Slipped Disc

The Italian-US tenor Lando Bartolini, who died today, had a rags trade to riches story. Unhappy working in his family’s textile factory in Prato, he moved to Philadelphia in 1966 and started taking voice lessons […]

From the Lebrecht Album of the Week: What small labels do best is backing the owner’s hunches. BIS in Stockholm produced symphonies by Alfred Schnittke when he was unheard outside Russia. Hyperion in south London […]

The death this week of James Loughran called to mind a species of excellent British conductors who never pursued the limelight. Loughran’s 12 years at the Halle, succeeding the irreplaceable John Barbirolli, was a phenomenal […]

Richard Klein, principal of New York’s High School of Music and Art, has died, aged 94. He unified two schools in 1984, creating Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing […]

The chair of Dartington Trust, Lord David Triesman, has issued a six-monthly update, saying the financial situation is now stable. Of course, there is no summer school and festival. Here’s what he writes: Our earlier […]

The death has been announced of Jarmo Sermilä, former director of the Finnish Music Information Centre and YLE’s experimental studio. He was also curator of the Sibelius childhood home museum. The post Finnish composer, 85 […]

The Israeli double bassist Avishai Cohen, dropped earlier this week by a Warsaw festival for performing in Moscow, has now been cancelled on July 13-14 at the Walden Festival in Brussels. The post Brussels dumps […]

Programmes for tomorrow’s concert in Birmingham contain this paragraph from CEO Emma Stenning: As we’ve worked hard to connect with new audiences, I’m delighted to share an 8% growth in attendance, and the brilliant news […]

The Athens Camerata has been disbanded over an accumulation of debts. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni told parliament that its musicians could apply for employment in other state-funded ensembles. The orchestra, founded in 1991, originally had […]

Social media are swelling this mourning with tears for Kathryn (Kate) Price, who died after a short illness in Bristol Royal Infirmary. Alongside a recital career, she was a cherished teacher and mentor to performers […]