The Vienna Opera has announced the death of Iván Eröd, a Hungarian-born composer who worked for several years as house repetiteur.

Losing much of his family at Auschwitz, Eröd fled Budapest in 1956 and struggled at first to make a living. Installed eventually as a professor at Graz, he turned out a stream of string quartets and piano music, much of it enriched by the influences of Bartok and Kodaly.

Message received:

The Musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, in solidarity with our Baltimore colleagues, have sent $10,000 to contribute to their cause.

It has been suggested by Baltimore Symphony Orchestra CEO Peter Kjome that several orchestras, including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, have stabilized their financial situations by making cuts to the length of their seasons.

At best, Mr. Kjome has not done his homework; at worst, his comments are deliberately misleading.

Suggesting that an organization whose primary mission is to perform for and be accessible to its community can better serve those goals by performing fewer concerts is contrary to common sense.

The notion that individual donors, foundations, and government are willing to provide more support for an orchestra because it is doing less defies logic.

And the idea that musicians – who practice and stay in musical shape year-round regardless of an orchestra’s season length – would prefer to join or stay in an environment where their efforts are only valued for part of the year doesn’t add up.

The DSO’s financial footing has dramatically improved since a painful strike that ended in 2011 with several factors playing a major role in that turnaround. Significant structural changes to staff, board and development efforts took place, and more importantly, the DSO prioritized transparency and built trust: musicians are in the room for nearly every meaningful discussion about the orchestra’s future and have access to the organization’s complete financial picture, something that is not the case in Baltimore.

At the DSO, significant and necessary changes to organizational culture have made it possible to thrive in spite of a shortened season rather than because of it as Mr. Kjome has erroneously suggested. We hope to see similar changes in Baltimore before the current BSO administration does irreparable harm to one of Baltimore’s great assets.

Monica Fosnaugh, Detroit Symphony ICSOM Delegate, and the DSO Orchestra Committee

The Leeds based company has named Garry Walker as its next music director, effective August 2020. Walker is presently Chief Conductor of the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie in Koblenz.

Antony Hermus is appointed Principal Guest Conductor.

Opera North has been headless since April 2017 when Alexander Markovic vanished overnight for reasons never explained and which wild lawyers will not induce us to disclose.

The company did not rush into a panic appointment. Garry Walker, 45, is a former winner of the Leeds Conductors Competition.

Budgets are getting tighter for high-flying artists.

 

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Ready to depart to Milan with @yujawang.official, @gustavodudamel & the @viennaphilharmonic for the Rolex Gala tomorrow at @teatroallascala!

A post shared by Juan Diego Flórez (@jdiego_florez) on Jun 22, 2019 at 3:47am PDT

Our collaborator Zsolt Bognar has been upset by the griping of some readers at the Chinese-American pianist, her minimalist clothes and her flamboyant lifestyle. He has written this riposte to one of the sourpusses.

The day I met Yuja was the day I filmed a feature about her for the show Living the Classical Life. She entered, as joyful and grateful as possible, so willing to submit to a format of introspection and deep consideration. She came across as one of the deepest, most vulnerable yet strong, and sincerely kindest human beings we have ever featured. And there was no trace of arrogance or entitlement to any aspect of her life. Her deep commitment to her art and to her mission to share great music with the world was astonishing. We explored her work ethic, and the demands she places on herself. Hers is a probing spirit, always searching for new answers and deeper meaning, and one who is open about just being herself. You would also be flabbergasted by how self-critical she is.

Some people cannot seem to see past her concert attire. She loves these clothes and has fun collecting and wearing them. Many said the same about Liszt’s over-blown attire, ostentatiously decked out with all of his medals and decorations clanking together, his theatrics, his gloves that he would toss aside, his sex appeal, and his intentions. I notice that the most savage criticism directed at Yuja comes from a very specific demographic and age group, absolutely without fail.

