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☆ After Outcry, Concertgebouw Will Allow Jerusalem Quartet to Perform
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | More About Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, one of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, said Thursday that it would allow the Jerusalem Quartet to perform, two days after it had canceled the ensemble’s concerts amid security concerns related to threatened protests. The Concertgebouw said in a statement that the Jerusalem Quartet would be allowed to perform on Saturday after all, with expanded security measures and a more robust police presence. The ensemble had originally been scheduled to perform on Thursday and Saturday, but the Concertgebouw canceled the engagement, saying it could not ensure the safety of audience members, musicians and employees because of the threat of protests related to the Israel-Gaza war. Simon Reinink, general manager of the Concertgebouw, said in an interview that the hall had reversed course after securing commitments from the police. We were forced to crack the dilemma of security on the one hand and freedom on the other.”

Persons: Simon Reinink, ” Organizations: Concertgebouw, Quartet Locations: Amsterdam, Jerusalem, Israel, Gaza

☆ Jaap van Zweden to Lead French Orchestra After New York Philharmonic
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | More About Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The conductor Jaap van Zweden does not leave his position as the New York Philharmonic’s music director until later this summer. In January, van Zweden officially began a five-year term as the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s music director. And on Tuesday, he announced another new job: He will become music director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, a French radio orchestra in Paris, for a five-year term starting in 2026. Van Zweden, 63, succeeds Mikko Franck, who will step down next year after a decade on the podium. Van Zweden will take over as music director designate next year, the orchestra said in a news release, leading several weeks of concerts and a European tour.

Persons: Jaap van Zweden, van Zweden, Van Zweden, Mikko Franck Organizations: York, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s, Orchestre, Radio France, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Locations: New York, French, Paris, Amsterdam

In 2019, Yu, worried that the stories of Jewish refugees in his hometown were being forgotten, came up with the idea for the piece. He approached the New York Philharmonic, which has had a partnership with the Shanghai Symphony since 2014, about commissioning the work together. Yu said he never expected the oratorio to premiere in wartime but hoped that its message would still resonate. Yu has long known Zigman, who has composed more than 60 Hollywood scores, including “The Notebook,” and he and Thibaudet suggested the idea for a tango concerto. “Our project is really about bridging cultures and humanity and love, hope, loss and tragedy,” Zigman said.

Persons: Yu, ”, Jean, Yves Thibaudet, Thibaudet, ” Zigman Organizations: New York Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, Shanghai, Hollywood Locations: Asia, Europe, Nanjing

☆ The Met Commissions an Opera About Abducted Ukrainian Children
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | More About Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Metropolitan Opera announced Monday that it had commissioned a new opera about Russia’s abduction and deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children, the latest action by the company to show support for war-torn Ukraine. The work, which will be written by the Ukrainian composer Maxim Kolomiiets, with a libretto by the American playwright George Brant, tells the story of a mother who makes a long and perilous trip to rescue her daughter, who is being held at a camp inside Crimea. While the characters in the opera are fictional, the story is based on real-life accounts by Ukrainian mothers who have described making the harrowing 3,000-mile journey from Ukraine into Russian-occupied territory, and back again, to recover their children from the custody of the Russian authorities. Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, said the aim was to “support Ukraine culturally in its fight for freedom.”

Persons: Maxim Kolomiiets, George Brant, Peter Gelb, ” Organizations: Metropolitan Opera Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, American, Crimea, Russian

☆ Chinese Singer Denounced Over Video at Bombed-Out Ukrainian Theater
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | More About Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Chinese singer stands on a balcony inside a bombed-out theater in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the site of a deadly attack last year by Russian forces. Looking at the camera, she sings an excerpt from the Soviet-era patriotic song “Katyusha” and lifts her arms triumphantly into the air. The video of the singer, Wang Fang, a 38-year-old performer of patriotic songs and Chinese opera, has circulated widely online in recent days, fueling outrage in Ukraine and abroad. She appeared in Mariupol last week as part of a visit by a small group of Chinese media and cultural figures. “To turn the theater into a tourist destination and to sing on the bones of the dead is incredible cynicism and disrespect for the memory of the dead civilians.”

Persons: Wang Fang, Vadym Boychenko, ” Organizations: “ Locations: Ukrainian, Mariupol, Russian, Ukraine

☆ New York City Ballet Was in Peril. Then Came a Revival.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | More About Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

City Ballet also expanded its presence on Facebook, Instagram and other platforms, taking users behind the scenes of productions like “The Nutcracker” and posting interviews with dancers about their lives outside of ballet. Taylor, a finance leader and the partner of former New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg who, in 2021, became the first woman to serve as board chair in City Ballet’s history, worked to galvanize donors. When a potential board member expressed concern about joining “my grandmother’s dance company,” Taylor assured her that City Ballet was not beholden to the past, noting premieres by Peck and others. Donations rose significantly; the spring gala this year, which was attended by Bloomberg, took in $3.5 million, breaking records. As the financial picture improved, City Ballet worked to make its culture more collaborative and inclusive.

Persons: Taylor, Michael R, ” Taylor, Peck, “ Balanchine Organizations: Koch, City Ballet, Facebook, New, New York City, Bloomberg, Ballet Locations: New York

☆ In Kentucky, a Maestro of the People
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | More About Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On a muggy July night at an amphitheater in suburban Kentucky, the conductor and composer Teddy Abrams — sporting black jeans, camouflage sneakers and a bouncy mop of golden curls — took the podium and began to evangelize. It was the final stop on the Louisville Orchestra’s summer tour across Kentucky, and Abrams, the ensemble’s 36-year-old music director, paused to speak to the crowd of roughly 900 in Bardstown, 40 miles or so south of Louisville, about his mission. “This is your Louisville Orchestra, everyone,” he said. We’ve made a lot of the music that the world loves, invented entire genres right here in our state. That’s what this is all about — sharing the incredible music-making that takes places in Kentucky.”

