The Puerto Rican tenor Antonio Barasorda made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Cavaradossi in Tosca in 1995.

He went on to sing Pollione, Radamès, Cyrano de Bergerac and Canio. On one occasion, in 2002, he stood in for Placido Domingo in the fourth act of Andrea Chenier.

Antonio died of a heart attack at home in San Juan on July 9.

Franz Beyer, a musicologist who revised Süssmayr’s completion of Mozart’s Requiem, has died in Munich at the age of 96.

The Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, 77, has pulled out of Mozart’s Zauberflöte, citing poor health.

Ganz’s most celebrated role was Adolf Hitler in Downfall.

He is replaced by another star actor,  Klaus Maria Brandauer, who is 75.

That would be roughly the average audience age, too.

An encouraging tweet from the French soprano Julie Fuchs, fired from Hamburg’s Magic Flute for being four months’ pregnant.

This represented no impediment for Zurich Opera.

On the contrary.

 

Message from the LA Phil:

Khatia Buniatishvili has withdrawn from the previously announced Dudamel Conducts Rachmaninoff at the Hollywood Bowl on Thursday, July 12, at 8pm due to illness. Pianist Behzod Abduraimov will perform in her place.

Message from Paris Match, circulated by Khatia:

: Khatia Buniatishvili – la vedette du concert du 14 juillet à la Tour Eiffel! : Khatia Buniatishvili – the star of the concert at the Eiffel Tower on the 14th of July!

On July 14, France will mark its independence with what it hopes will be a World Cup win. Where would any pianist rather be?

The NPR-distributed show has fired Christopher O’Riley, its host for two decades.

Why? No reason given.

In a message to listeners, whom it addresses top-down as ‘fans’, FTT says this is how it’s gonna be.

Gretchen Nielsen, the axe-woman in charge, cannot begin to see how patronising she is being. Read this:

Dear fans,

Below is a press release we released earlier this morning regarding Christopher O’Riley’s contract. This is a big change, and we welcome you to submit questions or feedback at info@fromthetop.org, or via Facebook at www.facebook.com/fromthetopfans.

Sincerely,
All of us at From the Top

From the Top announced today that the organization will not be renewing host Christopher O’Riley’s contract for the 2018–2019 season. O’Riley, who has hosted From the Top for nearly 20 years, made his last recording on June 5, 2018.

“Chris has been dedicated to From the Top’s mission from the beginning,” said Gretchen Nielsen, Executive Director of From the Top. “We are grateful for his commitment to showcasing outstanding young musicians, and for the impact he’s made on America’s musical landscape. We wish him all the best with his future projects.”…

 

 

“As From the Top enters its third decade, we are thrilled to be working with talented alumni as guest hosts and co-hosts,” said Nielsen. “These new voices and perspectives will help us expand our efforts to support and showcase America’s best young artists, inspiring audiences on public radio and beyond.”

Thank you for your support and for being a listener.

 

The diva tells Bloomberg that reports of her impending retirement in a local newspaper were both untrue and unfair.

Perhaps she should be blaming her PR? The interview looked like an oversell.

From our diarist Anthea Kreston:

One of the biggest joys of being a musician is the feeling of being in the middle of a sphere of knowledge. We play with and teach (and are taught by) people of all ages, backgrounds and ability. One day, we can be rehearsing with a legend and the next mentoring a student. All experiences are as rich as one another – each feeds on the other.

What joy it was to receive the news this week that both first prizes at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition were won by our Master Groups at the Universität der Künste, Berlin, where my Quartet teaches a select handful of Master Groups in addition to 40 undergraduate and graduate chamber groups. The Marvin Piano Trio and Goldmund Quartet both took the grand prize trophies this week, and I couldn’t be more proud.

I remember well those competition years – the grueling hours, the relentless input and fine balance between being a student and a professional. Trying to scrape together a living while studying and competing. Both exhilarating and demoralizing, this is what our teeth are cut on. Sink or swim.

I was able to catch up with Christoph Vandory, violist of the Goldmund, today. Here are his thoughts.

Anthea:
What do you hope to gain by entering competitions?

Christoph:
First of all, doing a big competition is a ideal goal to focus on and a great challenge. Putting together big repertoire and getting it to your best in a short period of time is the best way to learn and grow as an ensemble. And we hope, that by winning we would not only gain international attention and credibility but also independence as artists. Being able to tour the world, playing in great cities and venues, and being able to share our music with people from all over the world is one of the greatest privileges we can imagine.

