Dr Joe Nadeau has resigned as artistic director and conductor of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.

He had been in the position for six years.

No reason has been given.

Read here.

The magnificent violinist, 96 years old, has a concert coming up next month at the Philharmonie de Paris.

In this new interview (in French), he reflects on why he is still alive.

Watch.

The Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt is not happy:

Oh, come on, University of Ottawa, my alma mater. Closing the music building for several weeks during the holidays so nobody can practise there? Shame on you! I used to practise every day there in the practise cubicles–including holidays. OK, if you need to close on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, OK. But for two weeks? You can’t expect serious musicians to go without practising for that long. Many pianists simply don’t have access to a piano otherwise. I hope this decision will be reversed for them at least.

Angela would like you to sign this petition. 

Ottawa without a piano studio is like a pancake without maple syrup.

Evans Mirageas, sometime head of Decca, has been artistic director of Cincinnati Opera for 14 years and head of artistic planning at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra since 2012.

He’s stepping down at Atlanta.

Here’s why.

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association has recruited Ryan Lewis as Vice President for Sales and Marketing, effective February 4, 2019.

Lewis is presently Vice President of Marketing at Opera Philadelphia, the most go-getting opera company in America.

The Philharmonie Südwestfalen has announced Nabil Shehata as its next chief.

A former principal doublebass of the Berlin Philharmonic, Shehata, 37, has been music director of the Munich Chamber Opera for the past seven years.

Of German and Egyptian parentage, he maintains a close involvement with Daniel Barenboim’s West-East Diwan Orchestra.

It’s just brand, brand, brand, brand…

The BBC Proms has announced it will travel to Japan in October 2019, following tours of Australia and Dubai in the past two years.

Press release:

The BBC Orchestras and Choirs are the backbone of the BBC Proms each year and, as part of this remit, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra will take the spirit of the festival to audiences in Japan, marking the orchestra’s first ever trip to the region. Taking place from 30 October to 4 November in Tokyo and Osaka, the six-day festival will see Chief Conductor Thomas Dausgaard lead the BBC SSO in daily concerts covering a wide range of repertoire.

The festival will give local audiences the opportunity to experience the world-famous BBC Proms for themselves, with a rich programme including core classical repertoire, British music and new music, all accompanied by a full and varied schedule of learning activity in the region. It will feature many recognisable features of the BBC Proms, including the iconic First and Last Nights, featuring well-loved musical favourites and traditions. Full details of the programme will be announced in early 2019.

David Pickard, Director, BBC Proms says: “I am delighted that the inaugural BBC Proms Japan continues the development of bringing international Proms events to audiences around the globe – giving them a first-hand experience of the excitement of the BBC Proms. The central aim of the Proms is to make classical music accessible through the highest quality performances, outreach work, affordable ticket prices and broadcast opportunities, and we are thrilled that BBC Proms Japan will continue to further that mission.”

Dominic Parker, Director, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, says: “We are delighted to both be making our first trip to Japan in the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s history and to represent the BBC Proms while we are there. This tour comes at a time when the world will be focusing on the build up to 2020 in Tokyo.”

And the winners are? The managing agents.

We have stumbled across a recording – possibly the oldest of any professional horn player – by Emil Wipperich, principal horn of the Vienna Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic from 1882 to 1914.

This is the origin of the Vienna horn sound, close to what Mahler had in mind in his many horn solos.

Wipperich died in 1917.

Listen to him here.

The Handel and Haydn Society, America’s oldest concert ensemble, has recruited Emi Ferguson as principal flute, Heather Miller Lardin as principal doublebass and Jonathan Hess as principal timpanist.

The Society is led by artistic director Harry Christophers.

Opernhaus Zürich has announced its stats for the 2017/18 season.

There were 327 performances, 245,517 tickets sold.

The house was 90 percent full across the season, up from 85.1% the previous year.

Opera achieved an 88.3% uptake. Ballet scored 98%.

The Met sells around 70 percent of its tickets, as does English National Opera.

The solo voice coach (Solo-repetitor) of the Vienna State Opera finds himself unexpectedly in the limelight this morning.

Albin Fries’s opera Nora has won the international Bartók Opera Composition Competition, chaired by the Hungarian composer, Péter Eötvös.

Albin has posted this victory statement:

I would like to thank all those who have believed in my opera “Nora” in recent years … My special thanks go to four singers who, out of enthusiasm and without pay, recorded the first scene for me in the studio: Thomas Moser, Elisabeth Flechl, Elisabeth Kulman and Morten Larsen. For my prompter colleague Michael Suppan who has worked tirelessly for this opera until his death, your success is sadly too late. I do not need to thank those 18 (out of 20) Directors who did not find the effort to respond to my request or at least return the score. The EX-intendant of the Graz Opera on Nora: “Can one still write like this today?” My reply: ” I don’t know, I’m not a lawyer.”

She takes the challenge at 3:00.

And… spoiler… she has practised it somewhere before.

OK, Anne-Sophie, ball’s in your court.