The Austrian Ministry for Enviroment and Agriculture has drawn public attention to a resolution by CITES, the conference on endangered species, which bans the import or export of products made of black woods (grenadille, palisander and others) from January 1, 2017.
The is would affect oboes, clarinets, guitar and the fingerboards of some violins.
You may be asked to show proof that you owned the instrument before January 1, 2017.
Here’s the resolution. Be prepared.
Vesa Siren reports that the Finnish maestro will be conducting an orchestra of Juilliard School and Sibelius Academy students at concerts in Helsinki and the Lincoln Center. Read here (if your Finnish is up to it).
UPDATE: Here’s a hat-doffing statement from the Sibelius Academy:
The Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki and the world-famous Juilliard School in New York will join forces, forming a joint symphony orchestra to celebrate the centenary of Finland’s independence. The orchestra will give concerts at the Music Centre in Helsinki on 26 August, at the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm on 28 August and at Lincoln Center in New York City on 5 September 2017. The orchestra will be conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, an alumnus of the Sibelius Academy.
The tour programme will feature both Finnish and American music: Four Legends from the Kalevala (Lemminkäinen Suite), Op. 22, by Jean Sibelius (1895/1897), Mania by Esa-Pekka Salonen (2000) and Radical Light by Steven Stucky (2006–2007), the latter inspired by Sibelius’s Fourth and Seventh Symphonies. Cellist Jonathan Roozeman will appear as soloist in Salonen’s work. The orchestra will have some 80 members – half of the orchestra will come from the Sibelius Academy and half from Juilliard. The musicians representing the Sibelius Academy will be selected by audition during February and March.
Tuomas Auvinen, the Dean of the Sibelius Academy, is in charge of the project and is pleased that this joint tour came together for Finland’s centenary year.
“It is excellent to be able to celebrate Finland’s independence with a student project shared with both Juilliard and Esa-Pekka. We combine tradition with skills and youthful enthusiasm. We are internationally oriented and boldly forward-looking. High-quality education and international mindset mark the way forward for our country’s next 100 years,” says Auvinen.
Meeting of the world’s best music schools
Founded in 1905, the Juilliard School is considered the best performing arts university in the world. Last March, it was ranked first in the QS World University Ranking, in which performing arts were included for the first time. The Sibelius Academy was ranked 7th – the only Finnish university in the top 10.
Collaboration between the Sibelius Academy and the Juilliard School was launched in 2005 with a visit from the Juilliard orchestra to Helsinki as part of the school’s centenary tour. The following project in 2013 involved performances by a chamber orchestra with students from both universities in New York and Helsinki, and it was supported by Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation.
The 2017 tour is also made possible by a substantial grant from the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation. The tour is a part of the programme for the centenary celebrations in Finland. The Sibelius Academy Foundation and Wärtsilä are also sponsoring the tour.
The rehearsal period for the tour will be held in Helsinki on 23–26 August 2017.
The Vienna State Opera has announced the death of Lotte Rysanek-Dörler, at the age of 93.
Lotte Rysanek was an ensemble member for three decades, appearing in almost 1,000 performances of close to 50 roles, including Marzelline, Musetta, the Countess (Le nozze di Figaro), Leonora (Il trovatore) and Cio-Cio-San.
She was the much-loved sister of the internationally renowned Leonie Rysanek, who died in 1998.
