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On April 7 & 8, 8 p.m. ET both nights, you can watch the live stream of the American Pianists Awards from Indianapolis. Five finalists will be performing along with the Indianapolis Symphony. Winner(s) will receive a cash prize and two years of career advancement.
You can watch the events here.
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The New York Times is reporting that music sales were up in 2016 after years of decline. Most of the increase came from fees from streaming services.
No classical-specific information was in the article, which can be read here.
The New York Philharmonic has just announced that Deborah Borda will become the new President and CEO of the organization beginning in September. She filled that post with the orchestra in the 1990s, and has been President and CEO of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2000. Her return to the orchestra will be concurrent with the arrival of new Music Director Jaap van Zweden.
More can be found on the New York Philharmonic web site here. Roman Totenberg was an internationally acclaimed violinist who toured with Artur Rubinstein and played with numerous major orchestras. He was also on the faculty at Boston University--and was the father of Nina Totenberg of NPR fame.
Totenberg played for many years on a Stradivarius which was stolen in 1980 and never recovered--until recently. The violin is now back in the possession of the family, and was played publicly for the first time since being stolen in a private event Monday night in Washington. The Washington Post has more here. The Fresno (CA) Grand Opera has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and cancelled future performances. In addition, the former director and assistant director have filed suit against the company for defamation and emotional distress.
Read more about the lawsuit here. The story about the bankruptcy can be found here. Musical America is reporting that Jonas Kaufmann has made demands on the Metropolitan Opera that would restrict his availability for rehearsals and performances--demands that were unacceptable to the company. As a result he was replaced in a recent production of Tosca.
More on the story here. (from a press release)
The National Philharmonic’s 2016-2017 season at The Music Center at Strathmore continues with Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. The concert, conducted by Philharmonic Music Director and Conductor Piotr Gajewski, will also feature celebrated Grammy award winner cellist Zuill Bailey performing Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, variations on themes of Jewish origin, and Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo, the final work of this composer’s Jewish Cycle. The concert is part of Gajewski’s initiative titled, “Exploring Jewish Identity through Music.” Inspired by a visit to an art exhibition, Mussorgsky wrote Pictures at an Exhibition in 10 pieces, with each movement representing one of the drawings or artworks on display. Also an artistic exhibition in itself, Bailey’s cello, “Cello Bailey,” was made more than 300 years ago by the great Venetian cello maker Matteo Gofriller. Gajewski was born and raised in Warsaw. The son of a Holocaust survivor, Gajewski’s family emigrated from Poland in 1969. “Exploring Jewish Identity through Music” also celebrates the many National Philharmonic musicians who are Jewish. In 2018 the orchestra will recognize American composer Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday. “Exploring Jewish Identity through Music” celebrates music based on Jewish themes such as Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei. Bruch (1838-1920) was a famous German Romantic composer and violinist. Kol Nidre, written in 1881, is a virtuoso piece written for the cello. Traditionally, the Kol Nidre is a prayer sung in Jewish synagogues at the start of Yom Kippur. The performance is on Saturday, April 22, at 8 p.m., and on Sunday, April 23, at 3 p.m. |
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