Latest news – Page 300
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Venezuelan-Italian Giovanni Guzzo to join Manchester Camerata as leader
UK chamber orchestra the Manchester Camerata has appointed Giovanni Guzzo as its new leader. The 24-year-old Venezuelan-Italian violinist will start in the role at the beginning of the 2010-11 season. Guzzo, who plays on a 1719 Santo Serafin, has worked closely with violinist and conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy, who is due ...
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London Symphony Orchestra nets top violinists for 2010-11 season
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) seems to be taking over where this summer's BBC Proms leaves off when it comes to violin-heavy seasons. Proms artists James Ehnes, Julia Fischer and Leonidas Kavakos will be among the 14 violinists performing concertos with the LSO during 2010 and 2011. The orchestra ...
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Extreme cellists hike across Britain on 192-mile trek
Three cellists are hiking from the east coast of Britain to the west coast to raise money for charity. Clare Wallace, James Rees and Jeremy Dawson, who have been performing as the 'Extreme Cellists' since 2003, are carrying their cellos on the 192-mile route from St Bees in Cumbria to ...
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Korean violinist Jinjoo Cho wins in Buenos Aires contest
Jinjoo Cho has won the first prize at the inaugural Buenos Aires International Violin Competition. The 22-year-old from South Korea, who studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Paul Kantor, took home $15,000. Second place went to Nigel Armstrong from the US. Hyuk Joo Kwun from South Korea won ...
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1620 Maggini violin joins Peabody Institute collection
The Peabody Institute at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University has added another violin to its instrument collection. A 1620 Maggini violin has been donated by Karl Kostoff, a former orchestral musician and a longtime employee of the university's Applied Physics Laboratory. Kostoff, 85, bought the instrument 40 years ago for $9,000. ...
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Finzi Quartet to play on matched set of Vuillaume instruments
The Finzi Quartet will be able to use the 'Evangelists', a matched set of Vuillaume instruments, for two years after winning a competition at the Wigmore Hall. The instruments are owned by the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation, and were previously loaned to the Modigliani Quartet. Vuillaume made the set in ...
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US violinist Marié Rossano triumphs in Salt Lake City junior contest
American Marié Rossano has won the top prize at the Stradivarius International Violin Competition. The contest, for players aged 11 to 17, took place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Sixteen-year-old Rossano, who studies with Simon James and Brian Lewis, received $7,500 for her first prize. Andi Zhang of China won ...
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Restorer is robbed of two violins in central London
The thief who stole a double violin case in London's Carnaby Street last week might have had a shock when they examined their haul. Inside were two violins but both were being restored: one was in three pieces (with noticeable woodworm damage to the back), and the other was just ...
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Database of 115 years of BBC Proms performances goes online
The BBC Proms has launched an online archive of every performance in its 115-year history. The database features 7,168 concerts and users can search by composer, work, soloist, conductor, ensemble or date. The archive can be accessed at bbc.co.uk/proms/archive
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Order of Canada for violinist James Ehnes
Violinist James Ehnes has been named a Member of the Order of Canada. The honour is given to recognise outstanding achievement and service to the nation. Ehnes, who was born in Brandon, Manitoba, in 1976, now lives in Bradenton, Florida. His previous Canadian awards include the 1997 Virginia Parker Prize ...
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Violinist Nick Eanet to leave Juilliard Quartet
The Juilliard Quartet's first violinist Nick Eanet is to leave the group because of health problems. Eanet, who made his debut with the quartet last September, is suffering from an acute but not life-threatening digestive ailment that makes extended touring too difficult. He will remain with the group next season ...
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Violinist and conductor Jaime Laredo nets 1723 Montagnana
A Montagnana violin of 1723 has sold at auction in London for £612,000. The figure, which includes 20 per cent buyer's premium, is a world record price for the maker, according to auctioneers Brompton's. The violin, which had been given an estimate of £250,000–£350,000, attracted serious bids from several musicians ...
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Russian Artem Chirkov wins Bradetich solo double bass competition
Artem Chirkov from Russia has won the first Bradetich Foundation International Double Bass Solo Competition held in Denton, Texas. Chirkov, 30, from St Petersburg, received $10,000 as well as a CD recording contract and performance engagements. The $5,000 second prize went to Namgyun Kim from South Korea. Rex Surany of ...
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Nearly 400 players set record for largest string ensemble
Officials from Guinness World Records have officially certified a new world record for the largest string ensemble under one roof. The ensemble comprised 392 violinists, violists, cellists and double bassists, who performed Pachelbel's Canon in D major as part of the String Jam '10 event at Juanita High School in ...
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Violinist Alexandre Da Costa wins $25,000 Virginia Parker Prize
Violinist Alexandre Da Costa has been awarded this year's Virginia Parker Prize by the Canada Council for the Arts. The $25,000 prize is given to Canadian classical performers under the age of 32. Da Costa, 31, studied with Zakhar Bron in Madrid and plays the 1727 'Di Barbaro' Stradivari.
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Del Sol and JACK quartets win grants for new work
The Del Sol and JACK quartets are among the recipients of Chamber Music America's $170,700 classical commissioning programme for 2010. The Del Sol Quartet from San Francisco will use its award to commission a new work for string quartet and electronica by Mason Bates. New York composer Jason Eckhardt is ...
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Borusan Quartet scoops top prize in New York chamber competition
The Borusan Quartet from Turkey won the gold medal at the International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition in New York. The Borusan players performed the String Quartet op.29 by their compatriot Fazil Say in the final round at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. The quartet, all of whose members play in ...
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Mirecourt to hold contest for young violinists
A new violin contest will take place later this year in Mirecourt, one of the main historical centres of French violin making. The Mirecourt International Violin Competition runs from 9 to 14 November and is open to violinists aged 25 and under. Jean-Jacques Kantorow is the president of the jury, ...
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Titanic violinist gets entry in biographical dictionary
Wallace Hartley, the violinist who led the Titanic's eight-man orchestra, is one of the latest entrants in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Hartley, who was born in Colne, Lancashire, in 1878, famously played as the Titanic sank in April 1912. He and his fellow musicians were reported to have ...
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American violinist Benjamin Beilman wins Montreal competition
Benjamin Beilman has won the Montreal International Music Competition, which this year was for violinists. The 20-year-old American, who studies with Ida Kavafian at the Curtis Institute of Music, was awarded CAD30,000 (£20,000) for his first prize. He played the Sibelius Violin Concerto in the final. Second prize went to ...
