The first volume of Frits Zwart’s comprehensive biography of the formative and controversial Dutch condcutor appeared in 1999.

The second volume, long awaited, covers his collaboration with the Nazi occupation during the second world war.

The new book was presented yesterday at the Concertgebouw, with a copy given to music director Daniele Gatti (who must be learning to read Dutch very fast indeed).

Who is going to be first to present a summary of its findings on Slipped Disc?

Raymond Harvey, a rare minority maestro on the US orchestra scene, is stepping down as music director of the Kalamazoo Symphony at the end of the current concert season.

He wants to concentrate on teaching at the Moores Opera Center at the University of Houston, he says.

Harvey, 65, has held music director posts at the Fresno Philharmonic, Springfield Symphony and El Paso Opera.