Category: music

“Cleveland Orchestra music director Franz Welser-Most will become music director of the Vienna State Opera at the start of the 2010-2011 season, even as he continues his duties in Cleveland.”

There’s concern in UK orchestra circles about an “EU directive that came into force last year cutting noise in the workplace to a daily average of 85 decibels, itself some 5 db higher than the sound of a Boeing 747 landing at Heathrow. No problem to contain in a chocolate factory, but curtains in a concert-hall.”

Dominique Meyer, head of the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris, will replace Ioan Holender as director of Vienna’s Staatsoper. Meyer, 52, has a five-year contract starting in 2010. Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Moest has already consented to be his general music director at the opera company.

“Dr. Drew Mays, an ophthalmologist from Birmingham, Ala., took the $2,000 first prize Sunday evening in the Van Cliburn Foundation’s Fifth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs… While professional piano competitions focus on players under age 30, the Cliburn Amateur has 35 as its minimum age.”

All charges have been dropped (or declined to be pressed) in the now-infamous Boston Pops brawl. “Boston police threw both men out of Symphony Hall but did not arrest them. The incident made national news, and a few days later the police department reversed its decision not to pursue charges and assigned a detective to investigate.” That investigation will now be considered closed.

Many of the great composers of centuries past were well known to have battled depression, suicidal tendencies, and any number of other psychological ailments. But what if they’d had access to modern therapeutic techniques? Would treatment have given their artistic genius even more room to flourish, or would a happier life have stifled their creativity?

“Austrian authorities recovered a Stradivari violin belonging to a top violinist and worth at least $3.4 million after police raided a Vienna house used by six Georgian suspects to stash stolen loot… The Stradivari, along with a Vuillaume violin, were stolen from [Christian] Altenburger’s apartment in May. “

Great artist aren’t necessarily great teachers. But Yefim Bronfman seems to have both roles figured out. “It is commonly said that, the worse the teacher, the more he demonstrates. But this is not necessarily so. Sometimes a quick demonstration is worth a thousand words — and it is definitely part of teaching. To hear Mr. Bronfman play, and talk, was a profound experience (as well as a dazzling one).”

“Judy Drucker, the feisty impresario who founded and built the Concert Association of Florida into the region’s premier presenter of classical music over four decades, was voted out Monday as president by the group’s board of directors. The change was precipitated by the Concert Association’s persistent financial troubles. The nonprofit carried a deficit of $1.5 million as of June 2006, according to its most recent tax return.”

“Lala.com will let users access their iTunes music libraries from any computer, check out the songs stored on their friends’ computers and listen to albums they haven’t purchased as many times as they want — at no charge. And in what the company says is a first, users will be able to download music straight from the Web to their iPods. You pay Lala only if you want to put music you don’t already own on your iPod or if you want to buy a CD — or soon, a digital download.”