  | Violinist.com sponsor: 
|
| Violinist.com sponsor:
|
|
|
Violin NewsAugust 23, 2008The Beaux Arts Trio plays its final concert at TanglewoodFrom Laurie Niles: The Beaux Arts Trio played its last concert on Thursday at the Tanglewood Festival, the same place the group played its first concert on July 13, 1955. It was pianist Menahem Pressler, 84, (who incidentally has long been one of the most in-demand teachers at IU) who kept the group going for so long and through many changes in personnel. In its final incarnation, the group included violinist Daniel Hope, and cellist Antonio Meneses.Submit Comment
High Pay, Great Benefits for Musicians in Philadelphia OrchestraFrom Pauline Lerner: In stark contrast to many other orchestras, the Philadelphia Orchestra pays its musicians a minimum annual salary $119,600 and gives good benefits (vacations, maternity leave, and more). The contract was negotiated in 1962, when a wave of militancy and anger swept over many symphony orchestra musicians. Violinist Jerome Wigler, who played in the orchestra at that time, reminisces about the pre-contract time, when musicians in the orchestra had to take second jobs, such as driving ice cream trucks and handing out towels at the YMCA, to make ends meet.Comments (14) | Submit Comment
Leroi Moore, saxophonist and flutist for The Dave Matthews Band dies at age 46 - a sad loss for music...From Ross Christopher: Yesterday I received a text from Justin letting me know that Leroi Moore of The Dave Matthews Band had died. I was shocked. I knew he wasn't touring with the band due to an ATV accident earlier this summer, but also knew he was in rehab and seemed to be recovering well.I became a DMB fan in junior high. I remember opening my first BMG account - you remember those? Pick out 8-12 CDs (FREE) and over the next year buy 2 or 3 for about $20 a pop. This was pre-online-anything. I remember cutting out the small CD images and sticking them to an order form that you actually snail-mailed in. So getting my "own" music for the first time, i'm not sure why I picked Under The Table and Dreaming, but I did (and its really had a tremendous impact on me and my musical approach). I love to jam. I love experimenting with songwriting. I tend to use my voice as an instrument - not simply a melody line to embed in your skull (i.e. "love me, love me, say that you love me...") In a time when the whole world was going grunge crazy, out comes DMB with an acoustic guitar, a weird voice, incredible percussion, a black guy playing violin, a black guy jamming the woodwinds, and a white guy on bass - something didn't make sense. But it was that 1st album that led me to Crash, Live at Luther College, countless bootlegs, and every album since. The unique blend of instruments made their sound perfect to my ears. Their live show however, was tough to rival. Even if you're not a fan, you have to appreciate their interplay. So, today its hard to believe that Leroi Moore is gone at only 46 years of age. *for more info about Leroi, visit: http://www.davematthews.com/ Grace & Peace, August 15, 2008Barely making a living in classical musicFrom Laurie Niles: Even in a city as big as Los Angeles, classical musicians struggle to make ends meet these days. "We have tremendous numbers of members who are absolutely struggling," said Leslie Lashinsky, secretary-treasurer of the L.A. musicians union, told the LA Times. "Even very prestigious musicians are hard-pressed to make ends meet."Comments (5) | Submit Comment
August 8, 2008BBC1 documentary explores Vanessa-Mae's talent, and split with her motherFrom Laurie Niles: When Vanessa-Mae's mother, Pamela, was asked to speak about her daughter for the BBC1 documentary, "The Making Of Me," she replied with an e-mail that said, "My daughter is nearly 30. That part of my life is well and truly over." The two have been estranged since Vanessa-Mae fired her mother as her manager eight years ago. Vanessa Mae said she carries that e-mail with her, "and if I ever have any pangs about what our relationship might have been like, I read that and realise it is never going to be."Houston Looking for New ConcertmasterFrom Kendrick Alridge: Charles WardHouston ChronicleReleased : Thursday, August 07, 2008 4:00 AM Aug. 7--The Houston Symphony is searching for a new concertmaster after deciding not to renew the contract of Angela Fuller, who held the position for the past two years. Symphony officials declined to discuss their decision, which was made last season after a standard review given to all new musicians. Fuller joined the Houston Symphony from the Minnesota Orchestra in September 2006 with a two-year agreement. Fuller had no comment on the decision, but said she would be playing chamber music recitals and solo concerto appearances and working as, guest concertmaster during the 2008-09 season. Such a short tenure in the key, high-profile position is unusual. The most recent concertmaster change among the top orchestras occurred in 2001 at the San Francisco Symphony. Concertmasters at the Boston Symphony and New York Philharmonic have held their posts for more than two decades each. A committee of seven Houston symphony musicians will start auditions in the fall for a replacement. Customarily, finalists are invited to play with the orchestra, usually for a weekend program.
August 6, 2008Vibrato Controversy at the British PromsFrom Laurie Niles: At issue: playing the British Proms final night's traditional Elgar (Pomp and Circumstance as many of us think of the piece) with no vibrato. Will they do this? Will it sound as icy as Royal College of Music professor Raymond Cohen's disapproval? Will it be a moment of artistic vindication? Will everyone horribly shocked? Will musicians play along, or will they bobble their wrists in protest?Comments (3) | Submit Comment
On Koreans and the PachelbelFrom Laurie Niles: First a Korean guitar wunderkind named Jeong-Hyun Lim attracted nearly 48 million viewers with his rock-out Pachelbel, and now we find another Korean musician playing it on a 48-string gayageum. Need this be further analyzed? Well of course, it's the Internet:Comments (1) | Submit Comment
News Archive
©1996-2008 Laurie Niles Support Violinist.com: Advertise on Violinist.com, shop through our Amazon and SheetMusicPlus links, or buy a T-shirt. |
