let alone compose a Facebook rebuttal. All of which indicates extraordinary conditions.

In recent months, Kaufmann has cancelled the Met, Covent Garden and Teatro Real.

A year ago he (rightly) proclaimed: we cancel less than footballers.

jonas kaufmann1