Lotte Rysanek wurde am 18. März 1924 in Wien geboren und erhielt ihre Ausbildung am Konservatorium der Stadt Wien. Ihr Bühnendebüt gab sie 1950 am Klagenfurter Stadttheater als Manon. Ihr erster Staatsopernauftritt war am 5. November 1954 (Wiener Staatsoper im Volksoperngebäude) als Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly). Von 1. September 1956 bis zur ihrer Pensionierung am 31. August 1987 war sie Ensemblemitglied der Wiener Staatsoper, wo sie weiters u. a. Agathe (Der Freischütz), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Marzelline (Fidelio), Leonora (Il trovatore), Mimì (La Bohème), Contessa d’Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Giulietta und Antonia (Les contes d’Hoffmann), Nedda (Pagliacci) verkörperte. Zu ihren meistgesungen Partien zählen Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte – 87 mal), Musetta (La Bohème – 67 mal), Stimme vom Himmel (Don Carlo – 53 mal) sowie
Helmwige (Die Walküre), die sie sogar 109 mal, auch bei ihrem letzten Auftritt im Haus am Ring am 3. Dezember 1987 sang. Insgesamt verkörperte sie an der Wiener Staatsoper 46 Partien in 939 Vorstellungen. Gastspiele führten die Künstlerin an die Volksoper Wien, die Staatsopern von Hamburg und München, die Deutsche Oper am Rhein, nach Zürich und zu den Bayreuther und Bregenzer Festspielen. Sie war auch als Operetten- und Konzertsängerin erfolgreich. Lotte Rysanek wurde 1968 zur Österreichischen Kammersängerin und 1987 zum Ehrenmitglied der Wiener Staatsoper ernannt. 1977 wurde ihr das Österreichische Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst I. Klasse
verliehen.
Die feierliche Einsegnung und anschließende Beisetzung findet auf dem Friedhof Hietzing (Maxingstraße 15, 1130 Wien) am Donnerstag, 29. Dezember 2016 um 14.00 Uhr statt.
Tributes are coming in for Karel Husa, a great composer and wonderfully courteous man who, we learn, never allowed any communication to go unanswered.
A Czech exile in the United States from 1954, his music banned in his homeland for the next 35 years, Husa left a huge footprint on American music through the hundreds of composers that he taught, encouraging them to go beyond conventional sound.
His student, Byron Adams, wrote this in Husa’s New Grove entry: Given his propensity to experiment, it is not surprising that Husa has composed for an impressive array of instrumental combinations. With the exception of opera, he has explored virtually every major musical genre from song to symphony. In his search for colourful and novel sonorities, Husa creates vividly expressive musical canvases, filled with arresting timbres and startling juxtapositions of texture; he can be described as the abstract expressionist par excellence of late twentieth music.
His death two days ago, recorded on Slipped Disc, has yet to be acknowledged by any US media, online or cold print, or by any music institution except his publisher.
Say hello to Jon Dante, principal trumpet of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, presently guest principal in Shanghai.
Jon, an old friend of slippedisc.com, found this message in his mailbox this morning:
I want to say thank you for showing that even people of badass seemingly unsophisticated nature (tattoos, skateboarding, motorcycling &c) CAN STILL KICK ASS IN THE CLASSICAL FIELD.
The first not-your-regular portait can be seen here. Keep the pictures coming in.
The star attraction has, ‘with a heavy heart’, pulled out of the opening of Hamburg’s dazzling new Elbphilharmonie on January 11-12.
His replacement, announced overnight, is the Slovak lyric tenor Pavol Bresnik.
Kaufmann has been out for three months with a vocal cord injury and his return has been repeatedly delayed on doctors’ orders.
Following the Hamburg cancellation, it seems likely that he will also cancel a long-awaited Lohengrin in Paris.
We wish Jonas a speedy recovery.
This week’s diary entry from violinist Anthea Kreston:
I have spent a lot of time on the road this year. It is as you would expect – exciting, boring, fun to see a new city or revisit and old one, hectic, challenging concerts, exhausting, rewarding, repetitive, lonely. It is simultaneously mundane and fresh. Because life at home is so crammed with: well, life – the emptiness of a single hotel room, a solitary walk to a cathedral, or a quick meal after landing is shocking.
I have gotten used to bringing work with me – bills, German study, music next on the docket. And I sleep as much as I can – trying to catch up on what I missed or bank some minutes for the next week. I am one of the lucky musicians – many of us have not found a partner, or had children – or our partners are musicians as well, and it can feel like passing the baton when we arrive home.
We all find ways of combating the inherent tour flaws – from pictures in our cases to FaceTime. Which gets me thinking about that vibrant subset – musicians who bring their dogs on tour as “Musician’s Best Friends”. There are many such musicians – Elton John even had his dog “officiate” at his wedding – and I was able to catch up with one this week to get the “inside scoop”.
