Leonora Thomson is stepping down after just four years as managing director of Welsh National Opera, it was announced this morning.
It appears she can’t find a way to work with the incoming intendant Aidan Lang, former head of Seattle Opera, and it may be that her job is about to be abolished.
Michael Garvey has also submitted his resignation as director of the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales.
One resignation would be a misfortune. Two looks like a crisis.
The President of the Constitutional Court, Brigitte Bierlein, opened an inquiry this morning into recent allegations of rampant sexual abuse at the State Ballet Academy. The Vienna State Opera has pledged full cooperation.
The police are investigating claims against one teacher.
An interim report is expected in July.
From the Korean cellist Hojoon Choi, a student at Cincinnati CCM:
Anybody had a problem with Delta Airline causing a major damage on the cello as a checked luggage? I checked in my cello (in a flight case with insulations) as a luggage (flight from US to Korea) and after the flight I noticed a terrible break on lower rib (picture attached). Expected restoration cost is around $8,000 to $9,000.
The fabulous children’s writer and illustrator Judith Kerr died today at 95.
Daughter of the Berlin critic Alfred Kerr, who took his own life in exile, she wrote some of the most beloved bedtime stories, including the Mog series and The Tiger Who Came to Tea.
Music was essential in her life. In a radio coversation with Michael Berkely, she chose works by her own parents, as well as Mozart, Holst and Prokofiev.
image: thejc.com
From the Baltimore Symphony musicians:
the BSO orchestra roster has changed slightly – René Hernandez, BSO trumpet player of 17 years, became René Shapiro.
Raised by a single mother, René was originally given the same surname as his half-siblings. Upon sending in a DNA test to learn about his paternal history, René discovered that he is 47% Ashkenazi Jewish! Through the DNA database, he was also able to contact his biological father’s sister and found out that his father was suffering from cancer.
René knew that he had to go to El Paso immediately if was going to have the chance to meet him. They we able to spend 13 days together before his father passed away.
“I wanted to change my name because he was the last Shapiro in his family, and he didn’t have any children. I also discovered that his grandfather was a cantor, so that’s where my musical side comes from.”
“I am so elated about what happened to me,” said René, “and I almost missed it. As people say, everything happens for a reason.”
The Bastille, prone to machinery problems, has been fined 100,000 euros for causing injuries to two stagehands during a 2016 performance of Massenet’s Werther.
The incident, at the end of the first act, involved the collapse of a 750-kilogram signboard. One stagehand was hospitalized for four months with a fractured leg and ankle. The other sprained his ankle.
The Scottish violinist is creating a charitable foundation to support music teachers, with Michael Garvey as executive director.
Garvey is a former director of BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales.
Nicki said, ‘I am delighted that Michael has accepted the role of Executive Director and is joining us to help establish the Benedetti Foundation, and to steer the organisation through its inaugural years. Michael brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of both education and music sectors, as well as a shared belief and sense of urgency relating to the power of high quality music education. I cannot wait to work alongside such a fantastic team, and to realise our ambitions.’
Garvey resigned today from his BBC job.
