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The world also said goodbye to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who died Nov. 29. Political Cartoons View All 1277 ImagesAnother political figure who died this year was former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died Nov. 19. Among the entertainers who left the world this year was singer Tina Turner, who died May 24. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2023 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Fred White, 67. A Hall of Fame forward who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the 1961 Stanley Cup Final.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin’s, Henry Kissinger, Rosalynn Carter, Jimmy Carter, Silvio Berlusconi, Dianne Feinstein, James Buckley, James Abourezk, Nigel Lawson, Pervez Musharraf, Sandra Day O’Connor, Li Keqiang, Martti Ahtisaari, United Nations Bill Richardson, Gov, Sheila Oliver, Theodoros Pangalos, Tina Turner, Ike Turner, Suzanne Somers, Matthew Perry, Raquel Welch, Richard Belzer, Chaim Topol, Jacklyn Zeman, Lance Reddick, Alan Arkin, Paul Reubens, David McCallum, Richard Roundtree, Tom Sizemore, Jimmy Buffett, Sinéad O’Connor, Rita Lee Jones, Burt Bacharach, David Crosby, Fito Olivares, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Astrud Gilberto, Coco Lee, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Cormac McCarthy, William Friedkin, Bob Barker, Jerry Springer, Louise Glück, Jeff Beck, Mary Quant, Kaija Saariaho, Lloyd Morrisett, Fred White, Maurice, Verdine White, Ken Block, Walter Cunningham, Fay Weldon, ” Jan, Russell Pearce, Charles Simic, Lynette “ Diamond ” Hardaway, Donald Trump, Diamond, Constantine, Jan, Tatjana Patitz, George Michael’s, Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley, Robbie Knievel, Evel Knievel, Ray Cordeiro, Elmo, Cookie, Gina Lollobrigida, Chris Ford, Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Cindy Williams, Shirley, “ Laverne, Billy Packer, Sylvia Syms, Alex ”, Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield, “ Papa, Rollin ’ Stone, Tom Verlaine, Patti Smith, Bobby Hull, Paco Rabanne, Harry Whittington, Dick Cheney, Hsing Yun, ”, San Jose ”, Carlos Saura, Spain’s, Hugh Hudson, Oscar, “ Greystroke, Hans Modrow, David Jude Jolicoeur, Huey “, ” Smith, Little Richard, Lloyd Price, “, Leiji Matsumoto, Yamato ”, Tim McCarver, Stella Stevens, Jerry Lewis’s, John Munch, Ahmed Qureia, Betty Boothroyd, Ricou Browning, Gill, Gérard Latortue, Fontaine, Barbara Everitt Bryant, Ryan ”, Kenzaburo Oe, Judy Heumann, Gary Rossington, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Georgina Beyer, Traute Lafrenz, Rose, Peterson Zah, Tevye, Robert Blake, Jiang Yanyong, Bud Grant, Dick Fosbury, Pat Schroeder, Gloria Bosman, Jacqueline Gold, Britain’s Ann Summers, John Wick ”, John Jenrette, Juana La, Willis Reed, Darcelle, Paul O’Grady, Lily Savage, Emperor ”, Hedda Kleinfeld Schachter, Margaret Thatcher, Ben Ferencz, Nuremberg, Elisabeth Kopp, Michael Lerner, Jack Lipnick, “ Barton Fink, Bugsy Calhoun, Anne Perry, Thomas Pitt, William Monk, Al Jaffee, magazine’s, Charles Stanley, Richard Riordan, Todd Haimes, Tony Awards, Barry Humphries, Tony, Dame Edna Everage, Len Goodman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, Emmett Till, LeRoy “ Lee ” Carhart, Larry “, ___ Gordon Lightfoot, Tori Bowie, Vida, Grace Bumbry, Rock ”, Ovelha, Denny Crum, Heather Armstrong, Bobbie Spencer, Rolf Harris, Kenneth Anger, Doyle Brunson, Jim Brown, Timothy Keller, Andy Rourke, Ray Stevenson, Thor ”, Ed Ames, George Maharis, Carroll Cooley, Miranda, John Beasley, Kaija, George Winston, Ipanema ”, Robert Hanssen, Richard Snyder, Simon & Schuster, Françoise Gilot, Pablo Picasso —, Pat Robertson, Theodore “ Ted ” Kaczynski, Roger Payne, Treat Williams, Glenda Jackson, Daniel Ellsberg, Richard Nixon, Big, George Frazier, Lee Sarokin, Rubin “, ” Carter, Winnie Ewing, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock, “ Fiorello, John Goodenough, Peg Yorkin, Sue Johanson, Yan Mingfu, John Berylson, James Lewis, poisonings, Mikala Jones, André Watts, Jane Birkin, Kevin Mitnick, San Francisco ”, Frank Sinatra, Lady Gaga, Hugh “ Sonny ” Carter Jr, Jimmy, Randy Meisner, Herman, Angus Cloud, Fezco, ” O’Neill, ___, Mark Margolis, Hector Salamanca, Saul, Sixto Rodriguez, flamed, Robbie Robertson, Tom Jones, Magoo, Timbaland, Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Clarence Avant, Quincy Jones, Bill Withers, Ada Deer, Jerry Moss, Herb Alpert, Alpert, Michael Parkinson, Muhammad Ali, Miss Piggy, Jiri Cerny, Betty Tyson, Richard Nixon’s, John Warnock, Ron Cephas Jones, Howard Hubbard, Samuel “ Joe ” Wurzelbacher, Joe, Barack Obama, Gil Brandt, Tom Landry, Tex Schramm, Bill Richardson, Steve Harwell, Shabtai Shavit, Jordan, Ian Wilmut, Dolly, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Roy Kidd, Eno Ichikawa, Michael McGrath, Fernando Botero, Giorgio Napolitano, Matteo Messina Denaro, Michael Gambon, Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter ”, Mankombu Sambasivan, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Hosni Mubarak, Tim Wakefield, Dick Butkus, Michael Chiarello, Michael Chiarello ”, Masters, Burt Young, Paulie, Sylvester Stallone, Hughes Van Ellis, Kevin Phillips, Louise Meriwether, Mark Goddard, Major Don West, Rudolph Isley, Isley, unblinking, Piper Laurie, Chrissy Snow, Bobby Charlton, Bishan Bedi, Richard Moll, Xi Jinping, Wu Zunyou, Chandler Bing, Ken Mattingly, Bob Knight, Frank Borman, Steve Norton, Don Walsh, Mariana Trench, Terry R, Taylor, Daisaku Ikeda, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Ussery, George “ Funky ” Brown, Joanna ”, Marty Krofft, Pufnstuf, Donny, Marie ”, Terry Venables, Tim Dorsey, Serge A, Frances Sternhagen, ” “, Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, Gerald Ford, Shane MacGowan, Bernard McGhee Organizations: Wagner Group, Russian, White House, U.S, Supreme, United Nations, Greek Foreign, Republican, Hong, Boston Celtics, NBA, NBC, CBS, Television, Fame, Chicago Blackhawks, ”, New, of Fame, Louis Cardinals, “, Palestinian, Israel, South Dakota Democrat, Arab, Arab American U.S, Britain’s, Commons, . Census Bureau, Alabama ”, Zealand, Navajo, Minnesota Vikings, People, Playboy, Capitol, Juana La Cubana, New York Knicks, Guinness, World Records, Hollywood, Treasury, Southern Baptist Convention, Los Angeles, Roundabout Theatre Company, Air Force, Harlem Globetrotters, Janeiro Games, baseball’s, Germany’s Bayreuth, NCAA, Hall of Famer, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Legion, Ames, Phoenix, FBI, Simon &, Christian Broadcasting Network, Republican Party, Christian Coalition, Harvard, Feminist Majority Foundation, “ Little, Communist Party, Millwall, New York Philharmonic, San, Brigade, Wing, Eagles, HBO, of Indian Affairs, M, Police, Carpenters, Adobe Systems, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Dallas Cowboys, escapist, Democratic, Zulu, Eastern, AA, Broadway, Communist, U.S . Senate, Red Sox, Yankees, Boston, Chicago Bears, Major, Isley Brothers, New York Times, Manchester United, India, Indiana, Nevada — Resorts, Atlantic City —, Navy, Associated Press, Soka Gakkai, Kentucky Derby, Kool, The, European, Barcelona, Tottenham, City Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Russian, U.S, Finnish, New Mexico, New Jersey, British, Greece, American, Hong Kong, Italian, America, New York, Spanish, catwalks, Texas, Taiwan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, San, New Orleans, Rosebud, Arab American, Haiti, “, African, Brooklyn, London, Los, Mississippi, United States, Rivers, Georgia, Savannah, Louisville, New York City, Irish, HBO’s “ Rome, Brazilian, Ipanema, Moscow, Virginia, Montana, Vietnam, Canada, Asia, Chicago, Hawaii, France, South Africa, Wisconsin, Los Angeles, Czech, Eastern Kentucky, Colombian, ”, California, Tulsa, Finland, China, Nevada, Atlantic City, Florida, Berkshire

REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, no longer welcome in Western concert halls since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, was named on Friday as director of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre. After performing for decades on the world's biggest classical stages, Gergiev has been shunned in the West since the start of the war in February 2022. The following month he was fired as chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra after the city's mayor said Gergiev had declined to "clearly and unambiguously" distance himself from the invasion. Gergiev, also a former principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, has long been controversial outside Russia because of his support for President Vladimir Putin. He spoke out in favour of Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014.

Persons: Valery Gergiev, Lisi Niesner, Gergiev, Vladimir Urin, Urin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, we're, we've, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, REUTERS, Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre, Mariinsky Theatre, Munich, Orchestra, Bolshoi, London Symphony Orchestra, Islamic, Thomson Locations: Russian, Vienna, Austria, Ukraine, St Petersburg, West, Russia, Crimea, Palmyra, Syria, Islamic State, China

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

☆ Shanghai's Jewish refugee history takes centre stage in new oratorio
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Musicians perform onstage at the debut performance of Emigre at the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall in Shanghai, China November 17, 2023. A collaboration between the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic as well as choirs from the U.S. and China, the work premiered on Nov. 17. Composer Aaron Zigman, known best for his movie scores, said he was approached by Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's maestro Long Yu in 2019 with the idea for a piece telling the story of Shanghai's Jewish refugee history. In the late 1930s, as World War Two was about to break out, Shanghai was one of the few places in the world open to Jewish refugees, as many countries restricted visa access. Chen Jian, curator of the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, was in the audience for Emigre's global premiere at the Jaguar Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall in downtown Shanghai.

Persons: Nicoco Chan, Aaron Zigman, Long Yu, Zigman, Mark Campbell, Chen Jian, Casey Hall, Sonali Paul Organizations: Shanghai Symphony Orchestra Hall, REUTERS, Rights, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Shanghai, Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, Jaguar Shanghai, Orchestra Hall, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, U.S, Nazi Germany, Europe, Japan, Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, New York

☆ Her Music Fell Into Obscurity. Now It’s Back at the Philharmonic.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Garrett Schumann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The New York Philharmonic’s program this week contains familiar names, Gustav Holst and György Ligeti. But in between is a first for the orchestra: “Stabat Mater,” a 1951 work for contralto and strings by Julia Perry. This will not be the first time that Perry has shared the stage with more well-known composers. The mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, who will make her Philharmonic debut on Wednesday performing in the “Stabat Mater” solo part, said of the piece: “I love the vocal writing. It’s intense, it’s very introspective, it’s very intimate and also very extreme.” Dima Slobodeniouk, who will conduct the program, described it as “logically and beautifully written.”

