See here.

Whatever next?

The international competition founded by the famed conducting teacher has ended with a no-win situation.

The first prize was withheld by a Panula-chaired jury.

The second prize was divided betweenn Johannes Zahn (Germany) and Angus Webster (UK). The third prize was shared by Ross Jamie Collins (Finland/UK) and Kaapo Ijas (Finland).

The orchestra’s favourite was Angus Webster.

Here are the finalists looking miserable.

But credit to the jury for their courage.

 

The annual scuffle for year-end talent has closed with another victory for Dresden Staatskapelle over the Berlin Philharmonic.

The Staatskapelle Dresden and ZDF will be doing Fledermaus on December 29 and 30 with Jonas Kaufmann singing Eisenstein for the first time, Elisabeth Kulman as Prinz Orlofsky, Andreas Schager as Alfred and Rachel Willis-Sørensen as Rosalinde. Expent huge TV ratings.

Franz Welser-Möst conducts.

Friends have alerted us to this gofundme appeal:

For more than forty years, Chris Haff Paluck has been an educator, mentor to young musicians, concert presenter and arts manager at the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the founder and moving spirit of Arts Renaissance Tremont (ART).  She has been dedicated to providing great music at no cost to audiences of all ages throughout Northeast Ohio.  And she has done all this and more without the benefit of a large supporting organization and without the slightest thought of personal remuneration or recognition.  Through her crowning achievement, Arts Renaissance Tremont, the non-profit organization Chris created 28 years ago, she established a yearly program of free classical music concerts.  Through ART she has not only given established musicians, but also aspiring young artists an additional venue to showcase their talents.  It’s no exaggeration to say that generations of musicians and literally thousands of concert goers have been the beneficiaries of Chris’ unselfish commitment to enhancing the musical experience of music lovers of every age in our community including seniors at retirement communities and children at local elementary schools.

Now Chris needs our help.  A few years ago Chris left her long-time position at the Cleveland Institute of Music.  She also left behind most of her health care coverage.  Since then, while continuing to soldier-on as artistic director of ART, Chris has endured a host of debilitating health problems including diabetes, lupus, and most recently, stage two metastatic breast cancer.  Even in the face of these serious health issues, and  coupled with trying to deal with the overwhelming cost of repeated lengthy hospital stays for several misdiagnoses,  Chris insisted on planning and working on the ART concert series.

Hear an excerpt from one of the free concerts Chris arranged!

Chris’s many friends join together in earnestly urging that you  consider a donation through “Go Fund Me” to help Chris cover the immediate and enormous costs associated with her health issues.  Doing so would recognize the unique contributions this woman has made to the quality of life of so many in our community for such a long time.

Donate here.

 

Pablo Gonzalez has been named music director of the RTVE orchestra and chorus in Madrid, one of Spain’s foremost ensembles.

A former flute player, Gonzalez studied at Guildhall and is a past winner of the Cadaques conducting contest. He has been assistant conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra.

 

The Old Vic theatre is appealing for £100,000 on its website to help double the number of women’s toilets.

The problem’s not just in India, apparently.

Ten grand raised so far.

Dinner for One is Germany’s best Christmas telly treat.

Apparently Hindemith got there first.

His opera, The Long Christmas Dinner, has jut had a rare showing in Chicago.

Review here.

We have just been apprised of the death two months ago of Carlo Cava, after a fall in Viterbo.

A stalwart at La Scala, he sang with Karajan, Muti and other maestro legends.

Two Ukrainians – Yuliia Van, 22, and Roman Kholmatov, 24 – have been declared joint winners at the Mirecourt International Violin Competition in France.

Ms Van is a student of the jury president, Krzysztof Wegrzyn.

So it goes.

The prize money is just €5,000 but it’s the title that counts.