The Belgian cellist Camille Thomas has left Liu Kotow Management in Hannover, which she joined five years ago.
Thomas, 35, is now with Eleanor Ripman and Keynote Artists in London.
She has a DG record contract.
Message from the Australian Jewish Association in response to the MSO’s apology to the anti-Israel activist pianist Jayson Gillham:
If the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra wants to engage in anti-Israel activism, why on earth would Jewish donors continue to support them?
Jewish attendees don’t want to be accosted by anti-Israel activists when attending events.
If the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra caves to far-left extremism and decides to work with this anti-Israel agitator after what happened, many self-respecting Jews will not want to be associated with them.
A quick glance at their donor list shows just how dependent they are on the generosity of the Jewish community.
Message from Florian Peelman, professor at the Hanns Eisler Academy in Berlin:
I was denied boarding today on a Brussels Airlines flight from Brussels to Bilbao due to my viola case exceeding the baggage allowance measurements. Their website says violins are allowed, and I have flown many times with them before without problems.
I am on my way to teach a masterclass in Vitoria-Gastiez.
It was never like this on Sabena.
Dear Alma,
A summer festival that I have been a part of for a number of years has had a change in artistic leadership. I was a loyal performer, and was surprised that I was not invited back this summer. No note or “thank you for your years of service”. I just received a last minute request to replace a sick player. My kids grew up spending every summer here, and now is like it never happened. I am conflicted on accepting. I could use the money, but I feel mistreated.
Taken for granted
Dear Taken for granted,
I hear your struggle. A beloved summer musical experience was abruptly stopped, affecting your pocketbook as well as your ego.
Unfortunately, many summer opportunities do not come with a long-term contract, leaving musicians wondering year to year if they will be re-invited. New management more often than not results in a drastic turnover of artists and office staff. When a new director comes in, they take the opportunity to offer work to friends and colleagues, to pay back favors or try to climb the ladder by offering juicy, high-profile opportunities. The loyal members are pushed to the side, ignored, and often not even contacted with a “thank you but we are going a new direction” note.
Taken for granted, do you need the money, or miss the musical fulfillment or vacation location? If you are happy this year not being a part of the festival, I say “good riddance”. But if you need the work, or crave the opportunity for any other reason, accepting the offer gives you a chance to introduce yourself to the new management and a second chance to have this special summer experience be a part of your life once again.
As musicians, we often have to swallow a bitter pill – suppressing our egos, making nice to people who have treated us without respect. Stay true to yourself, be proud of your work and service, and if you feel like it, take advantage of their offer and have one last trip where you can visit your favorite places and spend time with your cherished memories.
Questions for Alma? Please put them in the comments section or send to DearAlmaQuery@gmail.com
Il viaggio a Reims was Rossini’s last Italian opera and the first he wrote in France for its Paris premiere in 1825 as part of the festivities for the coronation of Charles X. Conceived for the greatest voices of the time, the opera requires an exceptional cast: three prima donna sopranos, an alto, two tenors, and four baritones and basses have leading roles. For Rossini Opera Festival’s Accademia in Pesaro, Il viaggio a Reims has become an annual summer showcase for the next generation of bel canto singers – and one loyally followed live by audiences on OperaVision. Founded by the conductor Alberto Zedda, the Accademia Rossiniana has an international reputation for training young Rossini voices. One former student, Juan Diego Flórez, is not only one of the world’s leading tenors but the artistic director of the Rossini Opera Festival itself. Emilio Sagi’s production provides a beautiful platform on which young artists can shine. Broadcast live by Slippedisc courtesy of OperaVision.
The Plot: at the Inn of the Golden Lily, the most illustrious figures in Europe converge to celebrate a royal French coronation. But between lost luggage, missing horses, and some amorous antics, nothing will happen as planned.
Live on 16th August 2024 at 11.00 CET / 10.00 London / 5.00 New York
One woman has created more opera companies in Britain than anyone since Georg Frideric Handel.
Her name is Wasfi Kani and the white male establishment has done everything to put her down.
In our conversation this Saturday night, Wasfi talks about being ‘a small brown woman’ who grew up with five siblings in a one-room flat after her family fled anti-Moslem massacres in Delhi.
Wasfi made it to Oxford, went to work in a lucrative industry and then gave it all up to make opera – in prisons, in mansions and now in a country estate.
