Latest news – Page 269
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ArticleNew Zealand violinist Benjamin Baker, 23, takes £5,000 first prize in Windsor
New Zealand-born violinist Benjamin Baker has won the fourth Windsor Festival International String Competition. The 23-year-old (pictured), who is studying with Natasha Boyarsky at the Royal College of Music, received £5,000, engagements, a solo recording with Champs Hill Records and a violin bow. As part of the ...
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ArticleIntroduction to klezmer fiddle
Alicia Svigals presents a guide to performing traditional Jewish folk music
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ArticleStradivarius exhibition at Oxford's Ashmolean brings together over 20 Strad violins, violas and cellos
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, UK, is to hold a major Stradivari exhibition this summer. Stradivarius, which runs from 13 June to 11 August, will feature 21 Stradivaris drawn from international and private collections, London's Royal Academy of Music and the Ashmolean's own collection. The exhibition ...
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Hill violin bow from 1900 realises 4,400 per cent on estimate at auction
A bow discovered in a pile of rubbish sold for £3,600 at a UK auction on 13 March. It was found during a house clearance, along with a violin in a heavily mildewed case. Together with a mandolin, the entire lot was given an estimated price of £50–80, making the ...
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Cellist Philip De Groote retires after 40 years with Chilingirian Quartet
Philip De Groote, the cellist of the Chilingirian Quartet, has retired after 40 years of performing with the group. The Johannesburg-born De Groote co-founded the ensemble with violinist Levon Chilingirian in 1971. Alongside his chamber music career, De Groote has been active as a soloist and as a teacher at ...
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ArticleViolin said to have been played as Titanic sank to be auctioned
A violin that belonged to Wallace Hartley, bandmaster on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, is to go on display in Belfast City Hall at the end of March. According to specialist Titanic auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son, the water-damaged instrument is the one played ...
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Musicians hail EU ‘instruments on planes' debate
European airlines will be obliged to lay out their terms and conditions for carrying musical instruments, both in the cabin and in the hold, under new revisions proposed by the European Commission (EC). The proposals, which could become law as early as 2014, will also ensure that instruments are not ...
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CITES backs 'passports' for instruments containing endangered species
Delegates at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) have accepted a draft resolution to implement a so-called 'musical instrument passport' for musicians to present when crossing international borders. The passport, which will contain details of all protected species (such as ivory and tortoiseshell) within the instrument, will ...
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ArticlePlayers of Ébène Quartet aboard aircraft as engine catches fire
The four members of the Ébène Quartet were among the 213 passengers aboard Air France flight AF 217 when one of its engines caught fire on 11 March. The aeroplane, a twin-engine Airbus A330, was forced to return to Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai after just ...
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bène Quartet players caught up in aircraft fire
The four members of the Ébène Quartet were among the 213 passengers aboard Air France flight AF 217 when one of its engines caught fire on 11 March. The aeroplane, a twin-engine Airbus A330, was forced to return to Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai after just 27 minutes in ...
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New rules for ebony trade: fingerboard and tailpiece wood will be subject to CITES restrictions
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has agreed new measures aimed at tackling the illegal trade in ebony from Madagascar. Delegates at a meeting of CITES in Bangkok, Thailand, agreed to five separate proposals regarding the list of protected species on CITES Appendix II. The appendix, which ...
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Chamber group Trio Rafale wins CHF10,000 Swiss award
The Zürich-based Trio Rafale (left) won both the first prize and the audience award at the final of the 'Migros Culture Percentage' national chamber music competition on 7 March. The trio, comprising violinist Daniel Meller, cellist Flurin Cuonz and pianist Maki Wiederkehr (all born in 1986), received a CHF10,000 (£7,000) ...
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US violist Marc Sabbah, 25, takes first prize in Amsterdam viola competition
Marc Sabbah took the €500 first prize at the third Amsterdam National Viola Competition, held in the Dutch city on 7 and 8 March. The 25-year-old (left), who was born in New York City, US, performed works by Bach and Shostakovich in the final. He is currently based in Brussels, ...
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31 players receive instruments from German instrument fund
The German Musical Instruments Fund has awarded 31 young German string players with loans of instruments from its 180-strong collection. The 18 violins, 4 violas and 9 cellos went to performers in the fund's competition, which this year was held in Hamburg. Among the highest-scoring participants in the competition ...
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ArticleContract dispute continues at San Francisco Symphony as players threaten strike
The musicians of the San Francisco Symphony have voted unanimously to authorise a strike if their contract negotiations with management continue to stall. The action could affect the orchestra’s upcoming East Coast tour: running from 20-23 March, it would include concerts in New York, New Jersey and ...
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Swiss cellist Chiara Enderle takes first prize at Lutoslawski Competition in Warsaw
Swiss cellist Chiara Enderle won first prize at the Witold Lutoslawski International Cello Competition in Warsaw. The 20-year-old studies with Thomas Grossenbacher in Zurich, and has also taken masterclasses with Steven Isserlis at Prussia Cove, Jens Peter Maintz at the Kronberg Academy and Ralph Kirshbaum in London. Dominik Ploci?ski, ...
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Australian Quartet's first violin and viola quit
The Australian Quartet (ASQ) will lose two of its members this year. First violinist Sophie Rowell and violist Sally Boud will step down following the quartet’s performances at the Huntington Estate Music Festival in late November. The quartet’s management has begun an international search to fill the posts ready ...
