The Russian baritone, who died today aged 55, will be flown to Moscow for a lying in state at Tchaikovsky Hall, followed by burial at the prestigious Novodevichy cemetery.
The funeral is likely to take place on Monday, Tass reports.
Peter McCarthy, professor of music at the University of Delaware, who conducted conducted Bruckner’s E Minor Mass at the Salzburg Festival in 1988 and Beethoven’s 9th at Carnegie Hall in May 1996, has died at the age of 79.
Obituary here.
Bob Keefer in Eugene, Oregon, has some new leads on the firing of Matthew Halls as artistic director of the Oregon Bach Festival, apparently on anonymous and trumped up charges.
The executive who sacked him acted in exactly the same way a year before with the OBF’s artist liaison manager, Linda Ackerman. The evidence, then as now, was flimsy or rigged.
The person behind both dismissals is Janelle McCoy, OBF Executive Director since January 2016.
She seems nice.
Read Bob’s exposé here.
It’s a chiller.
The adventurous William Harvey of Indianapolis has won the concertmaster audition at the National Symphony Orchestra (Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional, OSN) in Mexico City.
Juilliard trained, he has worked with young musicians in Afghanistan and served as concertmaster at two Mexican colleges.
He will serve a probationary period until next July before the position is confirmed.
The Kremlin has issued this statement:
The president extends his deepest condolences to the relatives and friends and all admirers of talent of Dmitri Hvorostovsky, who passed away today.
‘In general, we believe he is the heritage of both our domestic culture and global culture. This is a very grievous loss.’
Two months ago, Putin awarded the baritone an elevated state honour.
A new initiative is afoot to give the Catalan capital a musical identity.
From the press release:
Barcelona Obertura is a joint initiative of the main musical institutions of Barcelona – the Liceu Opera, the Palau de la Música Catalana and L’Auditori – to promote the world-class musical offering in the city.
The initiative aims to put Barcelona’s rich variety of music on the world map and has been created in order to attract music lovers from all around the world to come and enjoy the most exclusive range of music in the superb setting of the city. They want Barcelona, which is already internationally renowned above all for its cuisine, architecture, football and climate, to also be recognised for its classical music agenda and the uniqueness of its musical venues.
The violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter has been awarded the Culture Prize of the Bavarian State Foundation.
The 30,000 Euros will go to her own charitable foundation.
The eminent German pianist and conductor Justus Frantz has let it be known that he chopped off a fingertip with a bread knife on Monday.
Surgeons have managed to reattach the fingertip but Justus has been told he has no more than a 50-50 chance of playing again.
On the death of Dmitri Hvorostovsky:
Rolando Villazon: ‘We will always remember his shiny white hair, his conquering smile, his handsome, devilish eyes, his Herculean presence, his wonderful, unique singing, powerful and delicate at the same time. Dima, the great singer, the great colleague has left us, but his legacy remains.’
Jonas Kaufmann: With great dismay, I have learned today that my great colleague and dear friend dmitri hvorostovsky has succumbed to his cancer. Jonas Kaufmann
Angela Gheorghiu: Today, the world lost a beautiful soul… I am devastated and heavy-hearted by the loss of Dmitri Hvorostovsky, a wonderful friend and a beautiful soul gone too soon! His voice is now shining for the angels in Heaven!
To Florence and his precious family – words cannot heal the pain, but may loving memories bring you strength, comfort and peace, today and always!
Rest in peace, my dear Dimichka, you will continue to live forever in our hearts!
Olga Borodina: Deeply loss! Dima! Why so early? I can’t describe this pain……
Joyce DiDonato: The best way i can think of to honor a life as voracious, generous and as beautiful as that of beloved Dimitri is to share in the healing, communal power of music. I dedicate tonight’s performance of Semiramide at the @RoyalOperaHouse to Dima.
Joseph Calleja: Gutted to the bone. A charming singer with a greatness that will immortalize his artistry.
Roberto Alagna: Immense tristesse aujourd’hui, ciao Dima
Sarah Connolly: Terribly sad. He was always a shining star, always sounding gorgeous and being a good colleague. A huge loss.
Fabio Luisi: He was indeed one of the kindest singers I ever worked with – and we worked extensively together, especially at the Metropolitan Opera.
Always a good word for everybody and a helping and positive attitude.
Decca Records: Very sad to hear of Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s passing. He was a legend, one of the most charismatic voices of our time and he will be sorely missed.