Anyone who knows Ida Kavafian, former violinist of the Beaux Arts Trio, an all-around incredible performer and teacher (she teaches at Curtis as well as maintaining a very busy touring schedule), also knows her dogs. It is, in fact, impossible to know Ida and not know her dogs. They are big, funny, loyal, smart, and in terms of personality, basically an extension of the fun-loving and warm-hearted person that is Ida. I had the amazing fortune to study with Ida, and count her among my most dear mentors (and friends) – she was one of the people who advised me when I was considering this gigantic career/life move just 10 months ago.
I reached out to Ida, to ask about her dogs, and here are some of her thoughts.
‘I first fell in love with dogs when I played in a festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The music director had a Vizsla and I thought it was the most gorgeous, smart and affectionate dog I had ever met. His name was Max of Halifax! He told me that all Vizslas were like that, it is normal for that breed and I said something stupid like “I wish I could have a dog like that”. Well, he surprised me with a 10 week old puppy some time later. The irony was that Steve (Tenenbom – violist of the Orion Quartet and teacher at Curtis) and I had just gotten together and the last thing we needed was a dog! Steve told this man that it was not a good idea but the man insisted that that is what I wanted, saying that Fred (Sherry – cellist of Lincoln Center) had assured him of this. Well, Fred was my ex-husband and Steve told this man, “she’s not living with him anymore she’s living with me now and we don’t want a puppy!”
‘Long story short, this man convinced Steve and suddenly we were the owners of this adorable long eared baby boy we named Gus. The first thing he did was take a dump on our bedroom floor. The man told us that the breeder wanted us to show the dog and take it to obedience school, which we said we would not do, but of course did both.
‘Showing dogs has been a passion of mine ever since, and I am still doing it to this day. In fact, we bred, owned and trained the top Vizsla in the country in 2003 and the national champion of 2007. Some of my best friends and most fun times have been in the sport of dogs. Having our first puppy changed our lives, obviously. We started driving more places so we could take him, including our trek out west that we have made every summer since 1985. It is normal for us to stay in less than elegant hotels/motels. We will stay anywhere that takes dogs. Of course, there has been the occasional late night check-in while sneaking in our dogs, but we try not to do that very often.
‘Since 1985, we’ve had a number of dogs (our mantle has no more room for urns!), always more than one at a time and up to five at one point. People ask us how we have time to have dogs. One can always find time for something that one wants. It takes a good bit of money for dog care and a lot of planning but we find a way. We don’t have children, so they are like our kids.
‘Performing and showing dogs have interesting similarities. In both arenas, things can get out of control and you have to improvise and just go with the flow. Preparation and practice are essential in both. Keeping nails short on myself and my dogs is also important! Loving what you do makes a big difference in both. Passion and commitment is needed in both. I must say I get more nervous to show dogs than to play the violin and I have combined the two careers by performing my own arrangement of the national anthem at a number of dog shows!
‘As I write this, my two dogs are at my feet. I am on a break from teaching at Curtis. I make three trips a day to school so that I can come back and take care of them properly. I still feel guilty about leaving them, but I guess they have a pretty darn good life!’
Ida is famous for occasionally having one of her dogs come on stage for the encore, which is “Pop Goes the Weasel”, with her dog performing the “Pop” solo with a bark. In her home in rural Connecticut (she and Steve have several different residencies), the dogs have a large run, and hills and rivers in which to frolic. What I admire the most about Ida and Steve is their exuberant embrace of life – with humor, dedication, and hard work. They are loyal mom and dad to an ever-larger group of former students, who all love them as much as I do.
Here I am, sitting alone in my hotel room after a concert, eating a salad with my fingers (I forgot the fork- glad it isn’t soup). I can imagine that having a dog here to scratch and cuddle would certainly make the whole thing even more fun.
The death has been confirmed of Karel Husa, a composer who fled his home country in 1954 and became an influential composer in the United States. He died at his home in Apex, North Carolina, on December 14.
Husa won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969 and the Grawemeyer in 1993.
He was one of few successful composers to persist with microtonality.
He even sent thank-you notes for birthday cards.
