The 2018 awards for US and Canadian singers have just concluded.
The big winners are:
GEORGE LONDON AWARDS ($10,000 each):
Lawson Anderson, bass-baritone (31, Atlanta, GA) – George London Award in memory of Kirsten Flagstad, sponsored by the New York Community Trust
Raehann Bryce-Davis, mezzo-soprano (31, Keene, TX) – George London Award
Rihab Chaieb, mezzo-soprano (30, Montreal, Quebec)– George London Award for a Canadian singer, sponsored by Marjorie Laughery
Emily D’Angelo, mezzo-soprano (23, Toronto, Ontario) – George London Award in memory of Leonie Rysanek
Lauren Margison, soprano (25, Toronto, Ontario) – George London Award sponsored by Lloyd E. Rigler – Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation
Benjamin Taylor, baritone (29, Waldorf, MD) – George London Award
The Australian pilot David Tong, who died in a crash in December, had once been a star pianist at Juilliard, where he held the Vladimir Horowitz scholarship.
Friends led by oboist Liang Wang, principal oboe of the New York Philharmonic, will perform a Memorial Gala Concert Goodbye To TONG on Thursday, February 22, 2018 at 4:00 pm in New York City; @ Church of the Blessed Sacrament, 152 W 71st St, New York, NY 10023.
The service is being coordinated by one of David Tong’s best friends, Junsik Park, who runs JSAC New York, an arts consulting company.
One of the most famous guitar makers faces bankruptcy after 116 plucking years.
On BBC Radio 4 this morning, Chi-chi Nwanoku thanked Slipped Disc for help towards the recovery of her double-bass bow, which she had left on the London Underground.
Tonight, we hear that Ophélie Gaillard, whose Gofriller cello was taken from her at knifepoint on Thursday, has been reunited with the instrument.
Apparently, it was left close to her house in a battered stolen car.
She received an anonymous call and was told to look outside.
Ophélie says: ‘Merci merci merci!!!!!! à chacun d’avoir partagé mon post, d’avoir contribué à diffuser l’information et donné vos conseils précieux.’
Some 15 years ago I was asked by one of the London orchestras to curate a series titled Other Russia, looking at the composers who fell or were pushed off the wayside under the Soviet Union. We were going to focus on the likes of Karamanov, Kancheli, Knaifel, Roslavets, Tishchenko, Ustvolskaya, Firsova and more. The scheme hit a brick wall when prominent conductors balked at unfamiliar repertoire and the orchestra feared a box-office frost, but it was a worthwhile exercise and one that some braver spirits should still take up.
Among the names I omitted out of ignorance was the remarkable Fridrich Bruk…
The soprano, who has taken a lively interest in neuroscience, has been speaking on a Stanford Medicine podcast.
During our conversation we talked about the healing power of music, and I asked whether her voice ever heals her. “That’s an interesting question,” she responded. “I think singing, definitely, and music in general has a huge power over me. When I sing the four last songs of Richard Strauss – which I’ve sung more than anything in my repertoire – in the last piece, I am in a meditative state. My breathing slows down. I can suddenly lift of out of my daily life, and that happens every time. I would say ‘yes’ is the answer to that.”
This is a new one, by Oded Zehavi, conducted from the mandolin…
And here’s another one, just sent in:
Handel’s Ariodante has never been done before at the Vienna Opera, so it makes sense that most of the singers are either on debut or role debut in Sir David McVicar’s production.
Dame Sarah Connolly sings the title role, her first in the house.
Chen Reiss, a Vienna regular, sings her first Ginevra.
Christophe Dumaux makes his Staatsoper debut as Polinesso.
