Ildar Abdrazakov cancelled his Don Giovanni in Chicago ‘for family reasons’ but has jumped in for Prince Igor in Paris.

He now explains why.

For those who were worried and curious what are the family circumstances I had to cancel “Don Giovanni” in Chicago for. Please read below.

After Ildar’s recent post about cancellation of Don Giovanni in Chicago due to family reasons we have been receiving a lot of anxious messages about family members’ state of health. So we decided to share the news now! We are expecting to welcome another baby to the family this spring! For the time being I need to be under supervision of my health provider here in Europe. I appreciate Ildar’s care and help with our children, especially now when I need it so much 🙏🏻 And thank you all for being so solicitous.

Lovely.

 

Ildar is married to Marika Abdrazakova, his third wife.

One of the most depressed and impoverished cities in North America has the finest orchestra and the strongest pack of supporters.

The Cleveland Orchestra today reported a  $14.2 million increase in its endowment. The fund is now worth $206 million and rising.

As for audiences, ‘we are now selling more tickets to more households than ever before,’ said president André Gremillet. ‘This is what being relevant looks like.’

And all around the neighbourhoods look like this.

How in hell?

The Boston and Leipzig conductor has married Alice Heidler in a private ceremony in Bavaria.

The wedding took place in April and has just been confirmed.

No details have been released of the bride. An Alice Heidler is credited as the English translator of the memoirs of Andris’s agent, Hans Ulrich Schmid.

A wedding gift site exists for those wishing to donate to the preservation of the Bavarian countryside.

Andris’s first wife, the Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais, has posted pictures of herself with a new partner, a tenor at the Met.

Happy ever after.

 

Police were called to the Vienna Konzerthaus last night at 8.30 after a cloakroom attendant spotted suspicious movement in a suitcase.

An explosives expert arrived and an x-ray was taken.

The offensive item turned out to be a personal vibrator.

Someone in the audience must have had plans for the evening.

Report here.

 

In the latest of my videocasts for the DG box set, I look at the conductor’s careful reconstruction of history and image – his own and that of the Berlin Philharmonic. ‘The players forgave him for abandoning them.’

Message from Fish Fine Music in Sydney Town Hall:

It is with much regret that we announce the closure of our store in Town Hall, scheduled for 21st December.

We will still be taking customer orders until 7th December and continue with new releases until 20th November.

It has been a great pleasure to meet and serve so many like-minded, wonderful customers. As this is the end of an era, we look back on so many years of being part of what was such a vibrant industry.

Many will ask why we are closing and it is briefly that record companies continue monthly to delete hundreds of titles in favour of streaming. The difficulty this causes for us in getting regular and consistent supply, along with the vagaries of releases and distribution, have made retail just too difficult. As the last Classical retailer, shoplifting has reached such a level that we are unable to cover the losses on the margins we work under.

While CDs have enjoyed over 30 years of success as the main source of music distribution, streaming has now replaced it and will continue to grow. It too will change, but ‘Will it be here in its current form in years to come?’ is the question.

Collecting albums in physical form still remains the safest bet to me, but the Cloud is shaping up to be a safe storage centre and is set to be the future for collectors.

More to come on that note.

In the meantime…

As the last specialist classical retail store in Australia, we shall have a party on the 21st December at 12pm to celebrate our 50 years as a retailer of music and 35 years as a classical specialist. We hope many of our loyal customers who, along with our staff, have been part of our friendly organisation for so many decades will join us for memories and a drink.

Watch out for lots of sales and deals as we prepare one last hoorah.

 

Friends are sharing news of the death of John Whitfield, founder of the Endymion Ensemble and a conductor who was often called upon to perform at state occasions. For 15 years, from 1991 to 2006, John put his career partly on hold while working as assistant to his teacher, Sir Charles Mackerras.

He commissioned works from Birtwistle, Nyman, Turange and others, and was one of the outstanding bassoon soloists of his time. As a teenager, he was principal bassoon of the NYGB and the EU youth orchestras.

Chi-chi Nwanoku writes: RIP dearest John Whitfield. You were one of the most magical bassoonists I ever heard. I’ll treasure the many wonderful memories of our Endymion Ensemble concert days & will never forget your most glorious lyrical & beautiful sound. Love & miss you

Francesca Carpos says: I’m very sorry to read this. John’s upcoming wind ensemble concert at the Wigmore Hall was announced at the Royal Society of Musicians just two days ago. He has bravely fought ill health for a very long time.

