David Duff's Classical Blog

Changes ahead for this blog

2010-07-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

I will be moving this blog shortly, renaming it, and giving it a new look.

The new blog will be at www.dbduff.blogspot.com

This blog will be deleted.

Mikhail Pletnev

2010-07-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

You may have heard the news about Pletnev's arrest in Thailand as a result of an accusation against him of child rape. Here's the latest, from the French press agency:

Thailand has cancelled the visa of Russian conductor Mikhail Pletnev, meaning he faces deportation even if child rape charges against him are dropped, an immigration official said on Wednesday.

"The Thai immigration bureau has blacklisted him on the grounds that his behaviour is detrimental to Thailand," said Major General Pansak Kasamsan, deputy commissioner at the bureau.

"His Thai visa was automatically revoked after his name was blacklisted," he said. "He would eventually be deported whether it goes to trial or the charges are dropped."

Pletnev, artistic director of the Russian National Orchestra, was charged in early July with the rape of a 14-year-old boy in Pattaya, where he has a house.

He denies the charge, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in jail, and was released on bail.

The award-winning maestro was allowed by a Thai court to travel overseas but is required to report back every 12 days. He returned to Thailand over the weekend after attending a music festival in Macedonia.

Pletvev told Russian media Wednesday that he had been given permission by the court to leave the country again. It was unclear whether the cancellation of his visa would affect his travel plans.

"My mother's birthday is in a few days and I cannot and don't want to miss it. The lawyer has just told me that permission had been obtained," Pletnev told RIA Novosti.

Pletnev, 53, founded the Russian National Orchestra in 1990 just before the break-up of the Soviet Union and his arrest has sent shock waves through Russia's musical world.

Free video of Alec Baldwin with the Boston Pops

2010-07-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to a video of excerpts from the Boston Pops presentation of "The Dream Lives On" with Alec Baldwin narrating. The excerpt lasts about three minutes.

www.box.net/shared/8rhcmu7o71

The future of the recording industry (especially classical)

2010-07-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

Anne Midgette of the Washington Post interviewed Klaus Heymann, head of the Naxos record company, which is now a major force (maybe THE major force) in classical recording. Klaus indicated that Naxos intends to be the "last man standing" in distributing classical recordings.

The article is worth reading, and is at www.washingtonpost.com, under "The Classical Beat--The future of the recording industry".

Baldwin & Boston Pops team up

2010-07-16T16:01:00.000-07:00

Emmy Award-winner Alec Baldwin will give life to the words of John,
Robert, and Edward Kennedy, when he joins conductor Keith Lockhart, the
Boston Pops Orchestra, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus for a
performance of The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers at
Tanglewood in Lenox, MA on Sunday July 18 at 2:30 PM.

Celebrating the legacies of these three influential and inspiring
Massachusetts native sons, The Dream Lives On—composed by Peter Boyer
with Tony Award-winning lyricist Lynn Ahrens—was commissioned by Keith
Lockhart and the Boston Pops. This new multi-media work combines quotes
from speeches by the Kennedy brothers with original text and video,
accompanied by a dramatic orchestral and choral score. The choral
score is presented by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, which celebrates
its 40th anniversary this summer.

The title of the work was taken from the closing
lines of Ted Kennedy’s speech at the 2008 Democratic National
Convention.

The Dream Lives On had its world premiere on May 18 as part
of the 125th Anniversary celebration with Robert De Niro, Morgan
Freeman, Ed Harris, and Cherry Jones as narrators, and will also be
performed on August 1 in Hyannis, MA with Academy Award-winner Chris
Cooper.

Bach--and others--on caffiene

2010-07-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

What caffiene really does to you:

http://i.lifehacker.com/5585217/what-caffeine-actually-does-to-your-brain

More evidence that the Canadian Government is comprised of Philistines

2010-06-07T15:49:00.000-07:00

I've been highly critical of the Canadian Government for its draconian approach to arts funding--and sadly, nothing has changed. Note this from the Times Colonist of June 5 (www.timescolonist.com), article entitled "Liberals Cut the Arts Adrift":

Things just seem to get worse for arts and culture in Victoria and the rest of British Columbia.

