The Seoul Philharmonic had been planning to reopen next week with Mahler 2nd, conducted by incoming music director Osmo Vänskä.

All 95 players were supposed to be tested for COVID-19 before rehearsals and Vänskä went into self-quarantine on arrival.

Tonight, however, the orchestra cancelled the event due to ‘the increase of infections linked to Itaewon (night) clubs’.

Too much, too soon.

And one unnecessary quarantine.

 

We’ve been notified of the death of Michael Tumelty, excellent critic of the Glasgow Herald until his retirement, aged 65, in 2011.

Many Scottish careers started on his watch.

And he was always, along with the late Conrad Wilson, a friendly colleague.

Dalia Stasevska, Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, has been appointed Chief Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in Finland from September 2021.

She succeeds Dima Slobodeniouk, who has lasted one term.

HarrisonParrott was the broker.

This is a questionnaire put out to professional musicians by CIDIM, Italy’s national committee for music.

See how you fare.

1 How are you spending your time, and how much of it is spent in musical activity?

2 Have you tried streaming your music?

3 Once the Covid crisis is over, do you think live music will (ever) be the same?

4 What are the likely job opportunities for young musicians, after this is over?

5 Is there a message you would like to send to the concert audience?

 

 

Peter Thomas, who died on Sunday in Lugano, composed music for 100 German feature films and 550 TV series.

He was probably best known for ‘Space Patrol’ in the 1960s and ‘Raumpatrouille’, which was used by the Brit-Pop band Pulp in their 1998 album ‘This is Hardcore’.

FAZ obit here.

The Heinrich Heine Institute Düsseldorf has bought a letter by Robert Schumann written two weeks before his attempted suicide in February 1854.

Schumann had previously written to his friend Julius Stern saying he wanted to quit his job and leave Düsseldorf, asking Stern to take over. A dispute erupted between them. In this letter, Schumann proposed a truce.

A fortnight after, the composer jumped into the freezing, filthy Rhine, was fished out and sent to an asylum.

Caramoor has saved its summer.

The festival is near Katonah, some 50 miles north of New York City.

Press release:
While unable to present the full summer season as planned, Caramoor is pleased to announce Summer 20/2.0, positioning itself to participate responsibly in New York’s re-opening process. A new, three-part plan with the flexibility to accommodate a wide range of potential circumstances, Summer 20/2.0 comprises livestreamed on-site performances, live performances for low-density audiences on Friends Field, and opening up the gardens and sound art for limited tours. Each part can be implemented independently and phased with different options depending on the circumstances at the time. All activities will be subject to current government health and safety guidelines, as well as re-confirmation in the days before.

Over the course of Summer 20/2.0, Caramoor aims to stream seven new performances from the Music Room of the Rosen House. Professionally produced for the occasion, these new video streams will feature world-class artists including Inon Barnatan, Conor Hanick, Sandbox Percussion, the Calidore String Quartet and Musicians from The Knights, and repertoire ranging from Mozart and Tchaikovsky to excerpts from Shirley Graham Du Bois’s opera Tom-Tom, a children’s program, and the world premieres of new works by Christopher Cerrone and Anna Clyne. (July 2–Aug 6). Later in the summer, Caramoor plans to host four live, public, open-air concerts on Friends Field. Suitable for small, well-spaced audiences, these will feature multiple genres: American Roots, mariachi, jazz and swing (Saturdays, July 18–Aug 8, with rain dates on the following Sundays). Caramoor also hopes to open its outdoor spaces to the public, beginning in mid-July. Visitors will be able to enjoy its landscaped Italianate and woodland gardens, on socially distant picnics and walks, as well as exploring the site-specific sound art installations of Sonic Innovations (Thurs through Sun, from July 16). Finally, a variety of outdoor pop-up events may also be added to the lineup, with appearances around the grounds by artists including a brass ensemble from Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

DG Premium is described as a ‘free archive for registered users and the opportunity to experience specially produced and ticketed streaming events on DG Stage. With Anna Netrebko, Daniel Barenboim, Rudolf Buchbinder, Andris Nelsons, Rolando Villazón and many others, starting in June.’

