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With the looming labor actions possible in the major orchestras of Seattle and Cleveland, it makes me wonder if there will be a shift in the largest budget level orchestras in this country. With the Big Five (now the Big Seven) orchestras in a Reagan-era arms race to maintain salary parity with each other (you [...]
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Nathan Zgonc
The New York Philharmonic hired a new associate principal trombone this week, but the news for Portlanders is that the other finalist was our very own Nathan Zgonc, son of Larry Zgonc, principal bassist of the Oregon Ballet Theatre orchestra, and Lorely Zgonc, concertmaster of the OBT orchestra and the Portland Opera orchestra. Nathan [...]
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I’ve been (in between watching marathon stretches of House MD on dvd) thinking a bit more about the flap over Gilbert Kaplan conducting the New York Philharmonic. It seems that there are two diverging views of the situation, both of which are misguided, or at least misappropriated.
Kaplan #1 is an earnest amateur, passionate about one [...]
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More responses are coming in to the original blog post that started the online bickering over whether or not Gilbert Kaplan is a charlatan or a conductor – sometimes I ask myself, what’s the difference? – here’s a sampling:
At A Musical Rampage we get the opinion that Kaplan might not be a real [...]
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Norman Lebrecht has weighed in with his opinion of the blog post by the New York Philharmonic’s bass second trombonist David Finlayson which expressed in no uncertain terms Finlayson’s low regard for the conducting prowess and musical fitness of amateur conductor Gilbert Kaplan.
Read the Lebrecht posting and digest your initial reaction for a bit – [...]
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UPDATE: Sam Bergman weighs in with his take on the situation, along with some helpful facts to clear up some misconceptions about the hiring of conductors. He also notes that the NY Phil did not attempt (it seems) to muzzle one of its musicians breaking silence on his blog – which, for me as a [...]
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(this came to my attention care of Sam’s excellent blog)
Nico Muhly has an interesting game that he played with the New York Philharmonic’s season opener – which was:
Berlioz Roman Carnival Overture
Ibert Flute Concerto
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4
They initially decided to try to make the program worse, which it seems they weren’t able to bring themselves to [...]
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Anthony Tommasini, writing in today’s New York Times, is as bemused as I am by the hand-wringing from the players of the New York Philharmonic on not getting Riccardo Muti as their new music director:
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P1050021 | Originally uploaded by dawnvla
click photo to enlarge
New York Philharmonic violist Dawn Hannay kept a blog of her tour of North Korea. You can find it here, along with photos here. UPDATE: link to Dawn’s blog fixed.
P1050021 | Originally uploaded by dawnvla
click photo to enlarge
Thanks to MH for the link.
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Many of you may be unaware that Oregon Symphony violinist Elena Hirsu’s father Valentin is a cellist with the New York Phiharmonic. He is profiled in today’s New York Times while the orchestra is visiting North Korea. He was asking for information from North Korean musicians as to the whereabouts of several orphaned [...]
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In one of the more bizarre stories I’ve read so far, right-wing commentators are up in arms about remarks made by New York Philharmonic music director and conductor Lorin Maazel, who responded to criticisms about the visit to North Korea by his ensemble as being a possible endorsement of NK’s abysmal record on human rights [...]
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This just hit the wires moments ago – and it’s exciting stuff – I can remember in my lifetime when a major US news organization had a part in broadcasting a classical music concert.
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I encountered Jerome on a tour with the Super World Orchestra in 2000. He was an amazing horn player – I’ll remember his solos from Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story for a long time.
From Peter Dobrin, classical music critic, Philadelphia Inquirer:
Jerome Ashby, 1956-2007
By Peter Dobrin
Jerome Ashby, associate principal hornist of the [...]
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UPDATE (11/12): Yet another follow-follow-up article from the New York Times:
But before addressing the news media, Mr. Pak, the permanent representative of his country to the United Nations, met briefly with orchestra officials and their public relations advisers. They agreed to avoid discussing North Korea’s nuclear program, a major concern of the United States. “Otherwise [...]
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