Reports from the Berlin Deutsche Oper production of Das Wunder der Heliane have been overwhelming. Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s long-neglected opera has proved itself a musical and dramatic masterpiece on stage.

Quarter of a century ago, when Decca was casting a recording for its Entartete Musik series, few major singers wanted to touch a role they would never sing again and some were positively afraid of its demands.

Now, I suspect they will be queuing up for a chance to perform in it.

Michael Haas, producer of the Entartete Musik series, has written an essay on the myths and realities of Korngold.

The themes that resonate throughout Korngold’s life are particularly relevant today as they represent the fight for the very purpose of music. Is it elite, or is it populist? Is it high art or easy entertainment? Is it merely an application, like the use of colour in cinema or is it l’art pour l’art – a thing of purity and a bridge between the listener and a higher state? Is music a cultural cornerstone of European civilisation or is it merely ‘disposable’? 

Read on here.

 

The job vacancies are advertised every month in Das Orchester, but nowhere does it say what they pay.

So we made some discreet enquiries. What we have discovered are huge discrepancies between some of the best and all of the rest.

Here’s the pay scale:

Berliner Philharmoniker pays a monthly salary of €8,500 for an ensemble player (a principal earns €9,770+)

Leipzig Gewandhausorchester: €5,700 (principal €1,400)

WDR Köln: €5,300 (principal plus €800)

Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz Ludwigshafen: €4,100 (principal plus €800)

Bremen Philharmoniker: €3,400(principal plus €800)

Exchange rate: €100 = US $123 = UK£88

How does that compare with your situation?

 

A heartwarming piece of reportage from Canada.

Music education has been under siege in Ontario over the past two decades — trained music teachers cut, programs shrunk. According to a study published in 2017 by the Ontario-based lobby group People for Education, only 41 per cent of Ontario schools now have trained music teachers. That’s an eight per cent decline in the past six years.

The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board has bucked that trend, however. It is committed to making sure every child in its 42 schools gets the chance to study music with teachers who know more than how to whistle a tune….

Read on here.