From an interview with Bruce Duffie:
When I was 17 or 18, I went for the first time to a concert. I went to art exhibitions because I was interested in it. I had been reading poetry because I loved it. That first concert was a violin and piano recital of the Kubeliks – Jan accompanied by his son Raphael. At the time, Jan was over 60 years old, and it was an amazing experience for me to go to a concert and hear music. A week later, I bought a ticket to an orchestra. Before that, I had the impression one couldn’t go to a concert without being properly dressed, which meant having a tuxedo. I felt it was only for the highest society. But I went, and the impression I got from the music – which I didn’t understand – was overwhelming. So the purpose, I guess, is the communication. The sounds poured on me and soaked in. Then to see the players perform, that is something I have always admired. It’s something that can lift me, even at my age. I am sometimes moved to tears when I hear passages, and that is amazing.
Since she has shown me three birth certificates with different years on them, I would not hazard a guess to her precise age, but happy birthday Ida Haendel and may you be granted many more.
Does anyone come close in the Sibelius concerto?
Meet Thomas Roisland, principal tuba of the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
He’s from Harstad, Norway, and lives in Malmo, Sweden.
Send us some more orchestra tattoos.
Yingle Belz?
You read it here first.
If there are words you don’t understand, they’ll belong to a little-known Quebec strain of Yiddish.
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has lost a quarter of its local government subsidy in a round of pre-Christmas cuts. The orchestra had just begun to smile again under new music director Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.
The CBSO is launching a public appeal for funds to help it cover the missing £228,000.
This press statement has just landed:
photo (c) Chris Christodoulou/LebrechtMusic&Arts
CBSO funding from Birmingham City Council falls to 1980s levels after latest cuts
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra recognises that Birmingham City Council faces significant financial challenges. The orchestra is nevertheless disappointed that its funding from the City Council will be cut by 25% from April 2017.
A cut of this scale equates to a reduction of £228,000 from the current year’s level. Coming on top of the £1.47 million real-terms public funding cuts which the orchestra has already absorbed since 2010, it means the CBSO’s public funding will drop below that currently received by any other regional symphony orchestra in the country, with its Birmingham City Council grant falling to levels last seen in the 1980s.
The CBSO has done all it can to maintain the world-class excellence and breadth of its concert-giving, educational, outreach and choral programmes in spite of previous cuts. It has consistently achieved the highest ticket income of any orchestra in the UK, annual fundraised income has increased from £450,000 to around £1.2 million thanks to the generosity of the orchestra’s many donors and funders, and it has raised a £2 million Endowment fund.
As a result, the orchestra is still recognised internationally among the best in the world, bringing cultural, educational and economic benefits to people in the Midlands and flying the flag for the region worldwide. This year it has won global acclaim for performances with its newly-appointed Music Director Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.
CBSO chair Bridget Blow said: ‘We are concerned and disappointed that, in the face of financial pressures, Birmingham City Council has felt it necessary to cut funding for arts and culture so much faster than local authorities in other major cities. There is global excitement about the CBSO’s future with one of the world’s most exciting young conductors, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, at the helm – but this latest cut will require us to work harder than ever to maintain the world-class concerts and Learning & Engagement activities which the people of Birmingham have come to expect. We are grateful for the generosity of our many supporters at this time.’
The CBSO has been working with Birmingham’s other arts organisations over the last year to establish Culture Central, a development organisation and collective voice for culture in the city-region. Culture Central is now calling for a complete review of the way that the sector and the City Council work together in the future.
Gary Topp, Director of Culture Central said: ‘We have been making it clear for many months now that a radical new proposition for cultural investment in the city needs to be established and we are disappointed that the City Council has not shown more appetite for this innovative approach to date. The many exceptional cultural organisations in the city have extended their own level of commercial and entrepreneurial activity considerably in recent years and we are asking the City Council to reciprocate. In effect we are seeking the full backing of the Council to create the necessary freedoms and flexibilities for the sector to thrive and to move to a more dynamic and contemporary approach. The sector has prepared itself for this approach through the creation of Culture Central as a collaborative leadership vehicle and we need to work in a radically reframed partnership with the Council to bring these opportunities to fruition.’
Anyone wishing to make a donation to support the CBSO’s future can do so by contacting Eve Vines on evines@cbso.co.uk or by visiting www.cbso.co.uk/support.
