Another passing, this one of an enterprising violinist and festival impressario. Allan Kozinn at the NY Times has the details.
Category Archives: Classical Music News
In Which the New York Times catches up with me
Allan Kozinn’s review of the fine Talea Ensemble’s Monday evening all-Boulez program in today’s Times is well worth a look, but I couldn’t help but chuckle when I read the headline. I was saying the same thing a decade ago.
Hughes Cuénod, 1902-2010
He lived to the amazing age of 108 — and made his critically-acclaimed MET debut when he was 85! He was an early music revivalist whose repertoire also included songs by Noel Coward. Read Margalit Fox’s obituary from the New York Times. UPDATE: The post on Cuenod at Classical Iconoclast will bring a smile — guaranteed!
Sunday Arts and Leisure: Passings, Panic, and Puccini
Here’s a heads-up to three Sunday reads from the New York Times: Continue reading Sunday Arts and Leisure: Passings, Panic, and Puccini
Peter Hofmann, 1944-2010
Tenor Peter Hofmann started his musical career as a rock singer, and switched to opera, showing enough talent to be one of Bayreuth’s busiest heldentenors during the late 1970s and 1980s and make 29 appearances at the Metropolitan Opera. He even looked like both Siegfried and the frontman in a heavy metal hair band. When his voice began to show some strain in the late 1980s, he left opera and became the German-speaking world’s definitive Phantom of the Opera, bringing gravitas, electricity, and a strongly expressive voice to the title character in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s cheesy musical. Margalit Fox has a detailed obituary at nytimes.com.
Turmoil in Detroit Having Nothing to Do with the Auto Industry
Go read the Guardian‘s Ed Pilkington on the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s continuing strike.
American piano company CEO pleads guilty to smuggling ivory into US
Pascal Vieillard, CEO of Atlanta-based A-440 Pianos Inc., has entered a guilty plea after having been charged with violating the Lacey Act by smuggling elephant ivory, an internationally protected commodity, into the US. The ivory was concealed in (not so carefully) hidden compartments inside furniture and supply crates. Atlanta Business Chronicle has the details.
Henryk Górecki, 1933-2010
I first became familiar with his music via the Erato LP cited in Allan Kozinn’s NY Times obit.
LA Phil Jumps on Theatercast Bandwagon
The NY Times’ ever-vigilant Daniel Wakin has the details. I can’t see the proliferation of theatercasting as anything but a good thing, despite the fact that multimiking gives you nothing resembling the acoustical experience of the “real thing”. On the other hand, if the engineering is half as good as the “forest of mikes” approach used for the video release of Dudamel’s debut as LA Phil music director on DG — which sounded like an old Decca Phase Four session done to astonishingly good effect — I may hav elittle to complain about.
Rudolf Barshai, 1924-2010
The NY Times has not yet posted an obituary for violist and conductor Rudolf Barshai, who died early last week. There are articles on AOL, the Telegraph (London), and Google via Agence-France Presse. And you shouldn’t miss the article in The Globe and Mail (hat tip: Sybille Werner). Barshai had a huge repertoire as both soloist and conductor, and his recordings of the complete Shostakovich symphonies with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln that were released on Brilliant Classics remain one of the best CD bargains ever, particularly for the late symphonies.
UPDATE: Via Anne Ozorio comes this link to Classical Iconoclast on Barshai’s passing.
UPDATE, 11/10/10: NY Times finally posts their Barshai obit. There’s also a fine tribute by David Nice (along with some streaming music) and commentary on a particularly uplifting recording made by Barshai with a terrific youth orchestra at Classical Iconoclast.