The flood of centennial memorabilia knows no bounds.

WGBH’s Classical.org has just released a recording of Leonard Bernstein’s poem ‘Life is Juicy,’ read by actor Jeremy Irons. Classical.org will release approximately 20 poems in the coming weeks.

You can listen to the first one here.

 

press release:

CLEVELAND, Ohio ― The Cleveland Orchestra has announced that it is receiving a gift of $9.3 million from the estate of Dr. Jean Hower Taber (1922-2017). This extraordinary and generous gift was outlined in Dr. Taber’s written estate plans, and revealed to the Orchestra only after her death. In addition to being a member of the Orchestra’s Heritage Society, she gave generously to the Orchestra’s annual fund every year and attended Cleveland Orchestra concerts regularly over the decades….

“Jean cherished her experiences at Cleveland Orchestra concerts at Severance Hall and Blossom Music Center over many years,” said Dr. Taber’s brother, James Hower. “The Cleveland Orchestra was a meaningful part of Jean’s life, and she felt the Orchestra was especially important to the Cleveland community – the Orchestra’s exemplary artistry and commitment to education and community resonated strongly with her.”

About Dr. Jean Hower Taber

Dr. Jean Hower Taber was the great granddaughter of John H. Hower, one of the founders of the Quaker Oats Company, originally based in Akron, Ohio. Throughout her life, Dr. Taber was known for her generosity with her time and wealth. In addition to her philanthropy, she spent much of her time volunteering at the Cleveland Natural History Museum, the Society of the Blind, and Meals on Wheels. In her youth, she was a research technician at University Hospitals, graduated from the Hathaway Brown School, received a degree from Colby Sawyer Junior College, and, in 2004, received an honorary doctorate from the University of Akron. During her lifetime, she provided the University of Akron with over $7.7 million, supported The Cleveland Orchestra, and served as a Trustee for Life with the Cleveland Natural History Museum.

From John Walz, principal cellist of Los Angeles Opera:

 

This is a post I’d hoped I’d never have to write, but I need to get the word out there. Yesterday I checked into my hotel in San Diego, went out to dinner, and when I came back, my room had been broken into, everything stolen – including my cello. I’m still in shock, friends have been wonderful!!! Though apparently the San Diego police don’t think this is important enough to even send one officer over to the hotel to take a report.

 

The instrument is a 2010 Mario Miralles.

UPDATE: Found.

 

 

English National Opera has announced the death of Arthur Davies who played the Duke in Jonathan Miller’s indelible production of Rigoletto – in both the first run and five subsequent revivals.

He was 77.

Among Arthur’s other ENO roles between 1981 and 1997 were Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Gabrielle Adorno in Simon Boccanegra, Lensky in Eugene Onegin and the title roles of Faust and Werther.

 

Joseph Cullen, 58, former director of the London Symphony Chorus and the Huddersfield Chorus Society, has been jailed for a second time for child sex offences.

He was found guilty of abusing a nine-year-old boy while he was choirmaster at St Andrews Cathedral in Glasgow in the 1980s.

Cullen was jailed for 10 months. In 2015 he was sent down for 12 months in Glasgow for using lewd and libidinous conduct against two other boys.

Report here.

From a correspondent:

At last night’s recital by Grigory Sokolov in the Grosses Festspielhaus at the Salzburg Festival, as Sokolov was into the trio of the final menuet of Haydn’s 49th sonata, nearing the end of an all-Haydn first half, water began to pour from the ceiling onto the patrons in the 5-8th rows, center.

I was sitting in the 1st row, directly in front of Sokolov, and was reluctant to turn around, not wishing to distract him…but of course the water was coming down loudly, as if from a large showerhead, pouring from one of the light fixtures high overhead, and it’s hard to believe he didn’t hear it. Nonetheless, I never saw so much as a glance or any other sign he was aware of the deluge – his commitment to the music was absolute – and his performance appeared in no way affected by the fact that roughly two dozen people had to get up right in front of him and quietly file out.

After a slightly longer than customary intermission, during which the leak was stopped, the floor mopped, and dry seat cushions provided for the affected patrons – several of whom did not return – the program resumed with a stunning Schubert D.935, plus the usual generous complement of wondrous encores, six in all. The fourth of these was – naturally – Chopin’s ‘Raindrop’ prélude.

UPDATE: First pics:

 

The Guarneri Quartet violinist Arnold Steinhardt has written a beautiful reflection on his friend and colleague Michael Tree, who died five months ago.

In all the forty-five years that our Guarneri String Quartet performed in public, and during the nine years since we retired, I don’t believe I’ve dreamt of the quartet more than a handful of times. This might seem odd to string quartet aficionados who know how much must go into a performance: practice and more practice, discussion and disagreements, endless and often exhausting travel, and, finally the high bar we set for ourselves in performance itself. Lots to dream about, wouldn’t you think?

I wonder myself why I haven’t dreamt more often about our quartet. Perhaps it has to do with the nature of who the members of our group are and how we operate with one another. We are a rowdy bunch—like four opinionated brothers you might say—who, while maintaining a certain amount of respect and politeness in rehearsal, have no qualms about truth telling.

A most unprofessional explanation of my Guarneri-less sleep might be that our openness and frank criticism during rehearsals—for the good of the performance rather than to squabble with each other on a personal level—meant that each of us walked out of rehearsals relatively unencumbered by smoldering resentments or unresolved issues. And therefore presumably nothing of substance to dream about.

Several weeks ago, however, I did dream about the quartet…

Read on here.

Our social affairs correspondent reports that the in-demand international soprano Elena Tsallagova, originally from Vladikavkaz, has got married in an English country garden.

Her husband is called Ian.

We wish them every happiness.

Elena’s next role is Pamina at Deutsche Oper Berlin at the end of the month.

The organist and choir conductor Donald Hunt died on Saturday.

A Gloucester lad, he studied with Elgar’s friend Herbert Sumsion, he became city organist of Leeds in the 1950s and Organist and Master of the Choristers at Worcester Cathedral in 1976. As such, he served as artistic director of the annual Three Choirs Festival.

A respected Elgarian, he features on many recordings.

The Israeli government has pulled the plug on the country’s educational channel, known locally as החינוכית, after just over 52 years of productive broadcasting.

The channel was watched as much by adults as by children for its exceptional cultural content.

A weekly classical music programme, Intermezzo, with Arik Vardi was a model of its kind.

The channel will close down on August 15. Ours not to reason why.

More here.

 

We reported extensively on the demolition of Camerata Nordica, a high-quality international orchestra in Sweden.

The musicians, however, refused to accept its abolition.

Here’s the next chapter:

It’s been a rough couple of years for former musicians of the Camerata Nordica, but very slowly and with immense effort and support the orchestra is back where they belong – on stage. 

In the last year their orchestra has been seen and heard across Sweden in Stockholm, Trollhättan, Vänersborg and Vara, piloting projects as the new in-house orchestra of the Aurora Music Festival, run and organised by Aurora Music, a Swedish non-profit with a 43-festival history and an immense international network. And now they’re headlining Aurora’s festival in Stockholm this month! 

From August 24 to 26 you can experience the Aurora Chamber Orchestra live, led from the violin by Gordan Nikolic, twice in Stockholm’s beautiful Konserthuset and once in the main hall at the Royal College of Music, performing together with soloists Mischa Maisky and Isabelle van Keulen and working with the famous Swedish actor Stefan Sauk. 

And this is just the start. We’re back;)