Lawrence Brownlee: An Opera GIANT has fallen. RIP DmitriHvorostovsky.
Elina Garaca: I am heartbroken today to hear of the passing of my dear friend, Dmitri Hvorostovsky. An incredible singer, artist, colleague and friend — gone far too soon. His voice and spirit will stay with us forever. Rest in peace.
Costa Pilavachi, former head of Philips: “Dima”, as he was known to all, joined Philips Classics in 1989 after winning the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. He was not only immensely talented but also charming, lively, funny, boisterous and above all, a good and loyal friend. What a loss!
Vienna State Opera: The Vienna State Opera is deeply affected by the loss of Dmitri Hvorostovsky. This is a very, very sad day for all of us at the Wiener Staatsoper. With Dmitri Hvorostovsky we lost an outstanding singer and a real friend. It is with great wistfulness that we remember his memorable Wiener Staatsoper performances – as Iago, Posa, Eugen Onegin, Rigoletto and Simon Boccanegra. Or his last performance in La Traviata in November 2016, when he sang the role of Giorgio Germont so touchingly and beautifully – he was so strong, even though he was
already suffering under this disease. ‘I especially admire the wonderful way in which he carried himself during this terrible illness,’ said Vienna State Opera Director Dominique Meyer – ‘Dima leaves a great void behind. He will stay in our memories as an exceptional artist who always gave a hundred percent – and as a person who enriched us with
his laughter, his joy, his warm-heartedness, his positive manner and his generosity. To his wife Florence and to his children we, the entire Wiener Staatsoper family, express our deepest sympathy.’
The Wiener Staatsoper has raised the black flag in mourning and will dedicate Dmitri Hvorostovsky a minute of silence before today’s performance.
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: ‘All at The Royal Opera are saddened to hear of the death of our friend and colleague Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.’
ROH Chorus: ‘No words seem enough to describe our feelings on the loss of Dima. His love and friendship was valued by all of us and we will miss him terribly. xxx’
More later.
He was the kindest, friendliest, most immaculate of opera singers.
In a world where egos rage and talent is measured by the size of fees, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, who died today, stood apart, in a class of his own. No-one ever had a word to say against him.
Raised in Siberia, an only child, he won a couple of Russian competitions before bursting onto the world scene, running away with the BBC’s Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 1989, ahead of the hotly-favoured Welsh baritone, Bryn Terfel.
He went on to play every major opera house in the world, charming one and all with the ease of his musicality and his unfailing good nature. He was the foremost Eugene Onegin of our time, the sexiest Don Giovanni, the dominant Rigoletto, a role he sings in his final recording, released just last week. It would be invidious, at this moment of grief, to single out one performance or another: all were stamped uniquely with his character.
He was also a formidable concert recitalist, eagerly sought as a partner by the leading sopranos. He wore his fame with humility, ever alert to the needs of the less fortunate and frequently turning up to sing in charity fund-raisers.
After a failed first marriage, he found deep contentment in London with Florence and their children.
Like every Russian artist, Dmitri was put under considerable pressure to declare his support for Vladimir Putin. He bravely and notably refrained from doing so, all the while continuing to give recitals in far-flung parts of Russia where he was loved as a man of the people.
In quarter of a century he never put a foot wrong. And when cancer struck he handled his shrinking horizons with delicacy and unfailing candour. At 55, he was cut off in his prime.
He will forever be remembered for the greatness of his voice. But we must never forget his humanity.
UPDATE: You can read this post in Chinese here.
The great Russian baritone died early today in London at the age of 55.
He had been suffering with brain cancer for the past two years, remaining cheerful and positive to the end. He retired from opera performance last December.
He was last seen singing in concert with his arm in a sling.
His death was announced by the family: ‘On behalf of the Hvorostovsky family, it is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Dmitri Hvorostovsky – beloved operatic baritone, husband, father, son, and friend – at age 55. After a two-and-a-half-year battle with brain cancer, he died peacefully this morning, November 22, surrounded by family near his home in London, UK. May the warmth of his voice and his spirit always be with us.’
He is survived by his wife, Florence, and their children, Maxim and Nina, by twins from a previous marriage and by his parents, Alexander and Lyudmila.
He had been a star of the international opera stage for quarter of a century. The singing world is in shock.
Tribute: What we have lost in Dmitri Hvorostovsky
UPDATE: Singers mourn Dima.