Cleveland Orchestra music director Franz Welser-Möst has disengaged himself from a Zurich Opera production of Die Fledermaus, citing artistic differences with the opera’s director. What could Welser-Möst be objecting to in the staging? Well, the vampires, for a start…
Author: sbergman
Kennedy Not Welcome At Classical Brits
“Maverick violinist Nigel Kennedy says he has been ‘prevented from performing’ at the Classical Brit awards… Organisers confirmed that ‘artistic differences’ with Kennedy had ‘proved insurmountable’, while the star’s manager said he was ‘dumbfounded’.”
Modernist Architect Dies At 92
“Victor F. Christ-Janer, a member of a group of influential architects who built Modernist homes and offices in New Canaan, Conn., died on March 24 at the home he designed for himself there. He was 92.”
Ross: NY Better Off Without Muti
Alex Ross says that there’s no reason for the New York Phil to be lamenting the loss of Riccardo Muti to Chicago. “After two music directors of the elder-statesman type, it was time for a younger leader, one alert to the challenges and opportunities of presenting classical music in modern America… [Alan] Gilbert now has more room to make his mark, without the shadow of a jet-set celebrity conductor hanging over him.”
Good Numbers For Carnegie Int’l
Pittsburgh’s Carnegie International art festival is booming, “as visitors packed parties, filled galleries, and plumped the bottom line of cafes and gift shops. The Carnegie drew 1,377 to its Friday night gala, 933 for the Strolling Dinner with 444 more joining the festivities during the Late Night Event… The weekend museum attendance [was] 2,677.”
Opera And Canadian Hip Hop, Together At Last
“If you had to pick a pair of musical genres furthest apart from each other, opera and hip hop would be a fairly safe bet… Nonetheless, these star-crossed genres are coming together in a performance called The Hip Hopera, a new collaboration by the Canadian Opera Company and the Royal Conservatory of Music.”
Book Banning Down, But Gay Penguins Still Unpopular
“A children’s story about a family of penguins with two fathers once again tops the list of library books the American public objects to the most… Overall, the number of reported library challenges dropped from 546 in 2006 to 420 last year, well below the mid-1990s, when complaints topped 750.”
NY Musicians Lament Loss Of Muti To Chicago
Not everyone is happy about the Chicago Symphony’s appointment of Riccardo Muti as music director – the New York Philharmonic, for instance. “I felt there was a relationship here, and he had committed to us,” said Irene Breslau, a Philharmonic violist. “All of a sudden, it’s like somebody going out with your best friend and marrying them.”
Happy Ending To Lost Strad Story
In April, Philippe Quint became one of the recent mob of violinists to leave his invaluable fiddle behind in public – in this case, in a New York cab. Quint got his instrument back when the alert cabbie turned it in, and in gratitude, Quint spent part of a day this week playing a private concert for the cabbies at the Newark Airport.
Ups And Downs At Christie’s
“Fears that the Christie’s sale of Impressionist and modern art would usher in a market meltdown were assuaged early Tuesday evening when everything from a Monet landscape to a monumental sculpture by Rodin brought record prices. But the sale also had its bumps, as 14 out of 58 works failed to sell because they were considered either too expensive or second-rate examples by first-rate artists.”