Beethoven 5th symphony, his trademark piece.
This appears to be the only acceptable film of Carlos Kleiber in the 5th*, and it’s with the Vienna Phil, his recording partners.
Do not look away for an instant.
* A Mexican version here is unwatchable.
This Dutch performance of the theme from Schindler’s List has been watched 36 million times.
Mostly for the cor anglais. Davida Scheffers, who suffers from a painful neuromuscular condition, was able to return to the orchestra.
John Williams is 89 today.
Support for the department of music at Evansville University was so effusive that the college has scrapped plans for closure and will upgrade the faculty to Conservatory status.
Watch.
From the MinnPost:
… The orchestra released its operating results for the fiscal year ending Aug. 31, 2020. The big news: a deficit of $11.7 million, the largest in its history. Last year’s deficit was $8.8 million, another record-breaker. No one who follows the orchestra has forgotten that the record-breaker before that, for 2012, was $6 million, enough to help lead to a lockout that lasted 15 months.
The $11.7 million deficit occurred between September 2019 and August 2020, during which the orchestra played 89 live-and-in-person ticketed concerts…. If the deficit grew by nearly $3 million when the orchestra was still doing business as usual, at least for part of the time, what will it look like for FY21, during which it might not play any live concerts at all?
It gets worse. The orchestra has been slow and over-cautious in addressing Covid. Its public face has been unimpressive.
Read on here.
It’s the essential new accessory to every opera company.
The Paris Opéra promised today to make its recruitment procedures more diverse, across ballet orchestra and opera, with a diversity officer to monitor its progress.
Alexander Neef, the director, said today: ‘The Opera’s engagement on diversity is necessary, more than ever.’
Perhaps an opera tour to the bainlieus would be more instructive.
The most successul film composer since Erich Wolfgang Korngold turned 89 today.
He has lived one-third as long again as poor Erich and in the last quarter of his life has achieved astonishing classical rewards, entering the repertoire of every US orchestra and conduting the Vienna Philharmonic without losing a scintilla of his humility.
Happy birthday, John Williams.
After a whole year’s absence, music director Jaap Van Zweden will fly to New York next month to film a concert with the New York Philharmonic for its new paid streaming channel, launched today. At least that’s the plan, Covid permitting.
The orchestra is charging $4.99 a month of $50 a year for access to new and archived concerts.
Press release below.
The New York Philharmonic announces NYPhil+, the Orchestra’s new on-demand streaming service, available today at nyphil.org/plus. For $4.99 per month or $50.00 per year, subscribers to the platform can access newly recorded programs and historic performances. The collection will also be available on apps for Apple, Android, Amazon Fire, Roku, and other major streaming platforms later this spring.
The initial launch presents a new concert recording, featuring the New York Philharmonic conducted by David Robertson with pianist Emanuel Ax as soloist. Also currently available on NYPhil+ are past performances, including five decades of Live From Lincoln Center telecasts as well as more recent Facebook Live broadcasts, staged performances, and chamber music presentations. Highlights include Julia Wolfe’s Fire in my mouth; contemporary music concerts from the GRoW @ Annenberg Sound ON series; newly recorded chamber music performances captured in fall 2020 at Kaufman Music Center’s Merkin Hall and Neidorff-Karpati Hall at Manhattan School of Music; and audio broadcasts culled from the Orchestra’s award-winning radio series featuring Philharmonic Radio Host Alec Baldwin.
The Federal University of Amazonas in brazil has announced ‘with a feeling of irreparable loss’ the death of Professor Vanessa Monteiro Lameira, of its piano faculty. Vanessa, who died yesterday of Covid-19, leaves two daughters, aged 7 and 5, and a husband, Robinson, who is fighting for his life in hospital.
The Russian soprano Ekaterina Siurina has given an update on the condition of her husband, the American tenor Charles Castronovo:
Charlie has been in the hospital in Vienna with coronavirus for a week now, but he’s getting better, we can’t put into words our experiences, but I’m glad he’s under constant supervision of doctors and on the mend! Before, I didn’t have the opportunity to inform everyone – it has been going on for 2,5 weeks and I want to take this opportunity to say – God bless everyone! Me and the kids are healthy and looking forward to a speedy recovery for Charlie! Take care of yourselves!
The Welsh baritone Paul Carey Jones, who has written a book about life under Covid, is investigating on his website the new constraints for British singers to get work in Europe.
He was talking to the tenor Peter Hoare who is presently appearing in Barcelona in a George Benjamin opera which few others have sung.
Paul writes:
Here’s a list of the additional post-Brexit paperwork Peter has had to complete prior to his arrival in Barcelona for the start of rehearsals:
1. Official application form for a work visa – applied for at the Spanish Embassy in London. This required the surrendering of his UK passport for an unspecified period. Cost: £150 plus travel
2. Insurance (NB cost increased because of working during pandemic – see below). Cost: £350
3. UK “resident’s permit” – Peter’s UK passport proved sufficient in this instance, although non-UK citizens would require further proof.
4. Spanish health statement – a lengthy form completed online.
5. “No objection letter” – from the applicant’s accountant, with proof of payment of last year’s taxes.
6. Contract with the theatre.
7. Employer’s invitation from the theatre.
8. Apartment booking.
9. Round trip travel booking.
10. Proof of sufficient financial guarantees – up-to-date original bank statements for the last 3 months certified by bank (online statements not accepted) showing sufficient funds to cover living expenses for the duration of the contract period.
There you have it – the Brexit bonus. Send it to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden and to your MP.
Friends have reported the death of Anita Terzian Titus, a Juilliard-trained mezzo who performed major roles internationally and in multiple US companies. Anita appeared at Buenos Aires, Paris, Brussels, Strasbourg, Liège, Geneva, Wexford and Athens.
She was a fervent supporter of the Armenian cause in the recent war with Azerbaijan.
Anita died on January 20 of Covid-19, her family confirms.
Born in Teheran to Russian and Armenian refugees, she won the Munich ARD competition in 1971 and went on to a fine career.
Under the headline ‘Its Musicians are out of Work but the Met is Streaming’, the carefully understated New York Times reviews Anna Netrebko’s streamed recital from Vienna.
Anthony Tommasini’s review acknowledges the parlous situation of musicians in the Met’s orchestra. He writes: ‘It was hard not to think about what was missing this time: the Met’s musicians. Since the end of March, the unionized orchestra and chorus, among other workers, have remained furloughed, with talks between the unions and management at a standstill. Frustrations have been vented on social media over the Met’s decision to stream recitals like Netrebko’s while the company’s house artists remain out of work. (The orchestra is planning its own streaming concert, independent of the Met, on Feb. 21…’
That phrase ‘remained furloughed’ is less than the truth. For the past 11 months, musicians in the Met orchestra have not been paid. The Met is only major US organisation to withhold musician salaries and it does so openly – as Peter Gelb has clearly stated – in order to force the musicians to accept a massive pay cut.
This is both blackmail and starvation. The musicians do not ‘remain furloughed’, as the Times reports. They have no income since March 2020, no means of support. Many have taken other jobs, some in other countries. The Met is killing its orchestra. Why can’t the Times report the plain truth?