The New York Times has a chilling obituary of Marya Columbia, a violinist who rushed to the 9/11 devastation scene to bring comfort and music to rescuers and survivors. She joined an ad hoc string quartet at St Paul’s Chapel and played there every Monday morning for nine months.

No-one gave the musicians masks to wear.

Sam Roberts reports: In mid-2018, Ms. Columbia developed a persistent cold. X-rays disclosed a tumor in her lung. Ms. Columbia’s smoking habit may well have contributed to her disease, but doctors suggested that the lung tumor, which metastasized to her brain, also may have been related to toxins she inhaled near the World Trade Center site.

She was initially refused free care as a responder under the World Trade Center Health Program.

Marya died on October 23, aged 63.

Read the full obit here.

And a background piece by her niece here.

Marya had a varied freelance career as principal second violinist at Saratoga Opera, regular player at New York City Opera and teacher at the Bronx Conservatory. She studied at Mannes and Peabody.

photo: St Paul Chapel on 9/11

The Guardian yesterday announced the retirement of Michael Billington, its theatre critic for 48 years.

This morning, Christopher Morley clocked up 50 years as music critic of the Birmingham Post, and he’s still going strong.

Aside from keeping the Post in the music picture, Chris runs a regional website and organises the widely-read CBSO100 reviewers group on Slipped Disc.

Happy anniversary, Chris. Here’s a few words from our mutual pal Richard Bratby:

In uncertain times for print journalism he’s maintained the Post’s reputation for the best music coverage on any regional paper, practically single-handed. And he’s recently set up a regional review website, www.MidlandsMusicReviews.com to take his reviews and those of his devoted team of assistants (he calls them his “heroes”, and I’m proud to be one of them) to the global audience he feels Birmingham’s music deserves. And yet when he began writing for the Post, journalism was still in the steam age. Concerts would finish at 9.30pm; and Christopher would have to write his review and dictate it down the telephone for a 10pm deadline. He remembers those days vividly.

“The work of the girls on the copy desk was amazing – they had to take the copy from theatre, music and ballet reviews, copy from the House of Commons, sports results. I mean there used to be times when I’d be in the middle of dictating a review and the copyist would say, ‘Sorry Chris, we’ve got to stop a minute. We’ve just got the results from the Hall Green dog track’! Last thing at night in the Post and Mail building, the atmosphere was just so good – all the lights on, people writing to meet the deadlines, the printer’s ink. The cartoonist would be there at the end of the evening, doing his topical cartoon. And downstairs these huge rolls of newsprint going round and round”.

Read on here.

No-one ever said the EU was a level playing field but we did think the Germans were good a financial control.

Not in Stuttgart, apparently.

The cost of a makeover at the Staatsoper has just gone through the billion-Euro roof.

Cancel it? Scale it down? No, says the Burgomeister. Just push it back a couple of years to 2025.

 

The irrepressible Wasfi Kani has built a second theatre for Grange Park Opera in the woods behind West Horsley Place in Surrey.

Inside the Theatre in the Woods – the five-tiered opera house modelled on Milan’s La Scala –  Wasfi and crew have built a Piccolo
Theatre, seating for up to 75.

Can’t wait.

photo: Richard Lewisohn

Mark Pemberton, director of the Association of British Orchestras, sees trouble ahead:

Touring is intrinsic to the orchestral business model, and the imposition of work permits, carnets, and other tariffs and barriers after a No Deal Brexit when touring into the European Union will damage British orchestras’ ability to serve as cultural ambassadors for the United Kingdom. Additionally, artistic exchange and cross-cultural musicmaking will su er. European orchestras and ensembles will face possible delays and additional costs when touring into the UK. And EU soloists wanting to perform in the UK will have to navigate whatever new visa system the British government imposes…

US orchestras, on the other hand:
The good news for American orchestras is that they will see little difference if touring directly into the UK. For example,the visa system will stay the same. But they will need to factor in delays and extra paperwork if arriving in an EU country before travelling into the UK, or departing the UK to tour within the EU.

Read full article here.