Persons: Teddy Abrams, —, Abrams, snacking, Leonard Bernstein, ”, “, We’ve Organizations: Louisville, Louisville Orchestra Locations: Kentucky, Bardstown, Louisville, Bourbon

☆ Maestro Accused of Striking Singer at Performance Apologizes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | More About Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The incident occurred Tuesday night after a concert performance of the first two acts of Berlioz’s opera “Les Troyens” at the Festival Berlioz in La Côte-Saint-André in southeastern France. “I deeply regret the incident which occurred at the Festival Berlioz at La Côte-Saint-André on Tuesday evening and apologize unreservedly for losing my temper immediately after the performance,” Gardiner said in the statement. “I make no excuses for my behavior and have apologized personally to Will Thomas, for whom I have the greatest respect. I do so again, and to the other artists, for the distress that this has caused.”“I know that physical violence is never acceptable and that musicians should always feel safe,” he added. “I ask for your patience and understanding as I take time to reflect on my actions.”

Persons: John Eliot Gardiner, Gardiner, William Thomas, Monteverdi, Les, ”, “, Berlioz, La, unreservedly, ” Gardiner, Will Thomas Organizations: Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre Locations: France, La Côte

☆ Famed Conductor Accused of Striking Singer at Performance
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | More About Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The appearance by the conductor John Eliot Gardiner leading the Monteverdi Choir and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique in southeastern France this week was supposed to be a celebration: the start of a tour across Europe by one of classical music’s most revered maestros and his esteemed ensembles. Instead, Gardiner, 80, provoked an outcry when, on Tuesday evening, he was accused of hitting a singer in the face backstage after a concert performance of the first two acts of Berlioz’s opera “Les Troyens” at the Festival Berlioz in La Côte-Saint-André. Gardiner struck the singer, William Thomas, a bass, because he had headed the wrong way off the podium at the concert, according to a person who was granted anonymity to describe the incident because the person was not authorized to discuss it publicly. Thomas, a rising bass from England who was performing the role of Priam, did not appear to be seriously injured and was set to perform again on Wednesday evening. His representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

Persons: John Eliot Gardiner, Monteverdi, Gardiner, Les, ”, William Thomas, Thomas, Priam Organizations: Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre Locations: France, Europe, La Côte, England

☆ What to Know About the Opera Star David Daniels’s Sexual Assault Trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | More About Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The opera star David Daniels, one of the world’s leading countertenors, is expected to go on trial in Houston this week over charges that he sexually assaulted a young singer after a performance there in 2010. Mr. Daniels and Mr. Walters have denied the accusations, saying they had consensual sex with Mr. Schultz. Mr. Daniels is one of the most prominent classical stars to face criminal charges during the national #MeToo reckoning. Opening arguments are scheduled to begin in Houston on Friday morning. Mr. Daniels, 57, and Mr. Walters, 40, each face one felony count of aggravated sexual assault.

Persons: David Daniels, Daniels, Scott Walters, Samuel Schultz, Walters, Schultz, Mr Organizations: Attorney’s, University of Michigan Locations: Houston, Harris County, Texas

The opera star David Daniels, one of the world’s leading countertenors, pleaded guilty on Friday in Houston to sexually assaulting a young singer who had attended one of his performances there in 2010. The plea deal was announced just as the trial of Mr. Daniels, 57, and his husband, Scott Walters, 40, was about to begin. Mr. Daniels pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual assault of an adult, a second-degree felony. He avoided a more serious charge of aggravated sexual assault, a first-degree felony, which carries harsher penalties. Mr. Walters, who was facing the same charges, pleaded guilty under similar terms.

Persons: David Daniels, Daniels, Scott Walters, Samuel Schultz, . Walters, Matt Hennessy, Walters, Judge Reagan Clark Organizations: Court Locations: Houston, Georgia, Harris County

☆ A Trombonist on a Mission to Break Barriers in Classical Music
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | More About Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Women have made strides in classical music in recent years; they now make up roughly half of orchestras in the United States. But it’s a different story for female brass players, who are still vastly underrepresented in top ensembles. You’ve often had the experience of being the only woman playing trombone in an ensemble. So instead of reaching out to other women and finding camaraderie, there’s this history of being more competitive with women than with men. We are pitting ourselves against each other, which is the absolute opposite of what we need to do.

Persons: Simms, Ricky Feng Nan, You’ve, I’ve Locations: United States, Beijing, Chinese

☆ Reimagining ‘Madame Butterfly,’ With Asian Creators at the Helm
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | More About Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The auditorium lights dimmed, and the cast and crew of Cincinnati Opera’s new production of Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” anxiously took their places. For months, the team, made up largely of Asian and Asian American artists, had worked to reimagine the classic opera, upending its stereotypes about women and Japanese culture. They gathered at the Cincinnati Music Hall one evening last week to fine-tune their creation before its opening last Saturday. “It feels a little like a grand experiment,” said the production’s director, Matthew Ozawa, whose father is Japanese and mother is white. The opera has long been criticized for its portrait of Asian women as exotic and submissive, and the use of exaggerated makeup and stereotypical costumes in some productions has drawn fire.

Persons: Butterfly ”, ”, Matthew Ozawa, Madame Organizations: Cincinnati Music, American Navy Locations: Cincinnati, American, Nagasaki

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