More news – Page 279
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Flemish Baroque group La Petite Bande has its government subsidy withdrawn
The Flemish Baroque orchestra La Petite Bande will lose its government subsidy in January 2013. The decision by the Flemish government comes despite almost 19,000 people worldwide signing a petition against cuts to the ensemble's funding. La Petite Bande was founded in 1972 by violinist, violist and conductor Sigiswald ...
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Players and scientists to discuss music and the brain at festival
This August, the New Mexico city of Santa Fe will host a symposium on music and its effects on the human brain. Orchestral musicians, soloists and chamber music players will take part in the conference, entitled ‘Music, the Brain, Medicine and Wellness’, held as part of the annual Santa Fe ...
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Cellist and teacher Gerhard Mantel dies at 82
The cellist and pedagogue Gerhard Mantel has died at the age of 82. A longtime professor at the Hochschule in Frankfurt, he wrote books about cello technique and string topics such as intonation, as well as a cello method for children and a set of 25 cello duos. Born ...
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Composer Jeff Myers wins violinist Hilary Hahn's encore contest
American composer Jeff Myers has won an online competition to complete Hilary Hahn's encores project. The violinist had already commissioned 26 composers from 17 countries to write new short-form pieces for violin and piano for the project, named 'In 27 Pieces: the Hilary Hahn Encores'. The 27th piece, Myers's The ...
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Violinists win Khachaturian contest
The jury of the Aram Khachaturian International Competition in Yerevan, Armenia, awarded the Grand Prix to French–Russian violinist Fedor Roudine, and joint first prize to Ayako Tanabe, from Japan, and Pavel Milyukov, from Russia. There was no second prize. Third prize went to another Japanese violinist, Daichi Nakamura.
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Haiti and El Salvador launch El Sistema music education programmes
Two countries in Latin America have launched programmes based on El Sistema, Venezuela’s hugely successful music education scheme. Haiti and El Salvador have recently announced their own versions of the initiative, which aims to bring about social change through music. In Haiti, the government-backed programme will involve the creation ...
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Violinist Frank Almond to chronicle life of his 1715 'Lipinski' violin
Frank Almond, the concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, is set to celebrate the history of the Stradivari violin that he has played on since 2008 – the 1715 'Lipinski'. He aims to raise $30,000 via crowdfunding website Kickstarter to make a recording of violin music associated with the instrument's ...
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Violinist Tessa Lark takes first prize at Naumburg Competition
Tessa Lark, 23, won first prize at the Naumburg International Violin Competition in New York. The Kentucky native, who studied with Miriam Fried, Paul Biss and Lucy Chapman at the New England Conservatory, received $10,000. Second prize went to Elly Suh, 23, from South Korea. Another South Korean violinist, 26-year-old ...
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Washington International Competition for Strings names winners
Violinist Stefani Collins, violist Matthew Lipman and cellist Matthew Zalkind won first prizes at the Washington International Competition for Strings. Collins, 23, is a student of Sylvia Rosenberg at the Juilliard School. Lipman, 20, studies with Heidi Castleman and Misha Amory, also at Juilliard. Zalkind, 25, is a student ...
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Former BBC Symphony Orchestra and RPO violinist Keith Gurry dies
British violinist Keith Gurry, who played in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) and was a longtime member of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, has died at the age of 66. Born in London, he began his violin studies with Marta Eitler, before going to the Royal Academy of Music in ...
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International Federation of Musician petition EU over instruments on planes
The International Federation of Musicians (FIM) has launched an online petition with the aim of persuading EU legislators to take action on the issue of musical instruments on planes. The Paris-based organisation, which represents 72 musicians' unions worldwide, is calling for Europe to follow the example of the US, ...
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Russian violinist Olga Volkova takes top prize at Carl Nielsen Competition
Olga Volkova won first prize at the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition in Odense, Denmark. The 21-year-old Russian, who studies with Zakhar Bron in Cologne, received DKK 125,000 (£13,500). The second prize went to Niklas Walentin Jensen, 18, from Denmark. Eva Thorarinsdottir, a 25-year-old violinist from Iceland, took third prize. ...
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Stefan Lindholm and Christian Lijsen claim top prizes in Pisogne violin making competition
German maker Christian Lijsen and Swedish luthier Stefan Lindholm won multiple prizes at the third International Violin Making Competition in Pisogne, Italy. Lijsen took both the gold and silver medals for his copies of historical instruments. Pal Racz, from Hungary, received the bronze medal. In the antiqued instruments ...
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Kelemen and Benyounes quartets split second prize at Sándor Végh competition
The jury at the inaugural International Sándor Végh String Quartet Competition in Budapest chose not to award a first prize. The Kelemen Quartet from Hungary and the Benyounes Quartet from the UK shared the second prize, each receiving €12,000. Swiss ensemble the Belenus Quartet won a special €6,000 prize for ...
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Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's online concerto competition ends with no winner
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's (PSO) nationwide search for a concerto soloist via an online competition has ended without a winner. Four finalists, including violinist William Hagen, 19, from Salt Lake City, and cellist Angela Park, 25, from Philadelphia, auditioned for the chance to win $10,000 and perform with the orchestra. ...
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Chinese violist Wenting Kang triumphs in Tokyo viola competition
Wenting Kang has won first prize at the Tokyo International Viola Competition. The 24-year-old, who studies with Kim Kashkashian at the New England Conservatory, received ¥1m (about £8,000). Second prize went to Barbara Buntrock from Germany. Japanese violist Kimi Makino took third prize.
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Violinist Laura Samuel named leader of BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Violinist Laura Samuel has been named leader of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. She will take up the post at the start of the 2012–13 season, though she will perform as leader designate with the orchestra at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival. Born in 1976, Samuel studied with Itzhak ...
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Guadagnini quartet assembled in Australia
Four instruments by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini have been brought together through a philanthropic project in Australia. All four instruments have been loaned to the Australian Quartet for its current national tour. The Ngeringa Farm Arts Foundation has spent AUD4m (£2.55m) acquiring three instruments by the Italian master, and is currently ...
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Hieronymus Quartet takes first prize at Cavatina competition in London
The Hieronymus Quartet has won the Cavatina Intercollegiate Chamber Music Competition, held at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London. The quartet, whose members study at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, received £2,000. The Wilhelm Quartet, from the RAM, and the Zelkova Quartet, from the Royal ...
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ISM slams British Airways baggage policy on instruments
The UK’s Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) has denounced the decision by British Airways (BA) to reduce the size of hand luggage permissible on its flights. The new restrictions mean that violinists and viola players must either check in their instruments to be stored in the hold, or else buy ...
