The Wall Street Journal and Fox News have details of meetings with prominent individuals in the sex criminal’s diary. The meetings were scheduled after Epstein’s first conviction in 2008.
Among the individuals named is the Bard College president and American Symphony Orchestra conductor Leon Botstein, who met Epstein on several occasions in 2012.
Botstein told the Journal: ‘I was an unsuccessful fundraiser and actually the object of a little bit of sadism on his part in dangling philanthropic support. That was my relationship with him.’
He added: ‘We looked him up, and he was a convicted felon for a sex crime. We believe in rehabilitation.’
Today’s paper drools over how ‘power couple’ Peter Gelb and Keri-Lynn Wilson spend their Sundays.
The Met’s director of communications, Dan Wakin (pictured), was formerly deputy editor of the Times culture department.
All he has to do is pick up a phone to old chums.
On his watch, the collusion between America’s biggest performing arts house and the newspaper that is supposed to hold it to some kind of public scrutiny has become shameful, even sickening.
Unwanted outside Russia, China and their satellites, Valery Gergiev has been leading his Mariinsky Orchestra in workers’ concerts around Russia.
These are pictures from the Kamaz plant at Naberezhnye Chelny in Tartarstan.
Message from Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie: Unfortunately, Yuja Wang had to cancel due to illness. Thankfully, Tamara Stefanovich agreed at short notice to step in in her place. The program remains unchanged.
Message from hyper-skilled modernist Tamara Stefanovich: I was called to replace irreplaceable goddess Yuja Wang for Lindberg Piano Concerto in Elbphilharmonie. This Friday. And no,I never played the piece and I got the music yesterday. So yes learning a 32 monster piece in couple days. Good I have nothing else to do this week…oh wait,not quite true… Between two Lindberg Concertos with utterly fab Salonen and NDR I play 20 Sonatas also chez Elbphilharmonie. Just for fun. So yes, thoughts and prayers.
The following emails were sent this week to all students at the Cleveland Institute of Music. We have redacted the name of the alleged offender until a process is formally instigated by CIM. At this stage, we have not approached him/her for comment.
For the benefit of non-US readers, Title IX is a Federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities.
Dear Students,
It was with great horror that I read one of [name redacted]’s course evaluations. This is not the first time that I have heard his name – detailing inappropriate behavior of varying degrees.
As the Title IX Coordinator, it is my responsibility to address this behavior, but the law only gives me so much room to do so. Without hearing details of behavior that clearly violates Title IX, or without individuals who are willing to attest to that same behavior, I am unable, by law, to do anything about it. I am conducting an investigation into Mr. [redacted]’s behavior, but I need your help. If you are willing, I am asking of you the following:
Will the student who wrote the evaluation that began with, “I know most of the people who will read this are men, but I also invite you to think about what it’s like to be a woman in his orchestra.” please contact me? These details are very important to my investigation If I have spoken to you at a prior time, and you were hesitant to provide specific details that fall under Title IX, please consider meeting with me again If you have experienced (or observed) behavior on Mr. [redacted]’s behalf that can be considered sexual harassment, please contact me if you are willing to provide details Please be aware that retaliation in any form toward a person who provides this information to me in the course of my investigation is PROHIBITED by law and can be punishable to an even greater degree than the offense itself.
Please also know that your professors have your back! Several of them have come in the past two weeks to share similar information with me.
I am filing a formal complaint, so you won’t have to. This is what will result in the investigation that is being conducted. I am able to meet with students by appointment in my office (216), virtually on Zoom, or over at CIA (in room 106), if you would prefer that no one see you come to my office at CIM.
Please know that the information you provide will not be shared with other employees at CIM, other than those responsible for facilitating the Title IX Hearing, and that your cooperation will not result in any negative academic consequences to you.
Please remember that there is strength in numbers, so the more of you that come forward, the stronger this case can be, and we can move back toward making CIM a safe place that offers you the space and supportive environment that fosters your growth as the phenomenal musicians that you are.
