The Latvian Ainars Rubikis signed on last week as chief conductor of the Tyrolean Symphony Orchestra Innsbruck, Austria.
They are not pleased about that in Kassel, Germany, where Rubikis was recently appointed General Music Director of the Staatstheater, starting next summer.
Kassel officials say that in Innsbruck he will only ‘conduct a few concerts’.
Insiders, though, say there is trouble ahead. Rubikis was not the musicians’ choice in Kassel. They voted 91.5 percent in favour of the British conductor Keren Hasan. The selection committee split 3-3 between the two conductors and the casting vote was left to Timon Gremmels, Hesse’s Minister of Art and Culture.
Comparisons in music are unfair. An ephemeral art cannot be measured and pinned, like a butterfly, to the page without risking mortal damage. Nevertheless, human beings possess critical faculties and spend much of their lives assessing whether A is preferable to B. Not necessarily better, just more apt to present circumstances.
I offer these caveats because I have been listening to Dvorak orchestral works from very different sources…
I notice that the English National Ballet is re-mounting Akram Khan’s version of Giselle in London 18-28 September at Sadlers Wells. If you can’t get to the Sadlers Wells Theatre, or even if you can, you might enjoy watching it online on this tv subscription video, sensitively directed by former ballet dancer Ross MacGibbon.
In 2018 Akram Khan, the renowned contemporary choreographer, took the greatest of all romantic ballets and put his own stamp on this story of love, betrayal and redemption with Tamara Rojo as Giselle, James Streeter as Albrecht and Jeffrey Cirio as Hilarion.
Hailed as a modern masterpiece, this stunning version by the English National Ballet includes sets and costumes by designer Tim Yip, and an adaptation of Adolphe Adam’s original score created by composer Vincenzo Lamagna. Lighting, a big part of this production, is by Mark Henderson.
Interestingly, the English National Ballet is planning a UK tour in October with performances in Manchester, Liverpool and London, which will include this Giselle and also the traditional version by Mary Skeaping so that ballet audiences, especially those less familiar with this most famous of dance dramas, can compare the two.
A completely unexpected delight from French contemporary composer Karol Beffa.
Press release: After considerable thought, Maestro Ankush Kumar Bahl has decided that the 2024/25 concert season will be his final season as Music Director of the Omaha Symphony. He will lead the 24/25 season as planned and will serve as Artistic Partner for the Omaha Symphony in 2025/26 as the orchestra searches for new artistic leadership. “While my time in Omaha has been incredibly rewarding, both artistically and personally, I have decided to step down as Music Director of the Omaha Symphony at the end of this 2024/25 season. I will miss my friends in the orchestra, the administration, and the community immensely, but this decision will allow me to be more present with my family in Washington DC, as my children go through a crucial time in their schooling and development. However, I am very excited to continue our musical relationship and return to Omaha with the title of Artistic Partner for the 2025/26 season.” – Ankush Bahl Jennifer Boomgaarden Daoud, President & CEO of the Omaha Symphony, expressed gratitude for all that Maestro Bahl has accomplished during his tenure: “Joining us in the Omaha Symphony’s 100th year, Maestro Bahl has led us boldly into our second century! In addition to creating exciting and innovative concert experiences, recruiting 13 new musicians, establishing the popular post-concert After Hours series, introducing internationally renowned guest artists and leading the orchestra in free outdoor concerts for tens of thousands of people in our community, Maestro Bahl has conducted five World Premiere compositions in Omaha – including Andy Akiho’s Sculptures, with a live recording that went on to earn three GRAMMY nominations.
HarrisonParrott are crowing that they have signed the huge-selling Japanese film composer Joe Hisaishi for global management.
Hisaishi was previously with Lang Lang’s manager Jean-Jacques Cesbron.
Quite a coup.
Maryland Opera has promoted Jason Buckwalter to General Director. He has worked for the company for six years.
From the press release: Jason also works as the Building Administrator at the Roland Park Community Center in North Baltimore and as a Kung Fu teacher at Goh’s Kung Fu.
We hear that DG have agreed to record all orchestra works and concertos by Arnold Schoenberg with the Danish National Orchestra, conducted by Fabio Luisi.
First up: Verklärte Nacht.
Fabio says: Arnold Schoenberg is one of the most profoundly original artists in the history of music. His music is both historically crucial, deeply personal and yet universal. Throughout his life, Schoenberg was on a continuous journey, both literally, personally and figuratively. In an artistic and intellectual sense, he moved from Brahmsian and Wagnerian ideals towards recognizing the limits of tonality, inspired by the artistic movements of his time (as well as the earliest film music). Only by seeing him as an artist and a human in constant motion can we understand his unique development, including his late return to the world of tonality, which I believe was never interrupted after all. I am incredibly pleased to embark on Schoenberg 150 with Deutsche Grammophon and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. This important recording cycle has been a dream for many years, unveiling the beauty and the importance of Schoenberg’s music to a greater audience.
