Global Post

EU customs changes rule after seizure of Japanese musicians’ violins

The European Union will exempt musicians entering its territory from declaring instruments intended for professional use after at least two Japanese violinists had their high-priced violins seized at a German airport last year.

French luxury piano maker Pleyel plays its final notes

Top-end French piano maker Pleyel, whose instruments were used by the likes of Frederic Chopin, Claude Debussy and Franz Liszt, announced on Wednesday it will end production by the end of the year.

Classic FM Online

Mozart’s violin donated to Salzburg Foundation

A private benefactor has gifted a violin played by Mozart when he was in Vienna to the Salzburg Mozart Foundation.

Slipped Disc

A medical emergency at the opera

A ENO performance of the magic flute was interrupted yesterday by a medical emergency in the audience.

An Overgrown Path

Why was Marin Alsop’s London concert half empty?

Should reports of a half-empty Marin Alsop concert at the Royal Festival Hall despite the mass media exposure she has received raise alarm bells about classical music audiences?

New York Times 

U.S. Dancer Quits the Bolshoi, Complaining of Bribery

A young dancer from Texas who last year became the first American to join the Bolshoi Ballet after graduating from its training academy here has quit the storied company after alleging that she was denied opportunities to perform and ultimately told she would have to pay a bribe of $10,000 to get a solo role.

BBC Music Magazine

György Kurtág and András Schiff to receive Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medals

Composer György Kurtág and pianist András Schiff will each be awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society’s highest honour, the Gold Medal. The medal, which is awarded in recognition of outstanding musicianship,  was created in 1870 to commemorate the centenary of Beethoven’s birth.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Am Ende misstraute er allen Religionen

Sir John Tavener hielt Abstand zur Avantgarde. Seine Musik umspielt das Thema der Sakralität. Nun ist der englische Komponist im Alter von neunundsechzig Jahren gestorben.

Classical Music Magazine