The dancer and choreographer Stanislav Vlasov, a former artistic director of the Bolshoi, has died in Moscow after suffering a heart attack in Cyprus.
He was flown home at the expense of the Chechen dictator, Ramzan Kadyrov.
Vlasov died in a Moscow hospital. He was 84.
The great French organist Michel Chapuis died today.
He officiated at many of the important churches in Paris: at St. Germain l’Auxerrois 1951 to 54, St. Nicolas des Champs 1954 to 72, Notre Dame 1955 to 64, and St. Séverin from 1964. From 1996 to 2010, he was organist at the Versailles Royal Chapel.
From a Billboard interview with Toby and Itzhak Perlman:
Toby Perlman: There were surprises in that time. We didn’t know that we’d be having tea with the prime minister of Israel [Benjamin Netanyahu]. That was also problematic because [of his politics]…
How do you negotiate a time like that?
Toby Perlman: Be polite — and he has a dog; that changes everything.
Itzhak Perlman: You have to look at it as a respecting the office of the person.
Alison Chernick: It’s great to meet the head of state — of any state.
Toby Perlman: But with Trump, you just don’t go. You say, “No, I’m sorry, I’m busy.”
Alison Chernick: “I’m sick that day.” He had just won this amazing award. It was an honor so we tried to get it in the film, but not in any way that necessarily showed support with his politics.
And the case would be different if Donald Trump extended an invitation?
Itzhak Perlman: My argument about respecting the office? In this case I would definitely make an exception.
Read on here.
The Salzburg Mozarteum has, for reasons you will have read about in Slipped Disc, got through three rectors in as many years.
It re-advertised the post at a salary of 140,000 Euros – respectable for a campus of its size.
The successful candidate was Elisabeth Gutjahr, 57, conservatory chief in Trossingen (look for it on the map of Germany with a magnifying glass).
She is already on a salary of 190,000 so Salzburg agreed to match that.
Then she demanded an extra 60k for relocation and whatever.
She got that, too.
It’s turning into a good year for Dr Gutjahr.
Concerns are being raised about the forthcoming Bonn Beethoven Telekom International Competition, where the chairman is, as ever, the distinguished pedagogue Pavel Gililov. The competition was founded by Gililov in 2005.
The rules state clearly that ‘pupils of a jury member at the time of application, or those who have been pupils of a jury member for at least one year during the four years preceding the competition, are not eligible to enter.’
However, Professor Gililov’s students somehow always manage to enter, and usually to win.
Gililov has been professor at Cologne University and at the ever-troubled Mozarteum in Salzburg.
Here is his recent record as a jury chairman:
2016 Internationaler MozartWettbewerb Salzburg
Prizewinners
2011 Internationaler MozartWettbewerb Salzburg
Prizewinners
2017 J.N. Hummel International Piano Competition, Bratislava
Prizewinners
2014 J.N. Hummel International Piano Competition, Bratislava
Prizewinners
As for the Bonn Beethoven Telekom Competition, here is a selection of winners:
2005
1st Prize Henri Sigfridsson (Class Prof. Gililov at the time of the competition)
2011
1st Prize Jingge Yan (Class Prof. Gililov, soon after the competition)
2013
1st Prize Soojung Ann (Class Prof. Gililov at the time of the competition)
2015
1st Prize Filippo Gorini (Class Prof. Gililov, at the time of the competition)
And its all entirely against the rules…
Gililov, born in Donetsk, Ukraine, in 1950, left the Soviet Union in 1978 and settled in Cologne where, according to the official biography, ‘he re-ignited his passion for musical instruction’. And tightly controlled competitions, apparently.
Operanostalgia reports the death of Julia Kukely after a long illness.
A member of Hungarian State Opera from 1978 to her death, she also sang major roles in Berlin, Vienna, Dresden, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Paris, Wiesbanden and Zurich.
Her signature roles were Donna Anna, Despina, Tosca and Bess (in Gershwin’s opera).