You dismiss her as a loud virtuoso. When she came here to Cleveland for performances of Rachmaninoff 3 and Bartók 1, what astonished the audiences here, of all my musician friends, teachers, and colleagues, was the heartbreaking, even understated lyricism. I don’t think I heard the Rachmaninoff so arrestingly melancholic, and much of it even seemed at sotto voce. The Bartók was prismatic in its musical grasp and range. I have heard her elsewhere in the world, and am surprised by the sense of discovery and freedom. Her Brahms 1 in Tokyo was introspective and tragic in the very least.

Most of the guests I feature on Living the Classical Life do not keep in touch as friends, and that’s fine. Yuja became one of the most devoted and caring friends I have ever met, and this has gone on for years. Full of life and humor, she goes above and beyond to be there for her friends. But there is no need to defend her character or sincerity as a musician. What I am saying is that she is doing what she loves doing, fully and with great conviction, musically and in life. What is clear is she is a musician and human being who cares fully about everything. You didn’t like her Hammerklavier? Fine, go and listen to any number of others out there–the world is full of choices and the perspectives of devoted artists.

I do happen to know she was made aware of your comment. Look what you wrote–you made your opinion clear, but expressed it in appalling, embarrassing terms that only reflect on you.

Krystian Zimerman once said of the best criticism: for it to be truly perceptive, like a radio station the transmitter and receiver must be equally tuned. Otherwise, one perceives only the effect, not the cause. Sergei Babayan said of Glenn Gould: sometimes we play for listeners who are not present–our message is addressed to another audience.

Watch Zsolt’s Yuja interview here.

Last week, musicians of the Paris Opéra declared solidarity with the orchestra of the Bordeaux Opera, which has been replaced for some performances with guest ensembles by the company’s director, Marc Minkowski.

The musicians in Bordeaux are in open rebellion.

Today, they received a message of support from the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice:

This is not yet 1789, but something is simmering in the French orchestral sector.

A reader reports his recent experience in an Italian violin competition with a 5,000-Euro first prize:

In the semifinal round, Judge X’s student was right before me, playing the exact same program. I won’t go into all the details but he played like a high school student. Not just unrefined, but also utterly unprepared, with mistakes everywhere. Yet despite there being several strong violinists in the semifinals, this student makes the finals, in which all three finalists play with orchestra. He then wins joint-second prize, with no first prize awarded, because of course there was no one of enough merit. The prize money from 1st and 2nd Place was divided between the two 2nd prize winners.

I realise this is typical, but while usually in international competitions there is some level of shame, this was utterly ridiculous. I was hardly perfect and would have no problem being eliminated, but to see quite a few strong violinists eliminated by an absolute amateur was so depressing and frustrating. Several of the semifinalists were, like me, spending quite a lot of money to travel to Italy and participate, and to have Judge X utterly destroy any semblance of fairness was incredibly frustrating. When I played my semifinal round, he spent the whole time talking loudly to the chairman, very audibly. When I was finished and the results were announced, it was only after speaking with the pianists and competitors who listened to the semifinals, that I realised how corrupt the results were.

Message to young musicians: don’t ever put your faith in music compeititions.

The Scottish soloist on music as a force for social improvement:

The Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman has come through her second bout of open-heart surgery. She writes:

This is my gratitude face. Your love and support has been palpable and I want to extend that same love to a wonderful warrior of faith (and my surgeon) Dr. Teresa Kieser. By using the longer-lasting method of artery over vein for my double bypass, she has rendered my heart better than I could have ever hoped or prayed for.

I want to thank all you #PrayerSoldiers and #PositiveVibeSenders who made it possible for me to EXCEED expectations. Just thirty teensy hours after a 5-hr open-heart surgery (10 years after my OTHER open-heart surgery to repair a dissected aorta), I am tube and oxygen-free and have even walked around the nurse’s station 3 times! My appetite for LIFE is stronger than ever and I’m sure my appetite for food won’t be far behind. In the meantime, I’m catching up on Killing Eve and taking it suuuuuper easy.

I can’t wait to put this fully-functioning #SuperHeart to good use. Father God, fill my new heart with all the empathy, all the love, all the forgiveness, all the patience, all the wisdom and all the courage.

To God be ALL glory and praise now and forever.