Persons: Gustav Holst, György Ligeti, Mater, ”, Julia Perry, Perry, Mater ”, George Antheil’s, Aaron Copland, Ross Parmenter, “, J’Nai Bridges, Dima Slobodeniouk Organizations: Columbia University Composers, The New York Times Locations: York

☆ Opinion | Cultural Diplomacy May Seem Pointless. That Won’t Stop Me.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Matías Tarnopolsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

In early 2008, I was working on the New York Philharmonic’s concert in Pyongyang, a project conceived to enhance the atmosphere of the six-party talks on the denuclearization of North Korea. At the time, observers and even many of the musicians themselves questioned whether any potential good would come of the effort. I think the end of the North Korea story is not yet written. Mr. Barenboim formed the orchestra with his longtime friend and intellectual partner, the Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said, who died in 2003. I arranged the first U.S. visit of the orchestra, which brings young Israeli, Palestinian and other Arab musicians together to make music.

Persons: Madeleine Albright’s, Dvorak, Gershwin, reminisced, Leonard Bernstein, Daniel Barenboim, Barenboim, Edward Said Organizations: York, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Divan, Mr Locations: Pyongyang, North Korea, North Koreans, Soviet Union, Korea, Buenos Aires, London, United States, West, Palestinian, U.S

☆ She Broke Barriers in Music. But She’s Uneasy About the Attention.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

For decades, the New York Philharmonic, the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, was an all-male bastion. Often described as the first woman to become a permanent member of the Philharmonic, O’Brien was part of a pioneering group of female artists who opened doors for other women. O’Brien, who retired from the Philharmonic in 2021 after a 55-year career, has resisted speaking publicly about her life in music, preferring to stay in the background. But a new documentary short, “The Only Girl in the Orchestra,” directed by her niece, the filmmaker Molly O’Brien, looks at her struggles and achievements. (The film premiered last week at DOC NYC, a festival that celebrates documentary film.)

Persons: Orin O’Brien, O’Brien, ”, Molly O’Brien Organizations: New York Philharmonic, Philharmonic, Orchestra Locations: United States

☆ Yuri Temirkanov, Conductor Who Celebrated Russia’s Music, Dies at 84
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Adam Nossiter | More About Adam Nossiter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To his American associates, Mr. Temirkanov was a mysterious but compelling presence, a visitor from the lost world of the Soviet Union’s last years and a disciple of old modes of music instruction that now barely exist. The Baltimore Sun critic Stephen Wigler noted in 1999 that Mr. Temirkanov “doesn’t own a TV set and doesn’t even know how to drive a car.”He spoke English but hardly used it, and he did not go out of his way to cultivate audiences, though those who knew him in Baltimore said that this was less a sign of aloofness than of shyness. “My back must be to the audience, not to the orchestra,” he told The Sun. And it seems to apply not only to his conducting — which he does without a baton, using circular hand motions that can seem enigmatic to outsiders — but also to his musical tastes and, indeed, to the man in general.”He was known to audiences around the world. Over his career he variously conducted the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the London Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among other ensembles.

Persons: Temirkanov, Stephen Wigler, “, ”, Anne Midgette, Temirkanov’s Organizations: Soviet, Baltimore Sun, Sun, The New York Times, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra Locations: Baltimore, Vienna, Dresden, Amsterdam

☆ Courtney Bryan’s Music Brings It All Together
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Seth Colter Walls | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The name Courtney Bryan is not one that you’ll currently find on many recordings. Aside from two independently released, jazz-tilting albums from 2007 and 2010, precious little of this pianist and composer’s finely woven, adventurous music is available to hear widely. But you can expect that to change, beyond live performances including the premiere of Bryan’s chamber work “DREAMING (Freedom Sounds),” presented by the International Contemporary Ensemble at Merkin Hall on Wednesday. Symphony orchestras, chamber musicians, vocal groups and jazz performers have all been drawn to her sound. Last spring, the New York Philharmonic premiere of “Gathering Song,” with text by the stage director Tazewell Thompson and hints of post-bop jazz harmony, displayed her place among the most exciting voices in contemporary American music.

