Latest news – Page 224
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ArticleNikki Chooi wins Michael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand
Canadian violinist Nikki Chooi (pictured) won first prize at the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, which concluded in Auckland, New Zealand, on Saturday 8 June. Chooi, 24, who studies with Ida Kavafian and Donald Weilerstein at the Juilliard School, received NZ$40,000 (£20,000). Second prize went to Sarah ...
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ArticleViolinist Richard Lin triumphs at Sendai International Music Competition
US–Taiwanese violinist Richard Lin won first prize at the Sendai International Music Competition in Japan at the weekend. The 21-year-old (pictured), a student of Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music, received JPY3,000,000 (£19,500). Japanese violinists Tatsuki Narita and Chieri Tomii, both 21, took second ...
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ArticleCellist Erling Blöndal Bengtsson dies aged 81
Danish cellist and teacher Erling Blöndal Bengtsson has died at the age of 81. A student of Gregor Piatigorsky at the Curtis Institute of Music, he went on to become an international soloist and a champion of new works. Born in 1932 in Copenhagen, Bengtsson began ...
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ArticleFlood warnings put paid to 2013 Handel Festival in Halle
The Handel Festival in Halle, central Germany, has been cancelled due to fears of flooding. The festival, traditionally themed around the music of Handel and his contemporaries, was to have taken place from 6 to 16 June. Artists involved in this year’s event would have included viola ...
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ArticleAmerican cellist and teacher Paul Olefsky dies aged 87
US cellist and pedagogue Paul Olefsky has died at the age of 87. During his long career he was a member of several American orchestras and a recitalist in North America and Europe. For almost four decades he taught cello and chamber music at the University of ...
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ArticleKarl Roy, Mittenwald Violin Making School director, dies aged 80
Luthier and author Karl Roy has died aged 80. For two decades he was director of the Mittenwald School of Violin Making in southern Germany, which he joined as a tutor in 1960. Born in 1933 in Potsdam, Roy grew up and went to school in Hanover. ...
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ArticleJailed former Chetham's music director Michael Brewer stripped of OBE
The Queen has annulled Michael Brewer's OBE for services to music after the former music school director was convicted of sexually abusing violinist Frances Andrade more than 30 years ago. Brewer, 68, was jailed for six years in March for indecently assaulting Andrade while she was ...
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ArticleNEC violin teacher Masuko Ushioda dies aged 71
Violinist and pedagogue Masuko Ushioda has died at the age of 71. For almost 40 years she taught at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. Born in Japan, Ushioda originally studied at the Toho Gakuen Academy and the Leningrad Conservatory before beginning private studies with ...
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ArticleLord Mayor of London launches foundation for young musicians
The Lord Mayor of London has launched a foundation to help young players at the outset of their professional careers. The City Music Foundation will give financial support and mentoring and performance opportunities to individuals or groups in classical, jazz, folk and world music genres. The ...
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ArticleLost quartet by 14-year-old Max Bruch unearthed in Frankfurt
A musicologist based in Frankfurt has discovered the manuscript of a previously unknown string quartet by composer Max Bruch. Written when the composer was just 14 years old, the work will have its modern premiere in 2014. Researcher Ulrike Kienzle discovered the manuscript while investigating the ...
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ArticleHospital CT scan reveals more on so-called 'Titanic violin'
A violin thought to have been played during the sinking of the RMS Titanic has undergone a hospital CT scan to determine its age and condition. The research, commissioned by auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son, showed that the instrument had been damaged and restored. Radiographer Astrid ...
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ArticleViolinist chosen for €15,000 Rheingau Music Festival award
Violinist Iskandar Widjaja is to receive a €15,000 career development prize at this year’s Rheingau Music Festival. The 27-year-old will receive the award during a concert at the festival on 23 July. In a statement, the judges said that Widjaja’s playing was ‘characterised by a rare artistic ...
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ArticleSouth Korean-born violinist wins Stulberg International String Competition
Youjin Lee, 17, won the gold medal and $5,000 at the Stulberg International String Competition in Kalamazoo, Michigan, US. The South Korean-born violinist is a student of Danielle Belen and Robert Lipsett at the Colburn Young Artists Academy in Los Angeles. Earlier this year she was a ...
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ArticleViolists in Portugal set record for largest ever viola ensemble
More than 300 musicians gathered at the Porto Conservatory of Music in Portugal on 19 May to break the world record for the largest ever viola ensemble. The number of players has yet to be confirmed by Guinness World Records, but unofficial figures put the total at ...
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ArticleInfluential composer Henri Dutilleux dies at the age of 97
The French composer Henri Dutilleux has died in Paris at the age of 97. He represented one of the very few surviving members of a generation whose music stretches back to the beginning of the 20th century. Dutilleux (pictured) wrote extensively for strings, including concertos for ...
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ArticleYoung Classical Artist Trust selects violinist, cellist and piano trio
A violinist, cellist and piano trio are among the musicians selected for representation by the London-based Young Classical Artist Trust (YCAT). The young players were chosen at public final auditions, which took place at Wigmore Hall on 17 May. New Zealand-born violinist Benjamin Baker, 23, won ...
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ArticleMarcello Villa wins two first prizes in Italian making competition
Cremonese maker Marcello Villa (pictured) came first in the violin and viola professional divisions of the Associazione Nazionale Amici Della Liuteria Italiana (ANLAI) national competition. Other multiple prizewinners were Chinese-born maker Liu Zhaoyang, who took third prize in the violin category and second in the viola ...
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ArticleViolin worth six-figure sum stolen in Vienna burglary
A violin was stolen last week during a burglary in Vienna, Austria. According to police, the thieves also made off with four bows, though it could not be ascertained whether they had specifically targeted the building for its musical contents. No further details of the violin or ...
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ArticleArtists and designers pay tribute to Stradivari at Cremona exhibition
Violin-inspired shoes, jewellery and high-concept headwear have gone on display in Cremona as part of a new exhibition honouring Stradivari. The show, entitled 8 Variations for Stradivari, brings together works by eight artists and designers: milliner Francesco Ballestrazzi, jewellery designer SungHee Kim, shoe designer Kobi Levi, ...
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ArticleHeath Quartet among winners at RPS Music Awards
The Heath Quartet received the Young Artists award at the UK's Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Music Awards this week. The quartet (pictured) was the first ensemble in 15 years to win the award. Other winners at the RPS Music Awards included the Britten Sinfonia and Sheffield-based ...