From the Lebrecht Album of the Week:

… On the strength of these successes, he became the go-to man for running new colleges and foundations, the archetype Victorian administrator, upright, incorruptible and irredeemably conservative. He thought Verdi ‘immeasurably inferior’ to Rossini and struck Schumann off the Royal Academy syllabus. His own gift, such as it was, was crushed by his onerous public duties….

Read on here.

And here.

 

Lynn Harrell is among half a dozen musicians who talks to a Boston Globe investigation about the sex cult that James Levine formed with youngsters in Cleveland when he was a rising star in his twenties.

Another witness, James Lestock, identifies himself as a musician who testified to me more than 20 years ago about James Levine’s sex games and abuses (Lestock was not the only one, and I always protected my sources).

Some members recalled an evening when Levine, sitting in a recliner, groped one of the few female students in the group — an episode Lestock said he shared more than 20 years ago with journalist Norman Lebrecht, who included a similar version of the incident in his book “Who Killed Classical Music?”

“This was not a sexual thing,” said Smith, who said he also witnessed the incident. “It was like a power play, a control thing.”

Lestock, who last saw Levine in 1978, said he received a call from Levine as Lebrecht’s book went to print.

“He voluntarily said that he had abused others,” recalled Lestock. “He didn’t name names; I didn’t ask. He brought up that point and said that out loud.”

 

Read the full story here.

Levine denies past misconduct. The Met and Boston Symphony are investigating allegations against him.

From our string quartet diarist, Anthea Kreston:

 

I am eating breakfast in Brussels, where I am in the middle of a three day visit to teach our master groups and hear auditions for next season. What luxury – at the Queen Elizabeth Chapel (where the Queen Elizabeth competitions are held) – Beethoven, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Schoenberg, all played by dedicated, passionate musicians in their 20’s, and all with careers in their own right, with recording contracts, multiple managers, and International competition wins under their belts. As I teach, the two-story glass wall of the concert hall shows a forest of swaying trees, and I keep a lookout for a herd of deer, who often meander through this living landscape.

Yesterday’s auditions were impressive – not only in the variety of ensemble (string trio, piano quartet, piano trio and string quartet), but in the long road these young musicians have travelled to get this far. The pre-screened submitted auditions, which arrived months ago, the years of lessons, the travel from many different countries. Every single moment of their futures depends on these 30 minutes – what happens here changes everything for their futures. If I, myself, hadn’t made it into the Quartet program at Aspen when I was their age, and sat at lunch at a particular table, I wouldn’t have met Jason, had this family and life.

In the board-room lunch after the auditions, each member of the six-person jury argued for or against each of the groups. Were they balanced, were they creative – do they have relentless drive and a vision of their futures? Do they have the time to dedicate to this – can they give up all else for this? Was there magic?

We have to be selective – only one or two can be accepted, because we already have a studio filled with groups who will stay, continuing to the next phase of their careers. We accept them at the beginning – while still students, teach them, show them how to teach themselves, and watch and help as they spread their wings and begin to fly.

My last days in Israel were fantastic, and I was finally able to eat some unbelievable foods – from street foods at the Carmel Market to late-night banquets in covered courtyards. I was wrapped in the sauces, loved the tender and crisp. I will attempt to recreate a dish here that you can cook at home. Bear in mind that I don’t measure – but give it a try!

Cauliflower, Israeli Couscous and Pomegranate Thing

Ingredients:
Pomegranate
Onions
Israeli Couscous
Veg or Chicken Stock
Cauliflower – dinner-plate amount (2-3 smaller heads or one huge one)
Optional:
Yoghurt

Get some onions going in a large pan, and start a big pot of water also. While the onions are getting good, chop your cauliflower, stem and leaves too, and plop them in the water. Get a healthy amount of stock warmed. Throw the couscous into the onions after they are crisp/translucent, and brown the couscous. Now your cauliflower is probably done – just needs a minute – and put in colander to steam dry. Throw your hot stock over the couscous and onions, and let cook. Take your cauliflower and brown a bit in another pan – I put both butter and oil in there. That was good. Now open your spice cupboard and get creative. I didn’t have things like sumac or zatar but if you do, now is your moment. I put in a big handful of sesame seeds, some curry, nutmeg, and Herbs de Provence (here called Kräuter des Provence). You might need to add some liquid in there. While this is all happening, get your pomegranate – I have a super way to get those seeds out without crushing them. “Scalp” the top, peeling the skin off to reveal the seeds. Then score along the lines of the sections – you can see where they are now. Pull apart those sections so now it is kindof like an unpeeled, irregular orange. Turn a section, seed-down, in your hand, and thwump the skin vigorously with the handle of your knife. The seeds will dislodge and fall into your hands. Mostly.
Now combine all of the hot ingredients, and serve with a handful of pomegranate seeds on top. Viola.

Optional yoghurt:
You should have started this last night, but if you do it now, you will use it tomorrow on everything. It is addictive.
Line a colander with coffee filters and dump all of your yoghurt in there. Let it drain for at least 2 hours, and up to 24. Then add whatever you want – plain, pepper, cucumber, curry, regular spices, then a little swivel of good olive oil on top. This is great on top of the cauliflower thing, or on warmed bread, or carrots, or just on your finger like my 6 year old ate it.

