Sir Nicholas Kenyon, leader of the Simon Rattle campaign for a new concert hall in the City of London, has returned to the fray after a period of quiet contemplation. He argues in the Telegraph today that, after the Brexit vote, ‘London and the UK will need standout projects: the sort of infrastructure that will help fuel our economy, and attract both visitors and artists who want to come or continue to work here because of our thrilling cultural scene.’

Which is exactly what he argued before Britain voted to leave the EU.

The case for a new hall on the site of the Museum of London has some merits in a sunny economic climate, which is a thing of the past. In present conditions it will (a) cost half a billion pounds, (b) be furiously resented by the rest of the UK, specifically those parts that voted for Brexit and (c) lack any kind of political backing now that the former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, its chief nodder and winker, has been sacked from the Theresa May government.

To make the case now for a new hall displays woeful timing and an astonishing lack of emotional intelligence. Mrs May is unlikely to be amused.

Message from the incoming music director of the Metropolitan Opera:

The Louis Spohr violin competition in Weimar, hardly the most famous, has received 189 applications from contenders aged 14 to 20, many flying in from Asia to audition.

They have been whittled down to 107 starters.

No previous winner has gone on to make a major career.

This particular contest is fairly transparent, all judges marks being made public. But the competition industry as a whole feeds off unrealistic expectations and delivers little glory in return for so much hope.

German tabloids have been following Stefan Arzberger, former first violin of the Leipzig String Quartet, since his return last month from New York, where he had been detained after an incident in a hotel.

Stefan, 43, was accused of rampaging naked through the hotel and attempting to strangle a fellow-guest in another room. He was granted bail but could not leave the country. Friends, colleagues and his wife, Doreen, raised funds for his upkeep and preserved his morale until the case was settled.

Now Bunte magazine has published an interview with Doreen saying their marriage is over.

Stefan’s former colleagues in the Leipzig Quartet have tweeted: Very romantic to finish a marriage by a simple Whatsapp message.

Clearly, all is not well in that relationship either.

UPDATE: Stefan Arzberger has requested us to clarify that the article was not authorised and his wife had not informed him of it. We are happy to oblige.

Coming up at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (hcmf) in November:

Surely the most visually arresting work of hcmf//’s first weekend will be the World Premiere of Claudia Molitor‘s hour-long Walking with Partch performed by Ensemble Musikfabrik. In 2012, Musikfabrik set out to re-build the visionary American composer Harry Partch’s unique micro-tonal instruments; and for their continuing ‘pitch 43_tuning the cosmos’ project they have commissioned new works by European composers for these impressive instruments in order to give them a life beyond historic reconstruction.

Harry Partch (c) Betty Freeman/Lebrecht Music&Arts

Voice coach Christianne Roll finds that many of her students have begun to slouch as a result of their texting habits. That, she warns, could kill the singing voice:

Voice teachers and singers understand that physical posture directly affects the quality of the singing voice.  Posture is usually addressed in the first voice lesson, and in this age of more casual stances, singers typically need numerous reminders about this issue.

In my first years of voice teaching, I often noticed the slumped and rounded shoulders of my musical theatre singers. Their physicality could be fixed by suggestions such as “stand up straight,” “shoulders back,” and “keep the sternum lifted.” Proper alignment usually appeared, and overall singing ability improved.

Millennial Forward Head Posture 

However, in the past few years, I realized that those suggestions of “shoulders back” were no longer completely effective….

Read on here.

The conductor has been cleared of all wrongdoing by a police investigation in his home country, South Korea, having been wildly accused of expenses fraud and defamation by a sacked orchestra manager. He leaves the country completely innocent, despite a campaign by motivated print and broadcast media.

This morning he issued the following statement:

‘I am happy that after a thorough investigation all the accusations against myself and the SPO have proven to be groundless.

‘It is a pity that so much damage has been done to myself and the SPO over the last year and a half.

‘What I have learned from this experience is how easy, specially in our country, it is to tear down and destroy something that has been built with such hard work.

‘I hope that in the future I can be of help to other people who have suffered through such hardship caused by completely fabricated accusations.

‘I have worked tirelessly and honestly on behalf of SPO over 10 years. I am just sad for all the damage that has been done to the SPO and I hope you will all join me in supporting them in the future.

Myung Whun Chung

Friends of Mark Allen McCoy have announced his death last night. The cause was colon cancer.

Mark became music director of the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra, Virginia, in 1998 as the age of 33. He also directed the Heights Chamber Orchestra, and the Baltimore String Orchestra Camp.

In a short life, he influenced musicians at every level of proficiency.

The following ad has appeared on Craigslist.

It is not an equal opportunity vacancy, being limited to female applicants.

It is also musically illiterate (anyone know a concerto by a beatified Irishman?). And possibly a sign of our times.

Image: The celebrated modernist Charlotte Moorman (1933-1991)

Seeking a naked female cellist for wedding