Thank you, Vivian
Vivian R. Scott Director, Title IX Compliance/Title IX Coordinator Cleveland Institute of Music Email: vivian.scott@cim.edu
From: Sol Rizzato <sxr954@cim.edu> Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2023 4:43:40 PM To: All Students <All-Students@cim.edu> Subject: [All Students] Student Reports
Dear Colleagues,
As the Graduate Student Ambassador, it is part of my duty to serve as a liaison to our school’s administration and to assure each and every one of your voices is heard. To follow up on Vivian Scott’s (our Title IX coordinator) email, I would echo her words exactly, “there is strength in numbers, so the more of you that come forward, the stronger this case can be, and we can move back toward making CIM a safe place that offers you the space and supportive environment that fosters your growth as the phenomenal musicians that you are.”
I understand at the same time that making reports against a faculty/staff member or administrator can be an extremely scary and emotionally taxing process that can be far outside of our comfort zones. However, I assure you (also echoed in Vivian’s email), that there are legal protections against retaliation, and this reporting system exists for a reason. There is no report or case that is “too small,” “not a big deal,” or that “didn’t impact me too much.” If something makes you uncomfortable, report it. If you see inappropriate behavior towards someone else, report it. If you hear about inappropriate behavior, report it.
This is also valid for situations outside of the recent email– if ANY faculty/staff member or administrator makes you uncomfortable, no matter what their title is or place on the institutional hierarchy ladder, there is strength in numbers for outward, spoken and written reports from the student body. Job titles are never an excuse for a person to behave in ways inconsistent with the creation of a safe learning environment and our institutional learning goals.
I am also here to assist you if you need someone to help connect you to the proper administrator for your needs, if you need help drafting up/wording an email, or just someone to talk to. We all deserve a safe learning environment, first and foremost.
Once again, there is strength in numbers, and we as a student body, coming together, can make change.
-Sol Rizzato
Sol M. Rizzato, BMus., BMA, CAGO They/Them/Theirs He/Him/His Master’s Student and Graduate Student Ambassador: The Cleveland Institute of Music
I have been living with the new app for the past month, and I am aware of subtle changes in my choices and habits. The outcome is not always upbeat, but I have heard the future … and it works.
Here’s part of my assessment in the new issue of The Critic.
In a Shostakovich tenth symphony from Berlin, the internal definition seemed to me clearer than the orchestra’s own-label recording and, weirdly, than my aural memory of hearing it in the hall. If this is to be the future quality of sound, bring it on.
And that’s where Apple is aiming. In addition to suctioning up a hundred years of past recordings, Apple has got the philharmonic orchestras of Berlin, Vienna and New York, the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam and a couple of other big noises to release each season’s best concerts on the app, events that were accessible until now only to the orchestras’ direct subscribers. The deal allows Apple to foster an illusion of renewal, of listener participation in a living, evolving art.
At a time when broadcasters like the BBC and ORF and funders like Arts Council England are in full retreat from orchestras and opera, one of the world’s biggest tech corporations has made classical music its flagship project of 2023.
I don’t need any excuse to play you this wonderful number from Sarah Vaughan and Sammy Davis Jr. This is from a 1983 telethon but it’s ageless and timeless.
They’ve both gone now, much too young – The Divine Sarah was only 66 when she died, brilliant and versatile Sammy was only 65, and we’ll never hear anything like them again.
This song, in this performance, is here because I love it and because I believe that the art of popular singing never got any better than this. I hope you agree.
The London Philharmonic Orchestra is organising an interactive work for young people titled Before the Firebird.
From the blurb: Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird tells of a Prince, a magical bird, and their battle to defeat an evil king and release 13 captive sisters. Paul Rissmann and Hazel Gould’s imagined prequel tells the tale of how these brave sisters ended up under King Kastchei’s spell in the first place.
Before the Firebird is full of ways for the audience to join in; Rissmann and Kirkman will prepare the audience before the piece begins, and they can also learn the songs in advance in free workshops just before the concert. The story will be told onstage by Rissmann and the choirs of young people, while Kirkman will play the characters in the story, which include evil King Kastchei, the brave sisters, the magical Firebird and another terrifying baddie.
Why does Church of England get into such tangles with directors of music?
Here’s a sorry story from Wakefield Cathedral.
Ed Jones arrived as director of music during Covid, after his predecessor was forced out.
Jones found just five boys in the choir. Within a year, he had 18 and the angels were singing.
Then a new Precentor arrived and the bullying began. Jones’s complaints were brushed aside. He had a breakdown and was dismissed without compensation since, at less than two years in the post, he had no statutory rights under employment law.
