An excerpt from the incredibly tense 1971 performance of Mozart’s K242 with Christoph Eschenbach and Justus Frantz.

 

One of Vaughan Williams’s most popular works, performed in its original venue.

 

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has announced five Honorees at the 43rd Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements.

The awards, usually held in December, have been postponed due to Covid until May 2021, when it is possible that President Biden will attend.

Those being honoured are the choreographer and actress Debbie Allen; singer Joan Baez; country singer-songwriter Garth Brooks; violinist Midori; and actor Dick Van Dyke.

 

The conductor Emmanuelle Haim has posted a notice of mourning for the development director of Le Concert d’Astrée, Céline Foucaut, who has died of cancer at the age of 44, leaving two small children.

Emmanuelle writes: Since 2009, Céline has been making invisible connections between people and creating beautiful, new encounters. Without her, the Concert d’Astrée would not be the same. We think of all her loved ones, her children Gabrielle and Valentin, her companion Yann, her parents and brothers and we associate ourselves with their immense pain.

 

The venerable Ariadna (Rada) Ostapivna Lysenko  has died at the age of 100 and six months. She was a distinguished performer and professor in Kyiv.

Her grandson Mykola Lysenko writes: Today, at the age of 100, Rada Ostapivna Lysenko, an outstanding pianist, professor of NMAU, Honored Artist of Ukraine, granddaughter of the founder of Ukrainian classical music Mykola Lysenko, beloved great-grandmother of our children, passed away. With her, we lost an entire artistic era, the elder of the Lysenko family. Burial is planned at the Baykovo cemetery.

 

This Paris Conservatoire has stopped classes since Monday after many students tested positive for Covid-19.

Its director Xavier Delette says: ‘I was alerted on Sunday to a large number of students testing positive for Covid-19. On Monday, we had an emergency meeting with the city of Paris and the regional health agency, after which it was decided to shut the establishment for a week.

‘It was the best decision. We had 35 cases, mainly … 14-15 year-olds.’

More here.

 

The New York tuba maestro Howard Johnson has died at 79 of an undisclosed cause.

He played with Charles Mingus and Gil Evans and accompanied James Taylor on Sesame Street.

In the 1970s he conducted the band on Saturday Night Live.


 

Ontario Police Police have charged a music teacher with sexual assault on a girl who was eight years old when the alleged attacks began. They continued for eight years.

The teacher was named as Angus Wong, 48, of Markham, Ontario, in the Toronto area.

Police are appealing for any other victims to come forward.

1 La Scala, today:

 

UNMASKED: It’s Carlo Boccadoro, among Italy’s foremost contemporary composers.

2 Somewhere in America

Two survivors of the Columbia Artists collapse are opening a new agency today in New York with an eclectic mix of artists.

Stefana Atlas and Samantha Scully have joined forces in www.Arabella-arts.com. Stefana, a former aide to the late Kurt Masur, is well known internationally (pic). Samantha ran logistics at Cami. There are joined by artist managers Jason Bagdade and Samir Nikocevic.

The artists coming immediately under their umbrella include conductors Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla, Thierry Fischer, Michael Francis, Ankush Kumar Bahl, Katharina Wincor, Courtney Lewis, Kahchun Wong, Julian Rachlin and Carlos Miguel Prieto.

Among the soloists are Olga Kern, Nicholas Angelich, Louis Schwizgebel, Philippe Quint, Alexandra Soumm, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, Julian Rachlin and the teenaged player-composer Alma Deutscher.

Mirga’s US career awaits lift-off. There are offers on the table from major orchs, as and when she’s ready.

The indefatigable William Jellett, a popular figure at music festivals in the 1970s and 1980s, has died at the age of 72.

He never wore clothes and liked to be known as Jesus.

Several bands from those days have posted condolences.

The world feels chillier without him.

 

The pianist appeared masked and long-skirted in her first concert for a long while.

She writes: I had a great time performing Strauss’ “Burleske” this weekend with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Eric Jacobsen. Thank you to our audience for enduring chilly (for Florida!) temperatures to enjoy the music with us. Headed back in #NYC for some real winter now!