Violin News and Gossip, Op. 2, No. 16

April 6, 2006 at 1:59 AM

Jason Chai-Soong Wang has been named section cello in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He succeeds Peter Wukovitz, who retired at the end of the 2004-05 season. Wang had served as a substitute player in the RPO before winning his permanent post, and is also a member of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra.

4/5/06 - In an Associated Press article reprinted in Tuesday's Wilkes Barre Times Leader (PA), Minnesota Orchestra violinist Kristin Kemper, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, is profiled. "Kemper's first sign of a problem came four years ago," the paper writes, adding: "She waited more than a year after her diagnosis to inform the orchestra ... Since then, with strong support from [Music Director] Osmo Vänskä and her colleagues, she has continued playing full time, three to eight performances per week plus rehearsals. Other violinists rotate chairs and take concerts off. She doesn't." Kemper comments: "Sometimes I think, 'Oh gee, it would be really great to have the concerto off tonight,' but then I think, 'Well, I want to do it all while I can do it.' " Kemper takes “several medications at low doses, but part of her treatment plan is to take extra medication just before a performance to ensure that her muscles stay relaxed."

4/5/06 - The Toronto Globe and Mail is reporting that Pinchas Zukerman is unexpectedly cutting short his controversial sabbatical to return for the final concerts of the National Arts Centre Orchestra's 2005-2006 season. Zukerman, the orchestra's music director, will lead the NACO in concerts scheduled for May 11-12 and 17-18. "No reason for the return was given to subscribers. Christopher Deacon, the orchestra's managing director, said yesterday that Zukerman first broached the idea of ending the sabbatical in a phone call from Europe 10 days ago. Details were firmed up last week." Zukerman, who cited a need to "rest, plan and re-energize" as the reason for taking "an unpaid leave of almost six months," generated controversy when he continued to conduct and perform in other venues in this time period. Zukerman, the NACO players, and NACO management have planned a "facilitation process" to improve relations among all parties.

4/4/06 - Cellist Yo-Yo Ma testified before the House Committee on Government Reform, urging the committee "to simplify a visa process that he says has stifled cultural exchanges by creating 'extraordinarily high' barriers to bringing artists to the United States," reports the Washington Post. Ma, whose Silk Road Ensemble organizes international tours of musicians from all over the world, told the committee: "Encouraging artists and institutions to foster these artistic exchanges -- bringing foreign musicians to this country and sending our performers to visit them -- is crucial ... But the high financial cost and the lengthy timeline make these programs difficult to execute and to maintain." The paper adds that "other witnesses from the business and arts worlds sounded the same note," noting that "visa applicants in many parts of the world have had to endure months-long delays in obtaining interviews…Tony Edson, deputy assistant secretary of state for visa services, said the State Department is devoting more resources to meet growing demand, especially in China and India."

4/4/06 – Baird Dodge, principal second violin of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, earned a good review for his performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's MusicNOW series. This was the world premiere of "Carillon Sky" for solo violin and small ensemble by CSO Composer-in-Residence Augusta Read Thomas. "Dodge's violin was sweet-toned but assertive, dancing in and out of conversation with the accompanying ensemble."

4/4/06 – San Francisco’s Alexander String Quartet has taken to the airwaves. KALW-FM and San Francisco Performances have entered into a nonprofit partnership to broadcast recent programs of Beethoven's music. The concerts will be broadcast on Saturday mornings from April 16-June 18 and streamed on the station’s website.

4/4/06 – The upcoming San Francisco Symphony tour will have different soloists, reports San Francisco Classical Voice. Soprano Celena Shafer withdrew last week when she learned that she is pregnant with twins. Then mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson withdrew, citing a severe gall bladder obstruction.

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Violin News and Gossip, Op. 2, No. 16

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