Yuja Wang coaxing and thrashing the life out of piano music from Bach to Berio for more than an hour non-stop in a magical photographic box flitted about with the inside of David Hockney’s exquisite imagination was one of the most exciting artistic experiences – musical or visual – I’ve had in a long time.
Each piece timed and coloured to match his mood, each visual fantasy completely different, whether a Bach Cantata illustrated by an Yves Klein-blue stained-glass church window (the beauty and reverence utterly poleaxed me); Rachmaninoff setting off the vastness of the Grand Canyon; or Prokofiev illuminating driving rain and the energy of nature renewing itself.
And then there were the pieces where Yuja herself was the image, her face or hands filling the entire wall, glancing up self-consciously at first, but by the end triumphant and relieved (her teddy-horse hidden in the piano for emotional support). I have never seen the sheer effort and energy of music performance captured so viscerally – in one Busby Berkeley style section, filming her fingers from above, double vision, you could barely see her fingers for blur.
I’m fairly cynical about immersive art shows that cash in on dead painters but when the artist is Hockney, who even at the age of 87 is more curious and innovative than most creators, and when he is as involved as much as I presume he was – he was in the audience – I think it’s an absolute game changer for multimedia projects. They’ve set the bar very high. I was standing in the gallery for £20, which was fine. I’m very glad I went, and very glad that I live in a world that has Hockney in it.
Conductor James Gaffigan got a couple of surprises while rehearsing Mozart’s opera in Edinburgh.
I have been married for many years and have college-aged children. We have been members of the same orchestra for nearly this whole time. One year ago, he was diagnosed with a slow-moving but terminal disease, which has very few symptoms so far. We have kept this information between the two of us, not even sharing it with our kids.
After the diagnosis, he began to search out young women in the orchestra and had a series of affairs. He presented me with divorce papers last week, which I signed. I happen to know he has already asked a much younger member of the orchestra to marry him and she has accepted. Of course I am hurt, but secretly relieved to be rid of someone so callous and frankly, to not have the burden of taking care of him for the last 10 years of his life.
My question – do I have an obligation to let this young woman know about his diagnosis? I do feel for her – she is young and inexperienced, and this will take over her entire life. If I were to tell her, how would I go about that?
Sincerely,
Getting Played
Dear Getting Played,
Well, good for you for signing that divorce paper. I hope you got everything you wanted in the settlement and more. Terminal diagnosis affects relationships in surprising ways, and it seems as if your ex-husband views it as a final “hurrah”. Some exciting bedroom romps, ta-ta to my wife of ** years, the possibility of starting a new family, and finding a young clueless person to take care of him as he slowly passes into the next realm.
How painful this must be for you, for your kids, and ultimately for his new spouse. In my opinion, you have no obligation towards this new fiancé. It may be the best thing, emotionally, for you to truly divorce yourself from this situation, turning a blind eye to everything that happens from now on concerning this manipulative man. But, in some ways, wouldn’t it be just the right cure for your own mental health to stick that knife into his back, quickening his demise, and letting him feel a little of the pain he has inflicted on you?
If you do feel like finding a way to protect this fiancé (and of course it is possible that she already knows, although unlikely), make sure you are very discreet. Do not let on to him that anything is amiss. One way you could let her know is by leaving an anonymous note in her mailbox, printed from a printer not at your home. A very simple note. “Gary has been diagnosed with a terminal illness” or something along those lines. I would not speak to her or anyone else about this diagnosis.
But the most important thing here, Getting Played, is that you have not gotten played. You are out of a relationship where the person treated you with no respect as soon as their own situation changed. You are free to start a new life. Take that, and run with it.
Questions for Alma? Please put them in the comments section or send to DearAlmaQuery@gmail.com
The founder of Boston Baroque, Martin Pearlman, has decided this will be his last season in charge.
He says: ‘When Boston Baroque started 50-plus years ago, it was at a time when there were no period-instrument orchestras in North America. We started with eight players and no staff. Today, we have an amazing ensemble with a wonderful organization behind it. Working with the musicians, guest soloists, staff and Board over the years, and getting to know our wonderful patrons and donors, has been one of the great privileges of my life. I look forward to the coming season, and to what the future holds for Boston Baroque.’
Pearlman cited a complete Monteverdi opera cycle as the highlight of his half-century.
