Synaphaï: Gene Gaudette's Blog

Legendary Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal trumpet Adolph Herseth has died at age 91.

Seemingly indefatigable British maestro Sir Colin Davis has died at age 85.

UPDATE: Make that three -- pianist and new music champion David Burge has died at 83.

Just crossed the AP wire.

I've introduced myself to many celebrated musicians. Van was the first such person to step over and introduce himself to me -- while I was taking a brief break in the coffee nook at BMG Classics. We chewed the fat for a few minutes, particularly about the greatly underrated piano music of Szymanowski. The media may have presented an image of Cliburn as shy, but I can vouch for that fact that he was gregarious company whose passion for music as both a player and listener was clear with every word.

I have a lot of fun and funny memories of interacting with musicians, but meeting Cliburn remains the most vivid more than two decades later.

Mostly this.

The Trib has the story. And yes, this is an even bigger deal than the article suggests; can the AFM push back against what looks more and more like a coordinated campaign by management bureaucracies across the the nation to nickel and dime and dollar and G-note musicians?

The fourth annual New York Chamber Music Festival opened today, honoring the centenary of John Cage.

I managed to break a way from the office to take in one of Cage's unique text-based pieces, "Lecture on the Weather" -- a setting of selected writings by Henry Thoreau, focusing primarily on issues of governance and democracy.

In case you're wondering what I've been up to, read this.