Persons: Courtney Bryan, you’ll, ”, Boosey & Hawkes, ” Bryan, MacArthur, Tazewell Thompson Organizations: International, Merkin Hall, Boosey &, Columbia University, New York Philharmonic Locations: New Orleans

☆ Ready to Retire? Consider Your Family First.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Joanne Kaufman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But unable to make a final decision she asked her elder daughter, a college administrator in Richmond, Va., to come north and weigh in. Her daughter did as requested, only to suggest that her parents consider another option altogether: a senior living community in Richmond. “I asked her, ‘Why on earth would I do that?’” recalled Mrs. Genoni, now 79. “And then she told us, ‘Sooner or later one or both of you are going to need an advocate,’” Mrs. Genoni recalled. “‘Why would you make me worry about you from a distance when you could be living near me?’”

Persons: Marta Genoni, Kenneth, “, ’ ”, Genoni, ‘, ’ Organizations: New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, ‘ Sooner Locations: Westfield, N.J, Richmond , Va, Richmond, New Jersey

☆ The Doyenne of Classical Publicists Takes on a Final Client: Herself
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Alexis Soloski | More About Alexis Soloski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mary Lou Falcone has lived most of her life away from the spotlight. Fifty years ago, after brief careers as a performer and a teacher, Falcone changed course and became a leading publicist in the world of classical music. Now, for the first time since she was 28, Falcone has put herself center stage to promote a new, personal cause. In early 2019, her husband, the artist Nicholas Zann, was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a neurodegenerative disease. In many ways, she is doing what she has always done: crafting a narrative, then sharing it.

Persons: Mary Lou Falcone, “, ”, Falcone, Renée Fleming, Van Cliburn, Jean, Pierre Rampal, Gustavo Dudamel, Georg Solti, Jaap van Zweden, Nicholas Zann, Lewy Organizations: Café, Lincoln Center, New York Philharmonic Locations: Café Luxembourg, Manhattan

BERLIN (AP) — Christian Thielemann has been chosen as the new general music director of Berlin's Staatsoper, months after Daniel Barenboim ended his three-decade reign, the city government said Wednesday. The 64-year-old German conductor will take the job at the Staatsoper, or State Opera, on Sept. 1, 2024. He moved on to serve as music director of Berlin's Deutsche Oper from 1997-2004 and of the Munich Philharmonic from 2004-11. Now 80, he was general music director from 1992 until he stepped down at the end of January, saying that his health had become too poor to carry on. Barenboim said in Wednesday's statement that he has known Thielemann since he was his assistant at the Deutsche Oper as a 19-year-old.

Persons: Thielemann, Daniel Barenboim, “, Joe Chialo, ”, Herbert von Karajan, Barenboim, Richard Wagner, Elisabeth Sobotka Organizations: BERLIN, Berlin's, Staatsoper, State Opera, Nuremberg’s, Deutsche Oper, Munich Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Richard Wagner Festival Locations: Berlin's Staatsoper, Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Bayreuth, “, East Berlin, Germany's

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor David McCallum, who became a teen heartthrob in the hit series "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." McCallum died Monday of natural causes surrounded by family at New York Presbyterian Hospital, CBS said in a statement. His parents were musicians; his father, also named David, played violin, his mother played cello. When David was 3, the family moved to London, where David Sr. played with the London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic. In 2007, when he was working on “NCIS,” McCallum told a reporter: “I’ve always felt the harder I work, the luckier I get.

Persons: David McCallum, McCallum, “ David, ”, James Bond, Ian Fleming, Jon Heitland's “, Robert Vaughn, Napoleon Solo, Illya, “ I’d, ’, Vaughn, Donald “ Ducky, Mark Harmon, Ducky, “, Lauren Holly, Steven D, Binder, David North, Sapphire, “ Amadeus ”, Michael Sheen, David Suchet, ” David Keith McCallum, David, David Sr, Young David, Jill Ireland, Charles Bronson, Bronson, ” McCallum, Katherine, Carpenter, we’ve, Paul, Jason, Valentine, Peter, Sophie, ” Peter McCallum, “ I’ve, ” ___ Bob Thomas Organizations: ANGELES, New York Presbyterian Hospital, CBS, Scottish, United Network Command, Law, Naval Criminal Investigation Service, Navy, Hallmark, of Fame, City, Associated Press, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Academy of Music, Royal Academy of Dramatic, Los Angeles Times Locations: New, Russian, Los Angeles, New York, Santa Monica, U.S, American, Glasgow, London, Australia, Ireland, “

