Friends are reporting the death of Harold Meltzer, a prolific composer who taught at Syracuse University.
Meltzer suffered a stroke five years ago and was left severely disabled.
His works have been recorded on Albany, Naxos and Bridge.
Gloria Cheng writes: ‘In spite of the debilitating effects of Harold’s stroke in the spring of 2019 (barely 2 weeks after I bid him a farewell on his way to Italy following a sensational guest composer visit to UCLA), he composed up until the end and planned for the future with abiding optimism and good humor. Harold, you always managed to make me laugh, even as you faced so many challenges of your own.’
Russell Platt writes: ‘Harold Meltzer was one of my closest friends for thirty years and I am devastated by his untimely passing. After experiencing a massive stroke five years ago brought on by autoimmune disease, and suffering serious physical disability, he seemed to have plateaued in recent months, and was actively composing and meeting old friends for dinner, thanks to a wheelchair, dedicated physical therapy, and the unstinting support of his wife and family. Harold achieved his mature style about 20 years ago: a mixture of late Stravinsky, the post-minimalism of David Lang and other of his Yale comrades, a brush of Euro-modern sophistication à la Donatoni, and a sensitive and elevated state of wonder that was precious in the very best sense. And because of that, he left several works of the highest quality, including “Brion” (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), “Sinbad” (a hilarious setting of a New Yorker story by Donald Barthelme for piano trio and narrator, which no less than John Shirley-Quirk recorded), “Variations on a Summer Day” (a luminous work for mezzo and ensemble after Wallace Stevens), and two superb song cycles for the tenor Paul Appleby. All of those works have been recorded, and I hope that they will last.’
The Houston Symphony today upgraded its Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth S. Condic to Interim Executive Director. The move takes effect in October when John Mangum leaves to run the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
The flamboyant Richard LLugner who drew tabloid attention to the fusty Vienna Opera Ball by paying millions to Kardashian-type celebs to turn out as his date, has pranced his final waltz.
A construction billionaire, Lugner married six times, lastly in June to a glamour model.
Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer tweeted: ‘Richard Lugner was a successful entrepreneur and a dazzling personality. An Austrian original who never lost his way.’
The winner of the Cleveland International Piano Competition is Zijian Wei, 25, from China.
Two Americans came second and third.
You can watch the final round on youtube.
The Australian-British pianist Jayson Gillham has been sanctioned by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra after making remarks from the stage that were offensive to Israelis and to Jews. Gillham, 37, had inserted a piece that was dedicated to ‘Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza’. He is associated with multiple online propagandists on the pro-Hamas side of the conflict..
The Melbourne Symphony has issued this letter to subscribers:
During Jayson Gillham’s performance yesterday (Sunday 11 August) Mr Gillham made a series of introductory remarks prior to giving the world premiere of the Conor D’Netto piece Witness, a late addition to the advertised programme.
Witness was accepted for performance at the request of Mr Gillham on the basis that it was a short meditative piece. Mr Gillham made his personal remarks without seeking the MSO’s approval or sanction. They were an intrusion of personal political views on what should have been a morning focused on a program of works for solo piano.
The MSO does not condone the use of our stage as a platform for expressing personal views. Mr Gillham will not be performing in the advertised concert with the MSO this Thursday night at Melbourne Town Hall. Customers will be advised of this change to Thursday’s program as soon as possible.
The MSO was at no point made aware of the content of the remarks Mr Gillham was intending to make. They were made completely without authority.
The MSO understands that his remarks have caused offence and distress and offers a sincere apology. It has been a priority for us to address this difficult situation today.
The MSO’s values are Respectful, Collaborative, Innovative and Diverse and they are at the heart of what we do and how we act. They guided why we accepted the work to be performed, and why we’ve acted as a result of the unauthorised statements. Music brings people together and that is why one of our guiding principles is “We unite our individual strengths and celebrate our unifying love of music, fostering understanding and belonging”. In standing for humanity and peace we seek for every one of our performances to be a welcome and safe place for all” Yours in music, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Slippedisc has reached out for comment to Gillham, who is represented by a Polish boutique agency. UPDATE: Gillham issues clarity statement.
Here’s a further sample of Gillham’s naive public thinking:
The choreographer Doris Uhlich has been awarded this year’s state price for dancing naked in January while covering herself in powder in th former imperial resort of Bad Ischl.
Must be something original in the concept that we’re missing.
When the Swiss French tenor Benjamin Bernheim sang the Hymn to Apollo at the Paris Olympics closing show he had been given a weekend leave of absence by the Salzburg Festival.
By rights he should have been singing in Tales of Hoffmann on Satursday night.
His Salzburg jump-in was Léo Vermot Desroches.
Bolshoi goers have been complaining on Russian social media about huge price increases at the Bolshoi since Valery Gergiev was granted supreme power last year by Vladimir Putin.
A good seat in the stalls has shot up from 15,000 rubles (US$166) to 50,000 ($550). The cheapest unsighted seat is now 8,000 rubles ($88) instead of 3,000 ($33).
The Divertimento Symphony Orchestra was conducted at the Olympics closing ceremony by its founder Zahia Ziouani.
She’s French-Algerian, born in Paris in 1978, twin sister of the cellist Fettouma Ziouani.
Benjamin Bernheim sang Fauré’s Hymn to Apollo with a flying piano accompanist.
In her Lebrecht Interview on BBC Radio 3, Lise Davidsen talked about turning to the mental coach of the Norwegian Olympic team for guidance about motivation and managing her career. ‘I thought, this isn’t for me, this is amazing but I don’t know how to do this any more. She was surprised to hear that I don’t have an off-season. You prepare for the Olympics and then you have a long time off. She talks about swimming in, and swimming out…. how do you get your head out of it. There are things that are way more important than what I do.’
There is an extrordinary candour and humility in Lise’s approach to her art and her profession. Listen here.
The death has been confirmed of Steve Davislim, an Australian tenor of Chinese and Irish origin who lived mostly in Vienna.
Davislim spent the 1990s at the Zurich Opera, limelighting as tenor soloist in David Zinman’s garlanded recording of Beethoven’s 9th. He recorded Mozart with Thielemann, Bach with John Eliot Gardiner and Richard Strauss with Simone Young. Opera roles took him to the Salzburg Festival, Hamburg Opera, Berlin Staatsoper and various stages in Vienna, notably the Volksoper.
No cause of death has been made known officially, but friends report he was suffering from a prolonged illness.
The soprano Laura Aikin writes: ‘the opera community has lost a truly wonderful, kind colleague.’
Søren Schuhmacher writes: ‘Steve, amongst all the colleagues you were one of the nicest and most special ones… Loved you!’ Sunhae Im says: ‘Oh dear Steve!!! It’s so hard to believe… ‘
His Australian management writes: It is with great sadness that we mark the passing of our dear friend and great artist Steve Davislim. Steve was a man of great humanity and keen intellect who possessed a voice of rare beauty and facility. One of Australia’s most successful international artists, Steve was heard around the globe on the stages of the world’s most prestigious opera houses and with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors for over three decades. We are deeply grateful to Simone Young and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, to Richard Mills and Elizabeth Hill-Cooper and Victorian Opera, to Allanah Dopson and the Tasmanian Chamber Music Festival, and to Stefan Cassomenos and the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival for having given us the opportunity to hear him again very recently. A fine artist taken from us too soon but one whose performances we treasure and whose many recordings we will continue to cherish.
Toronto psychologist Chris Sunfield has given up his day job to reinvent himself as an indie artist. He had something totell you about Anton Bruckner, whose bicentenary falls on September 4.
