August 9, 2013   |
| | | Thought of the Day | "It is better to be young in your failures than old in your successes." --Flannery O'Connor |
| Quote of the Week | | "There is no prejudice that the work of art does not finally overcome." --Andre Gide |
| | Musical America Launches NEW Job Board |  JOB SEEKERS: From instrumentalists to executive directors and administrators, search over 4,000 jobs on MusicalAmerica.com.
Post resumes, create alerts, get hired! EMPLOYERS: Post your jobs for reasonable rates. Special discount packages available. Post a job, find the perfect hire! Visit Job Board |
Met Responds to Gay Rights Petition |  The Met Opera has issued a statement in response to the Change.org petition urging it to dedicate its opening night production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin to gay rights. The petitioners are angry that the evening's conductor, Valery Gergiev [pictured, right], is good pals with Vladimir Putin [left], as is, allegedly, the soprano, Anna Netrebko. Putin, it will be recalled, in June banned "non-traditional relationships propaganda." As of this writing, the petition had over 1500 signatures. The Met's response: "The Met is proud of its history as a creative base for LGBT singers, conductors, directors, designers, and choreographers. We also stand behind all of our artists, regardless of whether or not they wish to publicly express their personal political opinions. As an institution, the Met deplores the suppression of equal rights here or abroad. But since our mission is artistic, it is not appropriate for our performances to be used by us for political purposes, no matter how noble or right the cause."
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| | | | Back to the Alps for the Verbier Festival 2013 |
 | | Menahem Pressler, pianist |
The legendary pianist Menahem Pressler is now 89 years young.He said to me, "When I was asked by a German magazine, 'Would you tell us how a pianist at the Biblical age feels, 'I was stunned. But then I thought about it and I said, "I tell you, when I play the piano I don't feel older than 50. When I teach, I don't feel older than 40. But when I go up the stairs, I feel my age." Busier than he's ever been, he's relishing his golden years. Fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939 and emigrating to Palestine, his subsequent career and accomplishments are staggering. See All of Eugenia Zukerman's Videos |
Bolshoi Case Takes a New Turn | Something strange has emerged in the case against Bolshoi dancer Pavel Dmitrichenko, the accused and - until yesterday--confessed orchestrator of the acid attack on company Artistic Director Sergei Filin last January. At a court hearing yesterday in Moscow, Dmitrichenko stated, "I did indeed agree with [co-accused] Yuri Zarutsky, who proposed hitting Filin. I now understand that was absolutely wrong. I could not imagine what this man was capable of." However, he continued, he neither ordered Zarutsky nor paid him to carry out the attack. This is a rather different story from the one captured on a Dec. 29 police video, in which he says flatly, "I organized that attack but not to the extent that it occurred." Zarutsky, meanwhile has accused detectives of fabricating the case against Dmitrichenko.
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| James Conlon Joins Classical Sick Bay |  The summer of 2013 is developing into a bad case of the infirmary blues for classical musicians. In July, Marin Alsop injured her wrist and so had to stop conducting; Andris Nelsons canceled his Tanglewood engagement due to a concussion; in August, Evgeny Kissin was forced to cancel performances due to the return of a problem with his finger; on Monday, Pierre Boulez withdrew from conducting at Verbier after breaking his shoulder; on Tuesday, Deborah Warner withdrew from directing Eugene Onegin at the Met due to the need for unexpected surgery; Thursday, although hardly infirmary material, Elina Garanca withdrew from the entire 2013-14 Met season due to pregnancy. And on Wednesday, James Conlon was forced to cancel upcoming conducting dates at the Ravinia Festival and La Jolla Music Society to undergo surgery for diverticulitis. After about a month of recuperation, a full recovery is anticipated. Let's hope the same holds true for all. |
Wendy White Sues the Met Opera |  Mezzo-soprano Wendy White, Metropolitan Opera mainstay, is suing the company for damages, after falling eight feet from a platform in a Dec. 2011 performance of Faust. Apparently the physical aftereffects have had an impact on her ability to sing properly or stand for any period of time. "She has capitulated to the reality that she's permanently injured and won't get better," White's lawyer, Martin W. Edelman, told The New York Daily News. White, 60, made her debut at the Met as Flora in La Traviata in 1989 and has since appeared there in over 500 performances. Edelman says she waited to sue because she hoped physical therapy would improve her condition. Unfortunately, it has not. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
| Decca Goes After the Doggie Market |  Max Hole, chairman and CEO of Universal Music International, has decided that the classical division, including Decca and Deutsche Grammophon, needs a little more attention. With that in mind, some of the coming releases include Classical Music for Your Gay Wedding, with two different covers, and Classical Music for Dogs, both as downloads only, initially. Classical Music for Driving will include such good motoring tunes as The Ride of the Valkyriesand will be sold at U.S. truck stops. Classical Music magazine reminds us that Hole recruited Elizabeth Sobol from IMG to become president and CEO of Decca in the US last year. MA.com subscribers read the full story |
100 Years Ago...in Musical America: 9 August 1913 | |  HARMONY OF A PlANlST'S HOUSEHOLD Intimate Visit to London Residence of Katharine Goodson and Arthur Hinton Reveals Harmonic Unity in Home Life as Well as in General Color Scheme - How Piano Concertos Are Studied in Miss Goodson's Music Room, with Her Husband in the Role of "Orchestra "- Angora Cat an Important Personage in This Artistic Domicile See the Original Page and Read the Full Story |
| Licensing May Not Be Music To Your Ears | | To submit a question to GG Arts Law write to  Dear Law and Disorder: Since ASCAP does not cover dance or theatrical performances, how does a dance group go about getting the appropriate permissions/copyright releases needed for their performance? Read the full story |
| Uni Classical--Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde |  From Why I Left Muncie by Sedgwick Clark Is there anything new under the sun? Last week I wrote in this space about Deutsche Grammophon's new 13-CD release of Pierre Boulez's complete works: "To the college student who discovered the Frenchman's artistry soon after his classical-music 'Eureka!' moment with Stravinsky's Le Sacre du printemps, this set comes as a shining example of the currently embattled recording industry's good works." After a vantage point both in and out of the record business for over four decades, I shouldn't have been surprised by the piece on Musical America's website Tuesday (8/6) about the latest marketing scheme of DG's sister label, Decca, under the Universal Music umbrella. Decca, you will recall, was the creator of the industry's all-time best seller, "The Three Tenors," as classy a crossover notion as ever conceived. It's now about to be succeeded by releases of "Classical Music for Your Gay Wedding," with a separate cover targeted for lesbians as well, "Classical Music for Dogs," and "Classical Music for Driving," with uptempo cuts such as "Ride of the Valkyries" aimed specifically at truck drivers and sold at truck stops. |
| Latest Roster Changes |  Musical America is helping presenters keep up with its advertisers! Managers whose rosters appear in the 2013 edition of the Musical America Directory should write to listings@musicalamerica.com with the names of artists and attractions that have been either added or removed, and please be sure to indicate "added" or "removed." NEW THIS WEEK Acosta, Juan Sebastián, conductor, added, Artistainternational
Kellner, Peter, bass, added, Artistainternational |
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