Dudamel was hired in February to become the Philharmonic's music director for the 2026-27 season. As part of the gift, the music director will become The Oscar L. Tang and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Music and Artistic Director Chair starting with the 2025-26 season, when Dudamel becomes music director designate. The 42-year-old Dudamel has been music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2009, a tenure that will end after 17 seasons when he starts in New York. He quit as music director of the Paris Opéra in May, two seasons into a six-year contract scheduled to run through the 2026-27 season. Oscar Tang, 85, has been part of the philharmonic board since 2013 and has been co-chairman with Peter W. May, since 2019.

Persons: Gustavo Dudamel, Oscar L, Tang, Agnes Hsu, Dudamel, L, H.M, Oscar Tang, Peter W Organizations: New York Philharmonic, Tang, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Paris, philharmonic, Reich Locations: New York

☆ Lviv's hottest ticket: a concert hall resurrecting Ukraine's repertoire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Andrea Januta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Ivan Ostapovych, Lviv Organ Hall's co-director and conductor, rehearses with musicians of the Luhansk Philharmonic before a premiere of the opera Zorya at the Lviv Organ Hall, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Lviv, Ukraine August 9, 2023. Performing during the war means tighter budgets, longer hours and quadruple the effort, said the hall's co-director Taras Demko. In early July when 10 people were killed in a Russian missile strike on a residential building in Lviv, the Organ Hall cancelled that night's choral concert. The hall spotlights Ukrainian music, including new compositions and little-known works. It was given its professional world premier at the Organ Hall earlier this year.

Persons: Ivan Ostapovych, Hall's, Alina Smutko, Taras Demko, Demko, Sievierodonetsk, Igor Shapovalov, Shapovalov, Mozart, Viktor Kosenko, Ihor Sonevytsky, Ostapovych, Andrea Januta Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Catholic Church, Performing, Reuters, Luhansk Philharmonic, Orchestra, YouTube, Communist Party, Thomson Locations: Lviv, Luhansk, Ukraine, Rights LVIV, Russia, Sievierodonetsk, Russian, Soviet Union

☆ At Ukrainian concert hall, music offers comfort and cultural resistance
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[6/23]Read moreMusicians of the Luhansk Philharmonic wait for their performance, before the opera starts, at the Lviv Organ Hall, in Lviv, Ukraine, August 11. The Luhansk Philharmonic moved twice to escape war: first to the small eastern city of Sievierodonetsk in 2015 after its home city was captured by Russian-backed separatists, and then to Lviv last year when Sievierodonetsk was lain to waste by Russian...LVIV, UKRAINE

Persons: Sievierodonetsk Organizations: Hall, Luhansk Philharmonic Locations: Luhansk, Lviv, Ukraine, Sievierodonetsk, Russian, LVIV, UKRAINE

This is a season of transition for two of New York’s most important arts institutions. And Jaap van Zweden, the New York Philharmonic’s music director since 2018, starts his final year in the position with help from Yo-Yo Ma, Steve Reich and Schubert. Grand orchestras like the Chicago Symphony and Staatskapelle Berlin at Carnegie Hall; the Emerson String Quartet’s farewell; and premieres by Kate Soper and Ted Hearne are among the other highlights coming this fall. And Matthew Ozawa’s staging for Detroit Opera aims to be a corrective to stereotypes about Japanese women and culture (Oct. 7-15). DEATH OF CLASSICAL The impresario Andrew Ousley’s bleakly winking concert series, performed in crypts and catacombs, includes the Calidore Quartet, which will present Beethoven’s Op.

