Latest news – Page 298
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Orchestra plays to crowds in railway station to protest against Dutch centre closure
Around 150 musicians put on an impromptu performance in The Hague's central station this morning. The flashmob orchestra played the Mambo from Bernstein's West Side Story (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US8S-FqkI1o) on the day that the Dutch parliament begins its debate over plans to close the Netherlands Broadcasting Music Centre. If the proposal ...
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Joseph Lin replaces Nick Eanet as Juilliard Quartet first violinist
The Juilliard Quartet has appointed Joseph Lin as its new first violinist. He replaces Nick Eanet, who resigned due to health issues. The 32-year-old Lin will join the quartet next year, and will also become a member of the Juilliard School faculty, starting in the autumn of 2011. Lin ...
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Greyhound sniffs out stolen bows worth £110,000
A case of antique violin bows that was stolen from bow maker Peter Oxley has been found. A greyhound called Angel discovered the collection of French and English bows while being taken for a walk in a park in Ipswich. The eleven bows, including examples by Charles Peccatte and Etienne ...
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Londoner breaks violin speed record on live TV
A violinist from London has broken the record for the fastest performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee. Oliver Lewis played the piece live on BBC children's show Blue Peter in a time of 1 minute 3.35 seconds, knocking nearly a second off the previous record. A Guinness World Records ...
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ArticleViolinist Anne Akiko Meyers acquires 1697 'Molitor' Stradivari in auction
The 'Molitor' Stradivari violin of 1697 (pictured) has been sold online by Tarisio for $3.6m, a world record price for a musical instrument sold at auction. It was bought by American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, who currently performs on the 'Royal Spanish' Stradivari of 1730. The ...
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Auditions open for 2011 YouTube Symphony Orchestra in Sydney
YouTube has launched its second international orchestra project. Musicians have until 28 November to submit their audition videos for the chance to be part of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra performing in Sydney next March. The first YouTube Symphony Orchestra brought together more than 90 musicians from 30 countries for ...
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Violinist Sarah Chang pulls out of Detroit recital
Violinist Sarah Chang has cancelled a recital at Detroit's Orchestra Hall scheduled for tonight, citing intimidating emails she had received from supporters of striking Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) musicians.Chang had been due to perform as soloist with the orchestra in its season-opening concert. But after the players began strike action ...
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British bow maker Peter Oxley suffers major theft on train
A bow box containing eleven bows, including several examples by top-quality French makers, has been stolen from a train in southern England. Leading British bow maker Peter Oxley was travelling with the collection from London to Norwich when the theft occurred. Among the bows stolen were two nickel-mounted violin ...
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Hundreds of Dutch orchestral jobs at risk
The new Dutch government is proposing to scrap the Netherlands Broadcasting Music Centre. If the plans are passed by the Dutch parliament, the decision could bring the closure of three radio orchestras – the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic and the Metropole Orchestra. The Netherlands Radio Choir ...
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Chicago Symphony Orchestra bassist retires after 49 years
Joseph Guastafeste has retired from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra after 49 years as principal bass. Hired in 1961 by the orchestra's then music director, Fritz Reiner, the Brooklyn-born Guastafeste had previously been principal in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. His retirement in Chicago will be marked by an onstage ceremony later ...
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Visitor numbers at Mondomusica instrument fair beat all previous years
Newly released attendance figures for this year's Cremona Mondomusica trade fair offer encouraging signs for the health of the stringed instrument industry. The three-day fair, which closed on 3 October, received a record 11,624 visitors, up 4.5 per cent on last year. The event hosted 280 exhibitors, an increase of ...
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Violist and teacher Sebastian Ruth receives $500,000 MacArthur grant
Sebastian Ruth, the founder of Community MusicWorks, an inner-city music education project in Providence, Rhode Island, has been named as one of the 23 MacArthur Fellows for 2010. The violinist and violist, who plays viola in the Providence Quartet, will receive a $500,000 grant over five years. Ruth founded ...
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Clara-Jumi Kang wins Indianapolis International Violin Competition
Clara-Jumi Kang has won the gold medal at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. The German–Korean violinist was awarded the top prize of $30,000 after her final-round performance of the Beethoven Concerto. Kang, 23, is a student of Nam Yun Kim at the Korean National University of the Arts, having ...
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Cellist Thomas Beckmann s Germany's 'Citizen of the Year'
Düsseldorf-born cellist Thomas Beckmann has won a new German award for outstanding citizenship. The prize, worth €20,000, was awarded by the Federation of German Newspaper Publishers in recognition of Beckmann's commitment to the homeless. The former student of Pierre Fournier was chosen by a jury of 50 newspaper editors from ...
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Nikita Borisoglebsky heads prizewinners at Vienna violin competition
The top three prizes at the International Fritz Kreisler Violin Competition in Vienna all went to Russian violinists. Nikita Borisoglebsky, 25, who studies with Augustin Dumay at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, took the €15,000 first prize. Second prize (€12,000) went to 24-year-old Ekaterina Frolova, and Aylen Pritchin, ...
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Philippe Girardin and Nicholas Gooch win at Pisogne international making competition
The winners of the first Pisogne International Violin Making Competition have been announced. The Italian contest was split into two categories: antiqued instruments and copies of historical instruments. First prize in the former category went to Swiss maker Philippe Girardin. Matteo Crotti, from Italy, took second prize. German maker Andreas ...
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Qantas relaxes hand baggage policy on violins and violas
Qantas has issued a new instrument policy that should reassure violinists and violists booking to fly with the airline. The Australian carrier has raised its maximum allowable cabin baggage dimensions for violins and violas from 115cm to 130cm, meaning that most standard cases should be permitted in the cabin. The ...
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Juilliard fundraising auction offers Peking duck date with Perlman
Itzhak Perlman is one of the Juilliard faculty members and alumni doing their bit for the school's scholarship fund. Juilliard has launched a 'Lessons of a Lifetime' internet auction to benefit the fund, and the items on offer include lessons and workshops with some of the school's renowned teachers.Emanuel Ax ...
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Violinist Dmitry Serebrennikov places highest at Lipizer Prize competition
Dmitry Serebrennikov from Russia was the highest-placed prizewinner at the International Violin Competition 'Rodolfo Lipizer Prize' in Gorizia, Italy. The 18-year-old, who studies with Alexander Stang at the St Petersburg State Conservatoire, won the €6,000 second prize, after the jury chose not to award a first prize. Suliman Tekalli, ...
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Cellist Rebecca Wenham exits Cecilia Quartet after Banff competition win
The founding cellist of the Cecilia Quartet has left the group just days after it won first prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition. Rebecca Wenham, who is relocating to California, will be replaced by Rachel Desoer, an Oberlin graduate from Hamilton, Ontario. Desoer makes her debut with the ...
