Sometimes the best records get made with no foresight whatsoever. As part of his label switch from Sony Classical it had been planned that Murray Perahia would record the five concertos for the Beethoven year, live in Berlin where he had concerts scheduled with the visiting Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Then Perahia suffered a recurrent hand injury and had to be replaced by the Canadian Jan Lisiecki. The DG team were already booked for the recording so they went ahead, And, what do you know, the results were better than expected.
The Las Vegas Philharmonic has promoted Christina Castellanos to principal flute.
Music director Donato Cabrera says:’I am extremely happy and honored to recognize Christina’s many years as an outstanding member and leader within the orchestra by appointing her to the position of principal flute. She’s an inspiring and caring member of the orchestra and her musicianship will help us shine well into the future.’
She replaces Alexander Viazovtsev, who has accepted a principal position in Joensuu, Finland.
The antithesis of Vegas.
From the Cleveland Orchestra:
The Cleveland Orchestra recently commissioned a study by research firm Kleinhenz & Associates and Case Western Reserve University to examine its economic and social impact on the local and regional areas the ensemble calls home. Driven by a commitment to enrich lives by creating extraordinary musical experiences at the highest level, The Cleveland Orchestra continues to foster a culture of excellence, integrity, and artistic innovation. The economic study, conducted during the Orchestra’s Fiscal Year 2017-18 Centennial Season, analyzes the financial influence this renowned institution has on Northeast Ohio. Focusing on a variety of factors, including performances held at Severance Hall and summer concerts at Blossom Music Center — both classical programming by the Orchestra and rock shows presented by Live Nation — the study concludes that The Cleveland Orchestra is responsible for generating $135.4 million of annual sales across Northeast Ohio’s seven-county region.
In addition, activities at Severance Hall and Blossom Music Center supported by The Cleveland Orchestra created 1,292 jobs that are directly accountable for $60.8 million of annual payroll income. Not surprisingly, the study determined that the Orchestra remains an integral thread woven through the very fabric of this community, and the economic areas most affected by its influence are performing arts, dining and restaurants, hotel, and travel.
The Italian tenor, sent home from the Covent Garden tour of Japan after being accused of groping a chorus singer, is presently rehearsing at La Scala for next week’s L’elisir d’amore.
In other comments, Grigolo said all he did was touch the false pregnant belly of a chorus singer, who can be seen behind him in this curtain call.
He says he offered to apologise afterwards but ‘they took me away, put me on a plane and sent me home like a killer. I am calm about the situation and I await their decision.’
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has replaced its board chair Barbara Bozzuto after a bruising conflict with its musicians. Her legacy is the lockout. Other heads may yet roll. Here’s the top-spin from the BSO management:
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Inc. (BSO) announced the re-election of ten Directors to the Board, approved during the organization’s Annual Meeting on September 25, 2019. Additionally, the Board elected Officers for the fiscal year, and elected a Chair Laureate.Directors re-elected to the Board of Directors include Ms. Kathleen A. Chagnon, Mr. Alan S. Edelman, Ms. Sandra Levi Gerstung, Dr. Marshall A. Levine, Mr. Howard Majev, Dr. E. Albert Reece, Ms. Terry M. Rubenstein, Mr. Steven R. Schuh, Mr. Stephen D. Shawe, and Dr. Solomon H. Snyder.
The Board of Directors elected the following Officers: Mr Barry F. Rosen, Chair; Mr. Steven R. Schuh, Vice Chair and Treasurer; and Ms. Kathleen A. Chagnon, Esq., Secretary. Mr. Peter T. Kjome serves as President and CEO, and Ms. Sarah I. Beckwith serves as Vice President and CFO. In speaking about his election as Board Chair, Barry Rosen said, “Barbara Bozzuto is a hard act to follow, but I am excited to work as hard as I can during these important times for the BSO.” Rosen is Chairman and CEO of Gordon Feinblatt LLC and previously served as a Vice Chair of the BSO Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors unanimously elected Barbara M. Bozzuto as Chair Laureate, in recognition of her exemplary service to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Under her leadership, the Orchestra’s Resounding Campaign has raised nearly $50 million to help sustain the organization and expand the reach of its innovative and ground-breaking artistic and educational programs. In addition, last year the Orchestra embarked on its first international tour in over a decade, with debut performances at the BBC Proms and Edinburgh International Festival.
In concluding her five-year tenure as Board Chair, Barbara Bozzuto commented, “As I come to the end of my two terms, I am gratified to acknowledge the accomplishments of this board and administration, and decisions that have placed the BSO in the best possible position to move forward to a sustainable future. This Board should be proud of their commitment to that goal.”
“We are grateful that Barbara has agreed to continue to play a leadership role in the vital fundraising efforts that lie ahead to advance the BSO, said President and CEO Peter Kjome. “With Barry Rosen’s leadership and extremely strong commitment to the BSO, along with the steadfast support of our community, we will continue to build on the progress that has been achieved.”
