Lament for top lute
Message received: The Dutch lutenist and theorbo player Fred Jacobs died last Thursday. As fine a player of those instruments as there could be, whether as a soloist or as a continuo player, he […]
classical music
Just in: Salzburg scores 98.4%
Good result from a fairly uneventful summer fest: The Salzburg Festival Directorate – Kristina Hammer, Markus Hinterhäuser and Lukas Crepaz – is pleased to announce a 98.4% percentage of occupied seats. 256.600 guests from 88 […]
BBC Proms: Rarely has large-scale Handel felt so vital & involving. Peter Whelan & the Irish Baroque Orchestra in the Dublin version of Alexander’s Feast
Handel: Alexander’s Feast – Hilary Cronin, Stuart Jackson, Peter Whelan, Irish Baroque Orchestra & Chorus – BBC Proms (Photo: Chris Christodoulou/ BBC) Handel: Alexander’s Feast (1742 version, modern premiere), Concerti a due cori; Hilary Cronin, […]
Top German bassoon, RIP
The death has been communicated of Klaus Thunemann, principal bassoon in Hamburg in the 1960s and 70s, an international soloist and a lasting influence on the next two generations of performers. Klaus was 88. The […]
Shostakovich asked me: what music would you take to a desert island?
From Bruce Duffie’s 1990 interview in Chicago with the Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin, who died this week: RS: I must tell you little story. I know Shostakovich personally, himself, because my father a few years […]
Trump administration labels Utah violinist a criminal
Responding to disquiet at the seizure of a professional violinist, the Department of Homeland Security has posted this message on its X account: This “Utah violinist” is Donggin Shin, a CRIMINAL illegal alien from South […]
Choctaw Places: Chamber Music of Charles Shadle
Recorded at the University of Surrey, this is a rather nice introduction to the music of Charles Shadle, who currently teaches at MIT; his own teachers include Harold Shapio. The first three pieces on this […]
Ruth Leon recommends….. My Improbable Sisters – Virtual Stage Lab
Virtual Stage Lab Click here to watch This is a play from the Virtual Stage Lab, an ensemble comedy with songs, about One Family. One Jewish Holiday. One Civil Rights Icon. And How They Are […]
Final blow: Alison Balsom retires
The trumpet star has announced that next month’s Last Night of the Proms will be her farewell performance. Balsom, who is 46, has enjoyed a solo career for 24 years. The last piece she plays […]
BBC Proms concert is disrupted by Australia-related protest
A group calling itself ‘Jewish Artists for Palestine’ caused a ten-minute break in last night’s Melbourne Symphony concert at the BBC Proms. The group issued a claim to the effect that they had targeted the […]
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