Guido Zimmermann, 44, is the new MD of the Hamburg branch of the troubled piano manufacturer. He succeeds Werner Hussmann, who retires next month.

She was due to play Torino, Genoa and Florence  with Lilya Zilberstein next week.

Here‘s the reason: Salta l’atteso tour italiano di Martha Argerich e Lilya Zilberstein: «L’Unione Musicale è spiacente di annunciare di essere stata informata ieri sera dalla signora Martha Argerich, a mezzo dell’agente che la rappresenta in Italia, che per un improvviso motivo di salute l’artista ha annullato l’intera tournée italiana, che prevedeva nel corrente mese di febbraio il concerto già programmato a Torino (17/2) oltre a quelli di Genova (Gog, 20/2) e Firenze (Amici della Musica 19/2), nonché altri impegni internazionali successivi».

The former choir conductor at Christchurch Priory Church, David Everett has been jailed for six indecent assaults on a boy aged under 16.

Everett, 57, received a sentence of six years and eight months.

More here.

Citing a desire to move the company in different directions financially and artistically, board chairman Mike Martinez said FWO terminated (Darren) Woods’ position with the company and is seeking to hire a new general director immediately.

More here.

Woods is an innovator. Fort Worth is not.

Larry Richards studied music at the University of North Texas and went to Japan to research pre-1939 jazz history and play gigs. ‘I realised where I was in the pyramid, and if I were to pursue a career as a performer, I would be doing Bar Mitzvahs and weddings for $100 a night for the rest of my life,’ he told Bloomberg.

So Larry took an online course on equity derivatives, set up a trading software company and sold it a couple of months ago to Gammon Capital, staying on as chief technology officer. He still lives in Japan.

Lesson here, somewhere?

Eva Herrmannová, reforming intendant of Czech National Opera in the five years after Communism, died yesterday in Prague, aged 87.

A survivor of the Theresienstadt concentration camp, she worked through the dark years as a critic and historian. Once installed at the theatre, she succeeded in bringing home Czech émigré musicians to perform in their native tongue.

Bulgarian radio is in dispute with the national copyright agency.

So it is restricted to playing music written before 1945.

The ratings are just in for January.

Listening is up by 20 percent.

Is there a lesson in this, somewhere?

Nonesuch have announced the release in April of a set of Bach trio sonatas.

The players are:

Chris Thile, a recent chart-topper.

Yo Yo Ma, a perennial favourite.

And Edgar Meyer, the go-to bassist.

Should be a smash. But in today’s market, who knows?

The New Jersey music director has jumped in for Semyon Bychkov.

[Monday, February 13, 2017] The Cleveland Orchestra has announced a conductor update for the February 16, 17, and 18 performances at Severance Hall. Semyon Bychkov, upon the advice of his physician, cannot travel at this time due to the stomach flu and has regretfully cancelled his engagement to lead the Orchestra in Mozart’s Concerto in E-flat major for Two Pianos and Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony. Conductor Xian Zhang has graciously agreed to perform in Mr. Bychkov’s place.

Larry Johnson takes a scalpel to Chicago’s new Carmen, directed by a Broadway song-and-dance man:

You knew it was going to be a long night at the Civic Opera House when the undulating shirtless male dancer with a bull’s head mask appeared during the opening Prelude to menace a group of fellow dancers dressed as toreadors.

That pretty much set the sophomoric tone for Lyric Opera’s hapless new production of Bizet’s Carmen, which opened Saturday night.

Read on here.

photo: Todd Rosenberg