Anthea:
Which competitions have you done so far, and do you plan on doing any more?

Christoph:
We’ve won 2nd prize in the London competition and a special prize in ARD.
And we have done local or smaller competitions such as Deutscher Musikwettebwerb, where we won the scholarship, or The Schoenfeld Competition in Harbin, China, where we won first prize. Currently we are not planning on doing any more competitions.

Anthea:
How was your experience in Australia different from other competitions?

Christoph:
The Melbourne Competition was super well organized and well attended by audiences. The publicity they get in Australia is remarkable!

Anthea:
Do you play differently when you perform and compete?

Christoph:
Our goal is it to always play as if it would be a concert. We want to play for the audience, and not focus on the judges and the competition. That’s the only way we can perform freely. But of course sometimes there’s some tension that comes up in a big competition!

Anthea:
How do you handle nerves?

Christoph:
We all do it very differently. Some of us don’t have any issues, some more. But what helps us all is that we are a group of friends, we’ve known each other for so long and have been playing together for eight years now. If one gets nervous on stage, the others notice and we handle it together live on stage.

Anthea:
What has your experience with the Artemis changed you?

Christoph:
Working with the Artemis Quartet has opened a new dimension of making music. Helping us have a great sense for the flow of an entire piece instead of getting lost in details sometimes is one the things all members of the quartet have shown us.

Anthea:
Does competition bring out unexpected things emotionally in your group?

Christoph:
Well, it can be a very stressful situation, but we’ve known each other for so long, nothing really surprises us anymore. The final of a big competition, is one of these moments that awakes all your senses!

Anthea:
Where do you see this taking you? Has it changed your future?

Christoph:
We’re hoping to come back regularly to Australia to perform, it’s such an amazing country, and the people are so warm hearted and supportive!! And of course, we hope that’ll give us opportunities in other parts of the world too!

Anthea:
Give us an idea of how hard you had to work to get to this point.

Christoph:
It’s been an incredibly long journey. The success at this competition is the result of 8 years of constant work. We’ve overcome many difficulties over the years, and being on top in a moment like that is just mind blowing

Anthea:
Did you have time to see any of Australia? What did you think?

Christoph:
We had half a day before leaving, our host took us to a beautiful place in the woods outside Melbourne. It was incredible!! Seeing that impressive nature, that looks like rain forests and it’s wildlife was amazing!
We really hope to come back soon and we’ll plan in some time for traveling!

Anthea:
Do you have time to rest now, or do you jump right back into your schedule?

Christoph:
Luckily we will have a few days to relax, before we meet again for the last run of concerts before our summer break! 🙂

Anthea:
Congratulations on a well-deserved win – and see you soon!

Christoph:
Absolutely – see you very soon!

The broadcaster Garrison Keillor has shouted out in support of his colleague Christopher O’Riley, who has been sacked by Exec Director Gretchen Nielsen as host of the classical show, From the Top. Keillor writes: ‘This was one of the best shows on radio. What a shame. Public radio management seems to be in a KGB mode. I’m grateful I had a career before the curtain fell.’

Over at the New Yorker, meanwhile, illustrator Tom Bachtell writes: ‘ The New Yorker is updating its content and refreshing its look. As of the next issue, a new illustrator will illustrate “Talk of the Town.” I wish her or him the best of luck. I will continue to contribute independently to the magazine, and will also continue to post my work here. My association with The New Yorker is and has been one of the proudest achievements of my life.’

Partner of the late music critic and broadcaster Andrew Patner (pictured), Tom is one of the most distinctive, original and culturally astute practitioners of the art of capturing character in line.

The New Yorker is no longer as we knew it.

 

End of days.

UPDATE: From The Top talks down to us.

From the new issue of the Spectator:

Rafael Kubelik is watching Wimbledon when I enter his suite at the Savoy. ‘Tennis fan?’ I ask, slightly surprised. He shakes his head. ‘No. Just her.’

It is 1983, the high summer of Martina Navratilova….

Read on here.

 

 

The pianist Gabriel D’Abruzzo, a student of Vladimir Feltsman, has died during a family vacation off the New Jersey shore. He was 42.

Gabe was rehearsal pianist for the Bach Choir and other Pittsburgh ensembles.

Elected unanimously by the musicians in 2023, Jansons has signed a new contract after receiving assurances that the city will finally build a new concert hall to replace the appalling Gasteig.

Jansons, 75, gave up a parallel job with the turbulent Concertgebouw in order to focus all of his energies on Munich.