We deeply regret to report the death of Hilde Zadek, who passed away yesterday in Karlsruhe at an immense age.
Hilde was a member of the golden post-War generation at the Vienna Opera, but she was always much more than just a wonderful soprano.
Born to Jewish parents in Bromberg, she fled to Palestine in 1935 and studied in Jerusalem with Josef
Grünthal and Rose Pauly.
Returning to Europe, she made her Vienna debut as Aida, no less, on February 3, 1947 at the Theater an der Wien. From then until her retirement in 1971 she sang 39 roles at the Staatsoper in 760 performances.
As well as being Jewish in post-Nazi Vienna, she attracted further stigma for sharing her life with female partners. Yet her personality was always sunny and she gave the impression of enjoying every day of her long life to the fullest.
Malcolm Lowe has been missing from the front seat of Boston Symphony concerts for almost a year.
The orchestra explained today that the veteran violinist, 65, has been suffering from concussion after a near-collision with a cyclist.
No date has been set for his return.
We wish him better.
Lowe, a Canadian, joined the BSO as concertmaster in 1984.
He studied with Ivan Galamian at Curtis and with Sally Thomas and Jaime Laredo.
Willi Hilgers, solo timpanist of Bavarian State Opera, has sent us this response to today’s personal attack by Daniel Barenboim, whom he had accused of bullying his musicians. Here’s his response:
Ich bin wegen Daniel Barenboim an die Staatskapelle nach Berlin gegangen und dort geblieben, weil es ein phantastisches Orchester ist. Gegangen bin ich dann aus demselben Grund, nämlich wegen Daniel Barenboim. Ich habe den Kampf damals aufgegeben und dazu gelernt. Genau wie Barenboims Qualität als Musiker unbestritten ist, hätte ich mir gewünscht, dass auch meine Arbeit als Künstler nicht in Frage gestellt wird. Das sieht Herr Barenboim wohl nicht so, wie er ja zu Protokoll gab. Ich möchte aber gar nicht erst beginnen, meine Fähigkeiten zu verteidigen, meine aktuelle Position beim Bayerischen Staatsorchester unter Kirill Petrenko spricht für sich. Daniel Barenboims Reaktion auf die Anschuldigungen zeigt ein weiteres Mal seine übliche Vorgangsweise: Alles von sich weisen und die Schuld bei anderen suchen. Es war mir wichtig, über meine persönlichen Erfahrungen zu sprechen, aber ich ziehe nun für mich einen Schlussstrich unter der Akte Barenboim.
The Angolan-born Portuguese pianist Sequeira Costa, has died in Kansas, where he was professor since 1976. He recently recorded a cycle of Beethoven sonatas.
A student of José Vianna da Motta who was one of the last pupils of Franz Liszt, he won the Marguerite Long competition and sat on the jury of the first Tchaikovsky competition.
Bach, Beeethoven, Chopin and Rachmaninov were at the heart of his repertoire.
The conductor has been talking to a reporter from the German press agency DPA about allegations of bullying by members of his orchestra.
He dismissed the original allegations in VAN magazine because ‘I find it sad to comment on anonymous accusations’.
Of the former solo timpanist Willi Hilgers, he says:
‘If I treated him so unfairly, why did he stay here for 12 or 13 years? I doubt his good will in this matter… He had a very beautiful sound and made wonderful colors on the timpani, but he had rhythmic weaknesses. I talked to him about that and of course criticised him, which is my job.’
Barenboim said he saw the attacks as an attempt to destabilise him in Berlin as he seeks to renew his contract beyond 2022. He claims he has full support from the orchestra. ‘I would know if there were tensions,’ he added.
American soprano Renée Fleming and I gave this presentation tonight in Orlando at the Lake Nona Impact Forum about mental wellness, and I played from music by Schubert.
I was asked to speak about my life with type two bipolar condition and how that has related to the music I seek out, and she spoke about how her experiences with stage fright and psychosomatic symptoms she experienced—leading to her interest in brain science, and it was a meaningful experience for me to share this all in front of this group of innovative minds from around the world, thanks to Iva Fattorini.
Earlier this week, the New York Times arts section had a hissy fit over a Carnegie Hall comedy concert by Iggudesman and Joo with the pianist Yuja Wang. The Times accused them of sexism, racism, stereotyping and general unpleasantness. Its reporter sought reactions from the three performers but only printed a skewed faction of what they said.
We happen to have seen the message sent to the Times by Iggudesman and Joo. It reads:
We were aware and conscious of all our jokes and included them purposely to make a point about stereotypes, racial bias and the treatment of women within the music industry.
In fact, it was Yuja Wang herself who encouraged us and pushed for this approach. Being sexualized is common in many areas of the music business.
In our view, the best way to tackle tricky subjects is to undermine them by pointing them out with humor.
Our shows use satire and irreverence as a way to criticize shortcomings within ourselves and within the classical music world. Yuja is perceived of as a masterful virtuoso musician; she also has admirers simply because of her looks.
To “poke fun” of this was important for all three of us. When one makes a joke about something, it doesn’t necessarily mean that one endorses it. Just the opposite.
Our humor ranges from subtle jabs to blatant punches. We make fun of people’s perceptions of Yuja Wang. We make fun of technology and how it replaces live experiences.
We make fun of people’s perceptions of Asians, putting them all into the same box. About casual racism.
We make fun of the over-sexualization of the music business. We make fun of the music business as a whole.