Listen here. Streaming from Saturday at 10pm.
pictured: Wasfi (front left) with her family outside the Regents Park Mosque.
The press release below reports the rare capitulation of a professional symphony orchestra to the political bias of a solo pianist.
It would be helpful if the MSO were to amplify the ‘safety concerns’ that prompted the concert cancellation and its grovelling apology to the propagandist Jayson Gillham.
Melbourne, 15 August, 2024
Today, the Melbourne Symphony released the following statement:
BEGINS
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will not perform at Melbourne Town Hall tonight (Thursday August 15) due to safety concerns. The MSO yesterday sought independent security advice considering events that have occurred since last Sunday’s concert with Jayson Gillham. In light of this advice, the MSO Board and management had no option but to cancel the concert. We apologise to those who were planning to attend.
The MSO acknowledges that an error was made in asking Jayson Gillham to step back from his performance on Thursday 15 August. We have been engaging constructively with Jayson and his management and are seeking to reschedule the concert. While the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra maintains that a concert platform is not an appropriate stage for political comment, we acknowledge Jayson’s concerns for those in the Middle East and elsewhere.
We recognise the strength of feelings of all parties on this matter and particularly acknowledge the dedication and commitment demonstrated by all our musicians and staff this week.
ENDS
In response, Jayson Gillham said: “I accept the MSO’s apology. I hold my relationship with the MSO, its players and audience with the highest regard. And look forward to our continued working relationship in years to come.”
Blackbeats: Cubism Reimagined
This is a fascinating illustrated lecture from the Met Museum, given by Richard J. Powell, Professor of Art and Art History at Duke University as he rethinks the art of Cubism through the historical and aesthetic lens of African American art.
Artists such as Dudley Murphy, Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence, Mickalene Thomas, and Nina Chanel Abney use angular and fractured forms that resonate with the cultural effects of ragtime, jazz, hip-hop, and other Black performing arts traditions.
They plumb Cubism’s strategies and theoretical formations, weighing the value of universal signs and imaging systems and probing art’s contested identities.Read more
PR release:
Jalimpa, a singer-songwriter raised on Suo-Oshima Island, Japan, has been certified by Guinness World Records™ as the “Youngest Solo Artist to Release an Album” for her debut album “Nonsense Makes Sense”, which she released at the age of 2 years and 358 days.
Tweet by composer Samuel Andreyev:
A composer friend attended a programming meeting in Vancouver during which the possibility of one of his works being played was raised.
‘Sorry,’ they said, ‘we’re only doing DEI pieces’.
‘OK, but you do realise I’m gay, right’? Said my friend.
‘That doesn’t count,’ came the reply.
Another friend, a distinguished conductor living in Toronto, attended a similar meeting. He noticed a huge pile of scores going straight into the bin.
‘Why aren’t we looking at those?’ Asked my friend.
‘Those are the non-DEI submissions’
I’m hearing a lot of people saying ‘yeah it sucks but if you don’t go along with it you won’t get your funding renewed’, and ‘we don’t really think this piece is so good but we’re doing it because DEI’.
What I’m not hearing much of is ‘we’re doing this piece because it’s one of the strongest new works we’ve seen’, or, ‘here’s an important talent that we want to showcase’.
It would perhaps be one thing if people were doing this because they genuinely thought it was the right thing to do. But they don’t. They are bullied into it and resent having to participate. Everyone privately acknowledges that this is happening. Who is it helping?
DEI = Diversity, equity and inclusion
Lindsay McMurdo, a critic at the Edinburgh Festival, hits the elusive nail bang on the head:
And therein lies both a small part of the appeal and a large part of the problem, at least to this reviewer. At 37 (way too old now to be riding the prodigy bandwagon) Wang’s complete technical mastery is beyond question, and her market positioning unassailable. However, her motivation seems unclear. What does she actually want to do with all this talent? To dazzle and impress? Or to genuinely move and enlighten? On the evidence of Monday’s performance, it’s the former. But there was plenty of evidence that if she just pulled back slightly and dared to reveal a bit more of herself, she could achieve the latter. And that would be a wonderful thing to behold.
The Cleveland Orchestra has received a $5 million gift from the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation in support of the Kelvin Smith Family Chair held by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst.
Welser-Möst will step down when his contract ends in June 2027. At that time, he will become the longest-serving musical leader in the ensemble’s history.