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berlin philharmonie damaged by fire May 20, 2008

Posted by Charles Noble in : News, the orchestra world, add a comment

(AP Photo/Herbert Knosowski)
(AP Photo/Herbert Knosowski)

This afternoon the Berlin Philharmonie, the renowned (both acoustically and visually) concert home of the Berlin Philharmonic, had its roof catch fire due to (purportedly) a welding mishap.  The full extent of the damage is not yet known, but according to the Times, the Berlin fire service reports that the main auditorium (where the Philharmonic rehearses and gives concerts) was not seriously damaged.

Here are some recently updated links to the story.

I know that I’m just about the last music blogger in the world to mention this, but I thought I’d add the twist that I’ve received a few wistful emails (typical of musician gallows humor) from OSO musicians wondering why this couldn’t have happened to the Schnitz…

vote! no, seriously, go vote you oregonians! May 20, 2008

Posted by Charles Noble in : politics, add a comment

My wife and I had a nice outing this afternoon, dropping off our ballots at the nearby community center polling place (though Oregon is a vote-by-mail state, we like the ritual of filling out our ballots on Election Day morning then going to drop off our ballots by hand), then heading out to the new Deschutes Portland Pub in the Pearl (highly recommended, by the way).

You’ve got until 8:00 p.m. to get those ballots in - so do it!  No excuses!  Your vote counts as it has in no primary since 1965!  The nation is watching us!

aren’t critics supposed to be critical? May 20, 2008

Posted by Charles Noble in : appreciation/criticism, cello, music, the orchestra world, 4comments

I just discovered a new music blog, courtesy of Jason Heath’s Arts Advocate blog, called Mahler Owes Me Ten Bucks. It’s written by Chantal Incandela, a double bass player who has changed her career from being primarily a performer to writing as a classical music critic for NUVO, an alternative print publication in Indianapolis. The latest post caught my eye, as it deals with her thoughts about the direction the ISO is going with their relatively new music director Mario Vengazo. (more…)