The British violinist Daniel Hope, music director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, has been chosen in San Francisco to succeed Nadja Solerno-Sonnenberg as head of New Century Chamber Orchestra.

Hope, 44, was asked to fill in some months ago as interim artistic leader and the orchestra has moved fast to make the move permanent.

An update from Myrna Herzog, whose period instrument was broken by the dodgy Italian airline:

Two months have passed and I am still waiting for Alitalia’s promise to “share soon the full picture” and reply to my request of compensation of the material damage to my gamba, bow and case.

On January 16th they wrote to me that “a deep investigation is still being conducted” but until now they haven’t explained how the instrument was smashed, and why are so many wooden bits and pieces missing.

I provided them all that they demanded on behalf of their insurance company, Assicurazioni Generali: photos of the instrument inside and out, before and after the accident, a certificate of value and of authenticity.  And… nothing, no answers, silence.

So I made this 4 minute film, which contains also new photos of the restoration.

Ernst Krenek was deleted from Europe’s opera schedules in the 1930s, under Nazi pressure.

His epic opera Karl V, commissioned by the Vienna Staatsoper, was cancelled in 1933. It was briefly staged in Prague in June 1938, before being erased altogether.

Bavarian State Opera has just announced Karl V as a highlight of its 2018/19 season.

Aside from festival performances (below), has there ever been a major house staging?

The Semper Oper in Dresden has removed István Simon from its schedules while an investigation is conducted into allegations of misconduct against a balletmaster.

Apparently, it is considered unsafe to have both accuser and accused working in the house at the same time.

Simon has been a company soloist since 2007.

More here.

Bavarian State Opera is in the throes of announcing its 2018/19 season.

Hometown boy Jonas Kaufmann will open the season as Otello, opposite Anja Harteros as Desdemona and Gerald Finley as Iago. New production by Amelie Niermeyer will be conducted by Kirill Petrenko.

Kaufmann sang his first Verdi Otello at Covent Garden last summer. In a recent interview he told me that Antonio Pappano and Kirill Petrenko were his preferred conductors for new work.