I'm not talking about the quality of the offerings, which often reach artistic levels that delight and surprise. Rather, it's our provincial government's mulish insistence on pretending the cultural industry in B.C. no longer exists.

The Liberal government's message is: "We are no longer interested in funding the arts. Fend for yourself. If your product is any good, the market will support it." Such an attitude shows, at best, a lack of understanding -- and at worst, blind ignorance. It's as if we've suddenly become a Third World country.

Seiji Ozawa ill

2010-06-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

From BBC News:

Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa has cancelled a series of European concerts on the advice of his doctor.

Ozawa, who spent three decades with the Boston Symphony Orchestra before joining Vienna in 2002, revealed in January that he had oesophageal cancer.

A new King's Singer

2010-06-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble The King's Singers are
delighted to announce the appointment of Jonathan Howard as the newest member
of the group. Jonathan, who is 23 years old and a graduate of New College,
Oxford, will replace current bass Stephen Connolly when he departs the group to
take a position as Head of Vocal Studies at Cheltenham Ladies' College this
September. The King's Singers' new album, Swimming Over London, which is
Stephen Connolly's last complete album with the group, was released on May 25.

Upon learning of his appointment, Jonathan said, "It is an absolute dream come
true for me to have the opportunity to perform for a living with such wonderful
colleagues and singers, particularly since almost every small-consort or
close-harmony venture I have done in the past has been inspired by their work.
I am thrilled to accept the post, and cannot wait to start as a full-time
member in October. Even now, I'm still in shock that this is actually
happening."

Stephen Connolly, departing member, said, "I am thrilled that we have managed
to find such an energized and talented musician as Johnny. He will be a real
asset to the group and brings with him a wonderful timbre of voice as well as a
freshness that will help propel The King's Singers well into the future. I
can't wait to hear him in concert!"

In addition to his work as a singer, Jonathan also plays violin, viola and
piano, has performed in various opera and dramatic productions, and appeared as
one of the "Clever" guests on the BBC3 television series "Clever v. Stupid" in
the summer of 2009. An accomplished sportsman with several awards and medals
to his name, Jonathan's passion for classical music began at his school,
Christ's Hospital in Horsham, West Sussex. He was the recipient of a choral
scholarship to New College, where he participated in numerous tours and
recordings with the renowned New College Choir.

Jonathan's first concert with The King's Singers will be in Aix-les-Bains,
France on October 1.

Spring for Music

2010-05-20T14:49:00.000-07:00

As a southern boy, it pleases me to see the Alabama Symphony Orchestra preparing to appear at Carnegie Hall. From an ASO press release:

ORCHESTRAS SELECTED FOR 2012: In May 2012, Spring for Music’s second annual festival season at Carnegie Hall will host 6 orchestras in six consecutive days, Monday, May 7 through Saturday, May 12, 2012. The orchestras in consecutive order are:

Houston Symphony

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

Alabama Symphony Orchestra

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

Nashville Symphony

The selected orchestras for 2012 range in budget size from $6.7 million to $36 million and include orchestras from Alabama, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin, as well as western Canada. Of the six orchestras, two will be making their Carnegie Hall debuts (Alabama and Edmonton). The programs, which will be announced in their entirety at a later date, include works by five living composers and will feature works such as Charles Ives’ Universe Symphony in the realization by Larry Austen, Martinů’s rarely performed Symphony No. 1, the Busoni Piano Concerto, and Qugang Chen’s hypnotic Iris dévoilée.

OK, so it's a couple of years away...it's still a big deal for an orchestra that was close to dissolution a few years ago. Congratulations to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra (not to mention the Nashville and Houston bands)!