Press release:

Deutsche Grammophon has established a new online platform designed to connect audiences to great performances and keep music live. DG Premium, available now at www.dg-premium.com, will offer exclusive content to classical music fans and is focused on concert-length productions. Evolving from the popular bonus content site myDG, it will provide access to a compelling basic package of video and audio recordings – free of charge until at least the end of this year – for new subscribers and those already registered with myDG. A key feature will be the option to purchase tickets via the site’s DG Stage portal for live-streamed events and presentations of outstanding audio-visual productions featuring stars from the Yellow Label’s family of artists. DG Premium will also provide the music community with a new forum which, aided by Deutsche Grammophon’s substantial global reach, will enable the digital re-creation of cancelled music events and festivals.

The ambitious scope of DG Stage concerts and broadcasts is reflected in plans to present specially produced live performances from June onwards by, among others, Anna Netrebko, Daniel Barenboim, Rudolf Buchbinder, Andris Nelsons and Rolando Villazón. Wagnerites and newcomers to the composer’s all-encompassing music dramas will be able to experience the Bayreuth Festival 2020 in virtual form. The detailed activities and schedule will be communicated at a later stage. Other DG Stage highlights include the premiere worldwide presentation of John Williams in Vienna, with the Hollywood composer conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker and Anne-Sophie Mutter in a concert of his works given earlier this year at Vienna’s Musikverein.

“Ever since its foundation over 120 years ago, Deutsche Grammophon has led the way in connecting classical artists and audiences through the latest high-quality technology,” comments Dr Clemens Trautmann, President Deutsche Grammophon. “That role is needed now more than ever. Our aim in setting up DG Stage is to give our community of artists the widest possible reach and a tool that allows their live performances to be remunerated by their fanbase and other classical music lovers. And we want to give a worldwide audience access to exciting audiovisual concert experiences at any time and enable people to revisit favourite and legendary productions from our archive. Our new DG Premium offer is still in its beta stage and is sure to evolve in the months to come. We feel, however, that the service as it stands is ready to meet today’s strong desire for live performance by artists and audiences alike. We look forward to continuing the great work with all our partners to provide our artists with additional opportunities and a global audience with amazing classical music experiences.”

The Concertgebouw, which had to cancel this year’s unnecessary Mahler Festival, has posted a replacement for next year.

Equally uninspiring.

After the disappointment of having to cancel the Mahler Festival 2020, we would like to present to you, ticket buyer of the Mahler Festival 2020, the plans for the Mahler Festival 2021. In May 2021, symphonies One to Six will be performed by top international orchestras.

The festival will be opened on 18th May 2021 by the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Fabio Luisi. Conductor Jaap van Zweden performs the First symphony with ‘his’ acclaimed Hong Kong Philharmonic. The London Symphony Orchestra will perform with Sir Simon Rattle and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks with Jakub Hrusa. Iván Fischer’s Budapest Festival Orchestra and Valery Gergiev with the Münchner Philharmonic complete the line-up in the Main Hall.

 

Why the picture? If the Concertgebouw can claim ownership of Mahler, so can you and I.

The German authorities have decided he is immune to Covid-19.

The Beethoven Haus in Bonn will be open for weekends, from this Friday.

Family groups are welcomed.

Malin Gjörup, head of opera at Norrlandsoperan in northern Sweden, has died suddenly of a cerebral haemmorhage. She was also artistic director of the symphony orchestra.

A former opera singer, she had previously worked as an agent and producer before being appointed programme manager at the Gävle Symphony Orchestra, where she gave encouragement and support to young composers, one of whom describes her as ‘always funny and incredibly sharp, very intellectual’.

 

Photo: Isabelle Forsberg