Our goal is not to offend but to show the offenses for what they are. In this case, perhaps the debate our performance has engendered can contribute in a small way to changing thinking within the music world.
The New York Timesnever had a sense of humour. It has lately also lost its sense of proportion.
message received:
The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation has awarded the 2019 Erasmus Prize to the American composer and conductor John Adams … Adams often addresses social themes in his work, something he sees as the artist’s duty. What distinguishes him furthermore, is the humanistic nature of his themes. Adams is not just a great conductor and composer, he is also a writer who reflects on the social function of classical music. Thus, he calls attention both musically and intellectually to the importance of classical music in our time, reflecting the Erasmian principles that the Foundation seeks to uphold.
The Erasmus Prize consists of € 150,000 in prize money.
From our diarist Anthea Kreston:
What does it take? What are the necessary ingredients a human must have (develop?) in order to stand in front of a panel, and be judged under a microscope? To have them pick you apart – from technique to style, intellect and emotional depth? And to have those thousands of hours of preparation (the 10,000 hours is a myth – it takes far and away more than that before a person can stand before an international competition jury, or high-powered audition) purified into a 10 minute crystalline musical cocktail. To be (sometimes it feels like on a whim) digested or spat out by the recipients. Nerves of steel only happens after every avenue of weakness has been hunted and eradicated. If that can even happen. That moment when the back stage man nods to you – the desire to just run away is real – your feet feel melded to the ground beneath, and yet, you do it. You take that breath, and that step, and you go out there, and you do it.
Our young Macedonian violinist Aleksandar Ivanov is in the final two weeks of preparation for his audition at the Curtis Institute of Music. He is lean, mean, organized, and determined. His cocktail is being mixed.
What are the elements needed to achieve a successful audition (and the definition of a successful audition is completely subjective – I would argue that it is simply personal goals achieved). These elements are: a long history of hard work, a dedicated home support crew, excellent guidance, endless desire/optimism, and the ability to set and achieve short- and long-term goals.
Let’s see how Aleksandar is doing. I think he is doing quite well……
1 A long history of hard work: this is clearly the case, as his list of repertoire performed with orchestra attests to. Starting from 2012, when he played the Beriot Concerto #9, his repertoire has steadily become more advanced, and the frequency has increased. This can only happen with solid, consistent, and successful personal work. He has all the major concerti under his belt and is currently working on Tchaikovsky for the audition.
2 A dedicated home support crew: I asked Aleksandar this week where he is right now. Instead of in Geneva, where he is currently studying, he is at home in Skopje for the month. He still works with his primary teacher (Svetlin Roussev), but he has the network he needs at home. I asked who is cooking and cleaning his clothes – mom is. This is exactly what needs to happen. Wipe away everything that is not fundamental to survival – all must go towards this goal, no energy spent on auxiliary tasks.
3 Excellent guidance: in addition to his primary teacher (who is a top-flight soloist), Aleksandar has his childhood teacher (who clearly believes in him and is willing to make sacrifices together – we find joy in each other’s successes). This teacher is spending 4-5 hours with him every day – he told him that 4 hours together is the same as 8 hours alone, which, if you are the parent of a young musician, is the under-exaggeration of the century. Also – he is no shrinking violet. He boldly contacted me for advice and help, even sending me clips of his progress for comment. This is what we must do – search out our network and reach to the ends of it. I feel as if I am part of the pit-stop crew at the Indy 500.
4 Endless desire/optimism: playing a classical instrument has major ups and downs – small triumphs are excruciatingly slowly achieved, failures sometimes can never be eradicated. If a musician can get to perfection in a difficult spot at 1/10 the tempo, this can sometimes send us into hours of joy. I was messengering with Aleksandar yesterday – here is a snapshot of part of our conversation (we were both practicing – I was trying to do 6 hours, and he the same, and so our texts came in spurts about every hour during our mutual breaks). Me: Make a video at the end of every day and try to watch it….. Alek: I do that Past 4 months Me: You are doing great!!!! Alek: When I feel very bad about my playing somehow it motivates me to do it better When I hear I play not so well from a video Me:
Yes I often feel like total 🤪🥊 about myself Alek: I do not know a musicians who doesnt doubt themselves At least at some point Me: it’s depressing but I always bounce back up, ready to fight again Alek: Exactly, that is what makes an artist’s life intererinf Me: 👍🏾 Alek: Everyday a new challenge Me: It’s exhausting, but also energizing. It flies up, and crashes down, all the time Alek: Of course If there is nothing wrong the good things cannot be noticed Me: hahahahahaha
5 The ability to set and achieve short- and long-term goals: Alek has a combination of repertoire he has played for years, for one year, and his large concerto he has played since August. He performs his pieces in public, has lessons and plays for many different musicians, and does a combination of very slow practice and play-throughs. In addition to his audition at Curtis, I asked him what his other applications are. He has a nice list of schools, competitions, and summer programs he is applying for. I often thing of an audition as just practice for the next audition.
So – let’s check in with Aleksander in a week. So far, so good! It’s an inspiration to me to speak with him, and a reminder to myself to support the dreams and goals of my children, husband, and friends. We are all on this continuum together – classical music is a life-style, not a career. Go Alek!!!
The Baltimore Symphony, which is demanding a cut in the musicians’ contract from 52 weeks to 40, has hired three new violinists and an assistant principal flute. Christine Murphy has already started in the job.
The violinists are eremías Sergiani-Velázquez, Chelsea Kim and Agnes Tse.
