The pianist has talked about a boyhood incident that made him change his faith and his outlook on life.

You can read the interview here.

Sony have released the complete recordings made by Artur Schnabel for RCA during the second world war.

The Beethoven concertos 4&5 with the Chicago Symphony and Frederick Stock are well known and altogether indispensable, preferable in almost every respect to Schnabel’s 1930s LPO set for EMI with Malcolm Sargent.

Less well played are the sonatas opus 109 and 111, which Schabel refused to approve for release.

They were issued anyway on LP in 1976.

There are also four Schubert Impromptus which Schnabel refused to sign off and which have never been heard before.

Why the master-pianist withheld his approval we shall never know. There are some wrong notes, of course, but that never bothered Schnabel. These are outstanding documents of a formative artist at the peak of his powers. They display all the Schnabel hallmarks of extreme dynamic shifts, cascading trills and dashes of wry wit.

I have been listening obsessively for two days without discerning any possible reason that these recordings should have been condemned by an artist’s whim to a dark vault in New York.

Does anyone know what Schnabel’s objections were?

The production team behind OA’s celebrated outdoor Carmen has lashed out at the company for not inviting them back to supervise this week’s revival.

Director Gale Edwards, set designer Brian Thomson and costume designer Julie Lynch have issued the following statement: 

It is beyond our comprehension how any professional company or artistic director would exclude the core creatives in such an important revival, especially when we have made multiple overtures to the Company offering our services to remount this much-acclaimed interpretation of CARMEN.

Therefore, we advise that we cannot guarantee the work’s integrity, or that the public will see the production as it was originally intended to be.

OA says:  It is common practice around the globe that directors are very rarely engaged to remount their original productions, and even more rare for set or costume designers.

Who’s right?

Both sides.

Jonathan Miller complained for years that ENO never asked him back for revivals. ENO said they could not afford it, even though Miller lives a short bus ride away (and has a senior bus pass).

Sydney, by dint of distance, might have to pay a fortune to reassemble the original production team. Still, they have a right to make sure their work is well presented.

No easy solution here.

A copy of two arias and a recitative from the St Matthew Passion, written out by Felix Mendelssohn soon after his restorative 1829 performance, has come up for sale in a Zurich auction next week.

They’re estimating $120,000-160,000.

Sol Gabetta has cancelled a Basel concert in May, announcing that she is pregnant.

We wish her every happiness.

 

 

Our latest insider report on the plot to dispossess America’s foremost choral university:

The board of trustees of Rider University will vote on whether or not to sell Westminster Choir College’s campus on the morning of Tuesday March 28th, 2017.

Rider University President Gregory Dell’omo is making a concerted effort to see that Westminster’s campus is sold. The Rider University AAUP chapter (the faculty union) will introduce a vote of “no confidence” in President Dell’omo and his administrative team at their April meeting. President Dell’omo’s wish to see Westminster’s campus sold has also been chided by former Governor of the State of New Jersey Thomas Kean.

At this juncture, our only hope is for the board of trustees to have the foresight and sense not to vote to sell the campus. They have been cautioned not to speak to anyone (including each other) about how they plan to vote, so as to give no early warning sign of what may happen at the vote on Tuesday.

But of the 27 voting members on the board of trustees, only four are Westminster Choir College graduates.

Rider University President Gregory Dell’omo has been quoted as saying that Westminster Choir College has a local/regional reputation at best. President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower thought otherwise in this 1956 message:

“To the young men and women of the Westminster Choir celebrating the beginning of their world concert tour, I send greetings. You have been chosen to represent America. As cultural ambassadors, you are showing the countries of the world how Americans can sing and, also, how Americans can listen and learn. You will return home with a new understanding of other nations even as you take them a new appreciation of our musical heritage. In this exchange, you will make a real contribution to the peace of the world. Best wishes as you begin this great adventure.” (copy of the telegram attached)

A bold initiative by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, announced tonight:

The Orchestra is passionate about sharing the experience of exceptional live orchestral music-making and inspiring new generations of classical music lovers. The 2017/18 Season reinforces this by offering all 18 year olds and under free admission to Season concerts. In addition, teachers accompanying pupils to concerts can attend free of charge. The SCO will also continue to offer Under 26s and unemployed £6 tickets, making concerts accessible and welcoming to all.

The prodigiously talented British singer has been describing how her label dropped her with a seven-line email.

‘I didn’t see anyone, I didn’t hear anybody’s voice. I just read words. It felt so cold and cruel,’ she said.

Laura, who is classically trained, is now composing incidental music for Antony and Cleopatra at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Tributes are being paid to Kati Gerson, who taught hundreds of violinists and teachers at Queen College, CUNY, and at The School for Strings. She died this morning, of cancer.

The School for Strings writes: ‘Katherine was beloved by generations of students and teacher trainees. She was a selfless and tireless advocate of Suzuki education, a musical mother to her students and an inspiration to young violin teachers.’

Isabelle van Keulen is the new artistic director of Kammerakademie Neuss, in the Rhineland.

She succeeds Lavard Skou Larsen, whose contract has expired after 12 years.

The Academie, a chamber orchestra which specialises in little-known music, is also looking for a chief executive and an upgrade in its media profile.

From a rare new interview with the Russian pianist and conductor:

Do you read reviews of your concerts?

– No.

Why do you prefer to sit in a chair at the piano and not on a stool?

– Back ache. If I get tired – I can lean back and relax a bit.

Do you go to concerts of other artists? If so, which ones?

– I do not go.

– Did you watch the last Tchaikovsky Competition?

– No.

Full interview here (in Russian).