At its meeting, the Board of Directors also approved the establishment of a new Vision Committee, to include musician participation, with a broad mandate to plan for the future of the BSO.
Olga Borodina: Dear Plácido! The world has gone crazy! For me you have always been the best partner and my teacher! Such as you have never been and there will never be! You are our pride! I wish you not to fall spirit! It’s just a black period of ungrateful, ungrateful and ungrateful people that will soon pass! I wish you strength and good health! Always with you! Olga
Anna Netrebko: We did Macbeth last night. Bravi tutti. We love you, Placido
And this from José Carreras: I have never seen Placido Domingo behave in a way that was not correct…. Yo no he visto nunca a Plácido Domingo comportarse de una manera que no fuera la correcta.
UPDATE: Another message from Anna Netrebko: Our long-suffering production of Macbeth suffers the onslaught of storm waves – from the haters of Domingo, from fans of Domingo – and they both call to refuse to speak in protest or in support, while insulting innocent artists. We’ll go on stage tomorrow anyway, because it’s our duty. In the meantime, I’ll ride these waves of hate on my jet ski.
аша многострадальная постановка Макбета терпит натиск штормовых волн – от ненавистников Доминго, от поклонников Доминго- и те и другие призывают отказаться от выступления в протест или в поддержку, оскорбляя при этом ни в чем не повинных артистов. На сцену завтра мы выйдем все равно, потому что это наш долг. А пока я прокачусь по этим волнам ненависти на своём водном мотоцикле
The Dominican tenor Francisco Casanova has died in Providence, RI, in the week of his 62nd birthday, his family has reported. While teaching in New York, he lived in RI with his wife Janice. A week before his death he entered the Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence.
Francisco came to fame replacing Luciano Pavarotti at a New York Philharmonic gala concert in 1996. He went on to appear at the Met and other major houses. His signature role in Vienna was Eleazar in Halévy’s La Juive.
Basia Jaworski wrote of his recording: ‘Francisco Casanova – after Tucker and Shicoff – in my opinion is perhaps the greatest Éléazar of our time. His robust tenor sounds tormented and passionate but also extremely lyrical. The Rachel, sung by Asmik Papian with sizzling passion, fits in perfectly with this. So beautiful, I have no words for it.’
This is the first of our year-round reviews of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s centenary year.
Michael Tippett, A Child of Our Time: CBSO at Symphony Hall
by Christopher Morley
Such is the power of Tippett’s settings of Afro-American spirituals in his oratorio a Child of Our Time that they are still with me as I write, even after negotiating the roadwork horrors of Broad Street compounded by a water-main burst in the excavations.
Tippett’s idea was to bring universality into his composition, much as Bach used Lutheran chorales in his Passions, and it certainly works. What didn’t quite work was Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla’s idealism in involving us, the audience, into their delivery. It all seemed a trifle half-hearted.
Never mind. Hers was a wonderfully engaging account of this masterpiece, launching two years of celebrations for the CBSO’s centenary in 2020. There will have been players tonight who recorded the work under the composer’s frail baton in 1991, soon after the opening of this magnificent hall, but here now was strength and confidence.
Strings were rich and lamenting at the opening, busy and vital elsewhere. Woodwinds were almost madrigalian, such as in the austere little trio for two flutes and cor anglais near the end, brass and percussion were sonorous, august.
And Julian Wilkins’ CBSO Chorus projected magnificently, whether lightly ethereal or outraged, despairing. The solo quartet delivered efficiently, but outstanding was the bass of Brindley Sherratt, clear, dignified, and an amalgam of the Evangelist and Christus roles in Bach’s St Matthew Passion.
Preceding this masterpiece from the Second World War was another one, Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem, a work the CBSO has so much under its skin that it was able to accommodate Mirga’s special take on this wonderful piece.
Her Lacrymosa began thuddingly, leadenly, screwing up the tension until a sudden paroxysm of energy. The Dies Irae was fleet and flickering, hell-fire lashed out by trumpets and horns, and the solace of Requiem aeternam was genuinely felt and conveyed.
There will be plenty of other masterpieces, many of them British, in these celebrations. This will be a jamboree to remember.
Christopher Morley, conductor and pianist, lectured at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for 22 years; he has been reviewing concerts and operas since 1969.
British violinist Leia Zhu has joined the HarrisonParrott family, and will be introduced as our youngest artist to friends, colleagues and music lovers at our HP50 celebrations at the Southbank Centre on 06 October. Aged only 12, Leia has already performed at prestigious festivals and venues in more than 15 countries around the world, and as ‘The Violin Girl’, she regularly posts YouTube videos that share her joy of music and creativity, attracting thousands of subscribers and views.
