The Dudamel Fellowship Program, which has trained the likes of Mirga, Rafael Payare and Elim Chan, has chosen its members for the next two years.

They are the Portuguese Nuno Coelho, the Swiss-Australian Elena Schwarz,

an American Stephen Mulligan, who’s working with the Atlanta Symphony, and a Venezuelan, Jesús Uzcátegui.

Bochum will lose its Generalmusikdirector in 2021.

Steven Sloane, who gave the city an exemplary concert hall, has conducted in Bochum since 1994.

He has been named Honorary Conductor for Life.

The Indianapolis Symphony has announced the resignation of Zachary DePue, its sought-after concertmaster.

No reason given other than ‘seeking new challenges’.

DePue was not only concertmaster; he was assistant artistic director behind Music Director Krzysztof Urbanski. It appears he has left at the end of the season without prior warning. The ISO says it will start a search soon.

He was also a member of the Time for Three trio.

From the German baritone Samuel Hasselhorn:

I am beyond excited and honoured to announce that, starting next season, I will join the ensemble of the Wiener Staatsoper. I would like to thank everyone who helped me get to this “pinch me” moment – too many to name them all – but they know who they are! Special thanks to Dominique Meyer for his personal invitation to join the ensemble just last month and entrusting me with this huge opportunity. Many thanks also to my agents Jonathan Turnbull and Tim Menah for helping me manage and rearrange everything during this huge period of change…

Long Yu has given up his artistic directorship of the Beijing Music Festival to Shuang Zou, a member of his planning team.

Long Yu remains artistic director of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, music director of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, co-director of MISA Shanghai Summer Festival and principal guest conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic.

From his statement: Starting today, I will officially step down as the Artistic Director of BMF. Ms. Zou Shuang, currently the assistant Programing Director of BMF, will formally serve as the Artistic Director for the 21st Beijing Music Festival in 2018. In the future, the Artistic Director will serve on a rotational basis for a term of x years. In the future, I will continue serving as the Chairman of the Artistic Committee. I, along with the other Artistic Committee members and the BMF team, will give our full support to the new Artistic Director. As part of the BMF team, I will serve the BMF for my entire life, and spare no effort!

It’s sweaty work, conducting.

So the maverick music director of Perm, Russia, has put his name to a niche Swiss fragrance.

It sells for 390 Euros.

Seriously? Seriously.

Last week, the Ruhr Triennale cancelled the rock group Young Fathers over its support for an Israel boycott.

This week, it has reinstated them after protests by the BDS movement.

Here’s the festival director’s risible equivocation:

Bochum, June 2018 – The programme of the Ruhrtriennale is directed against racism, anti-Semitism and exclusion in every form and tells complex narratives. I consider it important to open up perspectives other than our Western ones, and thus to take the context of our international programme seriously. I do not wish to be part of a campaign, let alone hostage to a campaign.

The programme of the Ruhrtriennale and the artists of this programme are currently under pressure from two campaigns. One says: artists who support organisations that oppose the current policy of the government of the Israeli state and support the rights of the Palestinians are automatically anti-Semitic. The second campaign is the BDS campaign, which says that artists who do not boycott the current government of the State of Israel are automatically suspected of being racist or opponents of the Palestinians. I do not share any of the superficial, simplifying positions of these two campaigns. I wish to be able to invite a band such as the Young Fathers for their music and their lyrics although I personally completely reject the boycott strategy of the BDS. As a German, it is, of course, difficult for me to be linked to a movement that boycotts Israel, but I have invited the Young Fathers and not the BDS. In many interviews, the Young Fathers have made it credible that they reject anti-Semitism in any form. Following the impression of many discussions and reflections over the last few days, I would like to correct my approach: I wish to invite the Young Fathers again to the concert in Bochum on 18 August 2018 although I do not share their attitude to the BDS. I believe that we need to allow the different perspectives and narratives, because this openness is the dramaturgic credo of our programme. I therefore have to defend the freedom of the arts, and do not, under any circumstances, even indirectly, wish to exercise censorship.

I again wish to stress that, in my view, criticism of the current policy of the government of the State of Israel is not automatically anti-Semitic. None of the artists at this year’s programme of the Ruhrtriennale are anti-Semitic or racist. I personally reject boycott in connection with Israel, but also in other contexts, and especially in the field of art. Artists do not represent nations or ideological discourses.

I do not, however, want artists to be censored, lectured or excluded for their attitudes. Every artist is free to take up a position as long as this position is not anti-Semitic, racist or exclusionary. I wish to initiate a public event on the topic of boycott, freedom of the arts and the differences of perspectives, the place, time and implementation of which we will announce. Perhaps such an event could be held in the context of the concert, and the band could preferably represent its own position there.

Stefanie Carp

Peter Longworth, Toronto’s go-to pianist for everything from a Brahms recital to a top-up lesson, has died of kidney cancer at an early age. He is survived by his wife, daughter, parents and sister. Tributes are pouring in from every level of music making.

‘The Toronto music community has lost one of its best members today,’ writes one group.

Edward Simons, America’s oldest active conductor, has peacefully passed away.

Our sympathies to his daughter, Jo, and wider family.

Here’s how his orchestra were informed:

Dear Friends,
It is with great sadness that I must tell you that Ed Simons passed away today ( June 26 ). He was 101.  Jo Simons, Ed’s daughter informed me a short while ago. Last month I visited with Ed and we talked and laughed about his conducting one more time at Concert for Remembrance to break his own record. He asked to conduct Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 for strings and 2 flutes which he had conducted before at one of the early Concerts, I think 2003.
We will play the Brandenburg at the concert in honor and remembrance of Ed, with Holly Druckman conducting.
If you haven’t already contacted me , I would love to hear from those of you who would like to play with us on Sunday, September 16.
With love and a heavy heart, but also a humbling feeling of appreciation that I had the privilege and joy of knowing and playing with Ed for so many years.
Alison

Boris Godunov was blacked out last night, Il trovatore the night before.

The reason? It’s because of a ‘mouvement de grève d’une organisation syndicale concernant une catégorie de salariés’ – one union is in dispute over one category of the pay scale.

No end in sight. The taxpayer continues paying the salaries – and the refunds for disappointed operagoers.

RT has reported the death of Andrey Suchilin, in unusual circumstances.

With his band Do Mazhor (C Major), Suchilin founded the Moscow Rock Laboratory  and was a driving force in breaking down Soviet rock suppression.