Latest news – Page 256
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Violinist Nikita Boriso-Glebsky takes first prize at Helsinki Sibelius competition
Nikita Boriso-Glebsky has won first prize at the Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki. The 25-year-old, who studies with Augustin Dumay at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels, received €20,000, plus €2,000 for the best interpretation of the Sibelius concerto. Second prize went to Finnish violinist Petteri Iivonen, 23. Sixteen-year-old ...
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National Symphony Orchestra cellistt Frederick Zenone dies
Cellist Frederick Zenone, who became an influential mediator in orchestral labour disputes, has died of cancer at the age of 74. Having learnt the trumpet in his youth, Zenone took up the cello very late, at 21. After joining the National Symphony in Washington DC in 1969, he became chairman ...
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Cellist barred from entering UK to play no-fee concerts
An American cellist was questioned by UK Border Agency officials at Heathrow airport for eight hours before being sent back on a plane to Chicago, according to a report in the Guardian. Kristin Ostling, a member of the Carpe Diem Quartet, which is resident at Ohio Wesleyan University, had been ...
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International Viola Society gathering set for Würzburg
The International Viola Society is set to hold its 2011 congress at the Hochschule für Musik in Würzburg, Germany, next October. The 39th congress will run in combination with Bratschistentag, the annual German viola festival. Next year's Bratschistentag will include a pedagogic focus in tribute to Egon Sassmannshaus, the string-method ...
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Atlanta Symphony Orchestra launches own recording label
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) will release the first recording on its new label ASO Media next February. The orchestra, which ended a 32-year association with Telarc in September, has chosen two new commissions for the 2011 release: QED: Engaging Richard Feynman, a choral work by Michael Gandolfi, and Jennifer ...
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UK orchestras compete for chance to record 209 national anthems for London 2012 Olympics
The organisers of the 2012 Olympics in London are looking for an orchestra to record 209 national anthems for the event. The anthems will be used at the Olympic medal ceremonies and also to welcome the teams to the Olympic village. The organising committee said that it wants 'an ...
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French violinist Solenne Païdassi wins Long–Thibaud contest
Solenne Païdassi has won the first grand prize at the Long–Thibaud International Competition in Paris. The 25-year-old, who lives in Hannover, is the first French winner of the top violin prize since Devy Erlih won in 1955. Païdassi received €30,500 and also won the audience prize. The second grand ...
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Polish composer Henryk Górecki dies aged 76
The composer Henryk Górecki has died at the age of 76 after suffering a long illness. Born in Silesia, south-west Poland, in 1933, Górecki studied violin before composition. He is most famous for his Third Symphony of 1976, also known as the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, a 1991 recording of ...
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Austrian violinist and conductor Thomas Zehetmair commits to Northern Sinfonia
Thomas Zehetmair has signed a new contract with the Northern Sinfonia, the orchestra of The Sage Gateshead in the UK. The 48-year-old Austrian violinist and conductor, who became the orchestra's music director in 2001, will now remain in the position until at least August 2014. Under the terms of ...
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Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra bassist dies in hiking accident
A bassist in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra has died in a hiking accident. Georg Straka slipped and fell to his death while climbing Mount Fuji on a free day during the orchestra's current tour of Japan. He was 41. Born in Mödling, south of Vienna, in 1969, Straka studied ...
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Russian violist, quartet player and conductor Rudolf Barshai dies aged 86
Russian violist and conductor Rudolf Barshai has died in Switzerland. He had been struggling with health problems for the last year. Born in 1924, Barshai studied violin with Lev Zeitlin and viola with Vadim Borisovsky at the Moscow Conservatory before starting his career as a solo and ensemble player ...
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60-year-old violinist accuses Young Concert Artists of age discrimination
A violinist in New York is suing Young Concert Artists (YCA), claming that its eligibility rules for musicians are age-discriminatory, reports the New York Post. Martin Stoner, a 60-year-old former member of the New York City Ballet orchestra, wanted to enter YCA's audition competition, the winners of which receive ...
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Irish violinist Emma Waldron's performance puts her into Miss World finals
Miss Ireland Emma Waldron secured her place in tomorrow's finals of Miss World 2010 after playing a medley on her violin. The 21-year-old's performance won her the Miss World Talent 2010 title at this year's contest in Sanya, China. Waldron has previously co-led the Dublin Youth Symphony Orchestra on a ...
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Cleveland Orchestra receives $20m gift to increase access for younger audiences
The Cleveland Orchestra will put a gift of $20m towards the creation of a new Center for Future Audiences. The money has been pledged by the Maltz Family Foundation to support the orchestra's plans to increase accessibility for young people. The orchestra has set itself the goal of having the ...
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Orchestra plays to crowds in railway station to protest against Dutch centre closure
Around 150 musicians put on an impromptu performance in The Hague's central station this morning. The flashmob orchestra played the Mambo from Bernstein's West Side Story (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US8S-FqkI1o) on the day that the Dutch parliament begins its debate over plans to close the Netherlands Broadcasting Music Centre. If the proposal ...
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Joseph Lin replaces Nick Eanet as Juilliard Quartet first violinist
The Juilliard Quartet has appointed Joseph Lin as its new first violinist. He replaces Nick Eanet, who resigned due to health issues. The 32-year-old Lin will join the quartet next year, and will also become a member of the Juilliard School faculty, starting in the autumn of 2011. Lin ...
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Greyhound sniffs out stolen bows worth £110,000
A case of antique violin bows that was stolen from bow maker Peter Oxley has been found. A greyhound called Angel discovered the collection of French and English bows while being taken for a walk in a park in Ipswich. The eleven bows, including examples by Charles Peccatte and Etienne ...
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Londoner breaks violin speed record on live TV
A violinist from London has broken the record for the fastest performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee. Oliver Lewis played the piece live on BBC children's show Blue Peter in a time of 1 minute 3.35 seconds, knocking nearly a second off the previous record. A Guinness World Records ...
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ArticleViolinist Anne Akiko Meyers acquires 1697 'Molitor' Stradivari in auction
The 'Molitor' Stradivari violin of 1697 (pictured) has been sold online by Tarisio for $3.6m, a world record price for a musical instrument sold at auction. It was bought by American violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, who currently performs on the 'Royal Spanish' Stradivari of 1730. The ...
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Auditions open for 2011 YouTube Symphony Orchestra in Sydney
YouTube has launched its second international orchestra project. Musicians have until 28 November to submit their audition videos for the chance to be part of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra performing in Sydney next March. The first YouTube Symphony Orchestra brought together more than 90 musicians from 30 countries for ...