Persons: Jake Heggie’s, Malcolm X ”, Florencia, Jaap van Zweden, Ma, Steve Reich, Schubert, Kate Soper, Ted Hearne, Phil Chan, Matthew Ozawa’s, PERELMAN, ”, Mahani Teave, Andrew Ousley’s bleakly, Lowell Liebermann’s, Maxim Lando, Bach’s “ Goldberg, Hanzhi Wang, David Lang’s Pulitzer, “ Organizations: Metropolitan Opera, York, Chicago Symphony, Berlin, Carnegie Hall, Emerson Colonial Theater, Detroit Opera, Trinity Church Wall, Easter Locations: el Amazonas, Boston, American

☆ A Los Angeles Home That Channels the Magic of ‘Fantasia’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Max Berlinger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

By her own admission, the actor Anastasia Graff is a maximalist who loves “girlie things,” so it’s not altogether surprising that she wanted a periwinkle kitchen for her 1930s-era West Hollywood home. Still, such a bold choice could send some interior designers into a tailspin. Clad in white-painted wood siding with a wide porch, it had appealed to Graff because it reminded her of the traditional wooden homes on the East Coast, where she grew up. But it didn’t hurt that the place is part of local lore: It once belonged to the Russian-born composer and conductor Igor Stravinsky, who lived in Los Angeles from 1940 to 1969, while he conducted the L.A. Philharmonic both downtown and at the Hollywood Bowl. “You realize in Los Angeles, there’s a story behind every house,” says Graff.

Persons: Anastasia Graff, “, ”, Frances Merrill, Graff, ” Merrill, Igor Stravinsky, Merrill, gravitas, there’s, Marilyn Monroe’s Organizations: Hollywood Locations: East Coast, Russian, Los Angeles

☆ A Conductor Who Wants to Put You ‘Inside the Sound’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Joshua Barone | More About Joshua Barone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Growing up, the conductor Maxime Pascal was a self-identified musical dilettante. As a child in the south of France, he had some skill on the violin, and sat in on the piano lessons his mother taught. Now, though, Pascal, 37, is arguably his generation’s finest conductor of 20th-century music, as well as an essential interpreter of contemporary works. And his schedule reflects both the breadth of his ambition and the respect he has garnered on some of the industry’s most prestigious stages. This month, Pascal is at the podium of the Vienna Philharmonic for the Martinu rarity “The Greek Passion” at the Salzburg Festival in Austria.

Persons: Maxime Pascal, Pascal, ”, Pierre Audi, Le Balcon, Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht’s Organizations: New Orleans, Threepenny Opera, Vienna Philharmonic, Salzburg Festival Locations: France, Aix, Provence, Austria, Paris

☆ Leonard Bernstein’s Children Defend Bradley Cooper’s Prosthetic Nose in ‘Maestro’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Marc Tracy | More About Marc Tracy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Leonard Bernstein’s three children came to the defense of the actor and director Bradley Cooper on Wednesday after he drew fresh criticism for wearing a large prosthetic nose in his portrayal of the midcentury American composer and conductor, who was Jewish, in the forthcoming movie “Maestro.”When the makeup was first revealed last year, some questioned the decision by Cooper, who is not Jewish, to play Bernstein, who died in 1990. In the Netflix film, he stars opposite Carey Mulligan as Bernstein’s wife, Felicia Montealegre Bernstein. The debut of a teaser trailer on Tuesday prompted further discussion on social media about both the prosthesis, which critics said played into an antisemitic trope, and about whether an actor who is Jewish should instead have been cast to play Bernstein, the “West Side Story” composer and music director of the New York Philharmonic.

Persons: Leonard Bernstein’s, Bradley Cooper, Maestro, ”, Cooper, Bernstein, Carey Mulligan, Felicia Montealegre Bernstein Organizations: Netflix, New York Philharmonic Locations: American

☆ At Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony Displays Its Heritage and Uncertain Future
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( David Allen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Hints of a progressive Californian spirit were soon in evidence, as composers started appearing onstage at Symphony Hall in Boston to introduce their works, and the atmosphere began to feel more engaged. But Samuel lasted a mere 18 months, stepping down in January for reasons that are still not clear. Smith, who for a long time was the adventurous Philharmonic’s programming guru, is hugely respected, and his hiring is cause for excitement, if some trepidation. In addition, Elizabeth Rowe, the principal flutist whose distinctive, ever-so-slightly melancholy tone has defined the sound of the modern Boston Symphony, has announced that she will leave her position next year. She sued the orchestra in 2018 to secure pay equal to that of the oboist who sits to her left, John Ferrillo.