“The word is indirect,” says Schopenhauer; “music is direct. It speaks from one soul to another.” This quotation illustrates the power of music, its capacity to express what cannot be expressed otherwise. More than perhaps any other language, however, music is subject to interpretation by those who hear it, and in the wrong hands its power can be mobilized toward dangerous ends.
Musicians are thus confronted with a difficult choice: to ignore all nonmusical meanings in their art, or to contribute actively and directly to the conversation—for, as pianist Gabriela Montero says, “music reaches the core of who we are as human beings.”
How does music move and incite, and how is it affected by political and social powers? Is it more than an artform? How has it been diverted to personal ends—for better or worse—over the centuries? What is the scope and extent of its power? Can music change the world? Engaging with these and other questions, this final volume in a three-part documentary series on music, war, and revolution compares the present-day relationships between music and power to those in place during the time of the World Wars.
Check out this documentary to learn more about the ways that music, history, politics, and power have intersected, impacted one another, and changed the world.
From Germany to Venezuela and the Middle East, luminaries of the music world like Iván Fischer, Daniel Barenboim, and Anita Lasker-Wallfisch—one of the last surviving members of the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz, now 97— reflect and share their experiences.
This fascinating documentary is on the classical music site, Medici, and requires a premium subscription to watch. $12.99 monthly or $129 annually with a 7-day free trial
The Clarion Choir, under its Artistic Director Steven Fox, continues their commemoration of Rachmaninoff’s 150 th anniversary at Carnegie Hall this Friday (May 5).
The choir performs Rachmaninoff’s own favorite among all his works, the magnificent Vespers (All Night Vigil). This presentation also incorporates the ancient orthodox chants that inspired the composer.
Clarion Choir and Steven Fox have been acclaimed for their performances of Eastern European choral works: “The Clarion Choir, led by Artistic Director Steven Fox, provided luxuriant and richly hued singing," declared the San Francisco Chronicle. “A revelation,” praised The Wall Street Journal. And The New York Times was effusive: “Vaulting into Spine-Tingling Territory With a Rachmaninoff Rarity…The Clarion Choir’s performance, led by artistic director Steven Fox, was indeed stunning.”
Clarion’s just-released recording of Vespers on the Pentatone label is also receiving high praise, and was recently featured in BBC Music Magazine:
"Fox has lived with the work for over 20 years, gaining an intimate understanding of its ever-changing textures… Fox 'plays' his choir, moulding the 32 singers into a single expressive instrument, attuned to his silkily nuanced dynamics and careful husbanding of climaxes…Lovingly sculpted, the refulgent soundscapes glow." Paul Riley, BBC Music Magazine
Priced for all, remaining tickets start at just $35. Slipped Disc readers can enjoy a 25% discount on all other priced tickets with this discount code: RCH39878.
CLARION CHOIR
Steven Fox, Artistic Director
RACHMANINOFF Vespers (All Night Vigil)
Joel Cohen has watched the orchestra’s stream and has shared this review from the Boston Musical Intelligencer.
…. Andraž Golob, who recently joined the Berlin orchestra as bass clarinetist, was the featured soloist and arranger of the penultimate piece, called Happy Nigun. The young Golob, of Slovenian origin, turns out to be an explosive klezmer clarinetist; his quasi-orgiastic, high-register wails and cries elicited cheers from the near-capacity audience. A favorite klezmer repertory piece, the Odessa Bulgar, arranged and led by Bendix-Balgley, and featuring the characteristic “Bulgarian” rhythmic pattern of 3 plus 3 plus 2 ended the program on a high, jubilant note, and was encored. (Footnote: for the technically challenged, you can hear that bulgarisch beat on the 1939 Benny Goodman recording, “And the Angels Sing,” just before the frelyach trumpet solo).
Jubilant indeed was the event as a whole, life-affirming and even death-defying. The memory of the Jews expelled from the orchestra in 1933, including the concertmaster Szymon Goldberg, and of the once-independent Berlin Philharmonic’s subsequent career, 1933-1945, as the Reichsorchester, the official, public face of Nazi arts policy, is not to be effaced. The film clips of Wilhelm Fürtwangler leading the orchestra in Beethoven and Richard Strauss before the Third Reich higher-ups, with gigantic swastika flags adorning the hall, witnessing the prostitution of great art to a project of absolute evil, will be viewed forever.
And so for some of us, amidst the laughter and rejoicing, came tears. This is, I believe, as it should be….