The veteran maestro has walked out of Berlin’s Salome over ‘differences’ with the director Hans Neuenfels.

Dohnanyi, 88, who took over the show from the surgically-sidelined Zubin Mehta, told the theatre that his young sidekick, Thomas Guggeis, could take his place.

Guggeis is Daniel Barenboim’s assistant.

 

‘What, should I sit at home and do nothing?’ demands the great German tenor in a Berlin interview, ahead of a 15-concert tour.

He says he has not read a newspaper in 30 years, thinks Bayreuth has gone to the dogs and is unhappy with his hotel.

Read here.

 

Nicholas Mathias at IMG Artists has signed the Italian Carlo Rizzi away from Van Walsum’s Maestro Arts.

Rizzi, 57, former music director of Welsh National Opera, is not a big name but a steady earner.

Mathias needs to replace revenue lost from the defection of his top earner Jaap Van Zweden to Columbia.

press release:

Joyce DiDonato is the Recipient of the 2018 »Glashütte Original MusicFestivalAward«

‘Joyce DiDonato is an artist who does not differentiate between life and art. She devotes the same enthusiasm and the same standard of perfection to social activism as she does to the preparation of her opera roles and concerts. As a colleague, I admire Joyce; on behalf of the Music Festival and our sponsor Glashütte Original, I am delighted at this fantastic prize-winner,’ said Jan Vogler, Intendant of the Dresden Music Festival.

Past winners of the 25,000 Euro award include Steven Isserlis and Hilary Hahn.

The Spanish conductor Jesús López Cobos, one of the most reliable maestros of recent times, died this morning in Berlin of cancer-related causes.

Jesús López Cobos was general music director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1981 to 1990 and music director of the Orquesta Nacional de España, 1984-88. From 1986 to 2000 he was music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and from 2003 until 2010 of the Teatro Real in Madrid.

He worked with many other orchestras in Spain and around the world. I remember him leading the LSO at the Salzburg Festival in the 1980s, working with precision and without ostentation to produce world class performances.

He conducted 92 times at the Vienna Opera, making his last appearance on January 8 this year and withdrawing recently for health reasons from April’s Aida.

He was the ultimate professional.

Rest his soul.

Harvey Schmidt’s long run has ended.

In May 1960 he opened The Fantasticks at the Sullivan Street Playhouse. It ran there until 2002, setting a new record for musical shows. Revived in 2006, it ran a further 11 years.

Remember? Try.

Its hit song is indelible.

Schmidt, with his fellow-Texan Tom Jones, also wrote 110 in the Shade.

Harvey Schmidt died in Texas on February 28.

Alias Schmidt and Jones. photo: Henri Dauman

 

Deutsche Bahn has been wondering what names to give its new generation of ICE trains.

So it asked the German public for suggestions, having reserved a slot for Ludwig van Beethoven on his 250th anniversary in 2020. Martin Luther has already got the first ICE train named after him.

The public submitted the following celebrity names:  Konrad Adenauer, Hannah Arendt, Bertha Benz, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Willy Brandt, Vicco von Bülow, Marlene Dietrich, Hedwig Dohm, Albert Einstein, Ludwig Erhard, Anne Frank, Heinrich Heine, Alexander von Humboldt, Marie Juchacz, Erich Kaestner, Hildegard Knef, Käthe Kollwitz, Adolph Kolping, Thomas Mann, Karl Marx, Scholl, Margarete Steiff, Elisabeth of Thuringia and Fritz Walter.

But the railway has now changed its mind. nne Frank, it puffed, might awaken painful memories, and Karl Marx is a bit, er, controversial.

So all future trains will be named after lakes and mountains and Beethoven won’t get his name on an engine.

Luther, however, gets to keep his train.

 

 

A statement by the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir:

 

To the TMC community —

Last night, we became aware of a media report that makes reference to allegations of sexual misconduct against Noel Edison.

News of these allegations may have elicited in you, as it has in us, feelings of shock and sadness.

Faced with this situation, we must make tough decisions, balancing the obligations we have to all parties involved. These parties include Noel and the complainants, and very importantly, they include choristers and all other members of the TMC and Elora Singers community.

We recently received letters of complaint from third parties regarding Noel’s conduct. These complaints were immediately raised to the Boards of both the TMC and the Elora Singers. Both organizations responded promptly by placing Noel on a personal leave of absence and launching an independent third party investigation. That investigation has already begun. Anyone having any information that they would like to share can contact TMC Chair Maureen Palmer or TMC Vice-Chair Cathy Conforzi, in confidence, at chair@tmchoir.org, or John Spearn, Director, Elora Singers at spearn@corcap.com.

To ensure the utmost integrity of this investigation, neither organization will make any public comment until the investigation is completed and the respective Boards of Directors have had time to review the information. Unfortunately, we are also not able to share further information with you until the investigation is complete.

Maureen Palmer
Chair, TMC Board of Directors

Cynthia Hawkins
Executive Director, TMC

John Spearn,
Director, Elora Singers