Persons: Mark Volpe, Gail Samuel, Samuel, Chad Smith, Smith, Malcolm Lowe, Lowe, Joseph Silverstein, Richard Burgin, Alexander Velinzon, Elita Kang, Tamara Smirnova, Elizabeth Rowe, John Ferrillo Organizations: Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Symphony Hall Locations: Boston, Angeles, North America

☆ A Volkswagen plant in Germany sends staff off on their big summer break with a chorus of 'trumpets, trombones and drums'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Volkswagen closes its Wolfsburg factory for three weeks every summer when workers go on vacation. Unlike the US, it's common in European countries to take a long summer vacation. A Volkswagen factory in Germany shuts down for a three-week summer vacation each year, kicking off the long summer break with a "chorus of trumpets, trombones and drums," Bloomberg reported. It's common for workers in some European countries such as France, Sweden, and Italy, to take a long summer vacation, even for an entire month. Usually for Europeans, peak summer vacation season starts from mid-June, till the end of August.

Persons: —, It's, “, — Samuel Pollen, 🇪 (@ ANda Organizations: Volkswagen, Wolfsburg, Bloomberg, Morning, company's, Volkswagen Philharmonic Locations: Germany, Wolfsburg, France, Sweden, Italy

☆ Indiana Jones, John Williams and the Art of Music You Can Barely Hear - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Frank Lehman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

I’ve been fascinated with film music since elementary school, when I got a cassette tape called “Kid Stuff: An Afternoon at the Movies,” which featured Mr. Williams and the Boston Pops. No one exemplifies this better than Mr. Williams, who is still composing at 91. Mr. Williams accomplished this by inviting the trumpet section of the London Symphony Orchestra to blast away in its most piercing register. As he has with other cues, Mr. Williams has given this particular set piece an afterlife in concert performances. Keep your eyes shut!” Maybe then we’ll stop passively hearing film music and begin actively listening to it.

Persons: Indiana Jones, John Williams, doesn’t, He’s, I’ve, Williams, ”, Dvorak, Stravinsky, Bach, extol, Gene Shalit, “, —, “ Indiana Jones, you’ll, Kate Capshaw’s, Willie Scott, That’s, it’s, Mickey Mousing, Emilio Audissino, Daniel Goldmark, ” Mr, Mickey Mouser, Guy ”, Mousing, Beyoncé’s, Marion Ravenwood, Marion Organizations: Raiders, “ Star, “ Raiders, Boston Pops, London Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, ”, Hollywood, “ Locations: “, Indiana

☆ Royal Opera’s Next Leader Keeps Quality in Mind and Home in His Heart
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Rebecca Schmid | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the next music director of the Royal Opera House, Jakub Hrusa, one main thing defines the theater’s activities: “Quality.”“It’s the quality of human relationships and sensitivity to the genre so that it can be done really well,” he said. “There is an environment which is cultivating, not killing, creativity and the individual voice.”An authoritative, elegant but humble presence on the podium, Mr. Hrusa, a Czech native, has become one of today’s most sought conductors. At the end of the 2024-25 season, he will succeed Antonio Pappano, who became music director at the Royal Opera in 2002. Mr. Hrusa, 41, already resides with his family in London while serving as chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony and principal guest conductor of both the Czech Philharmonic and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. In November, he will make his U.S. operatic debut with a production of Janacek’s “Jenufa” at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Persons: Jakub Hrusa, “, ”, Hrusa, Antonio Pappano Organizations: Royal Opera House, Royal Opera, Bamberg Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Lyric Opera of Locations: Czech, London, Santa, Rome, Lyric Opera of Chicago

☆ John Williams on ‘Indiana Jones’ and His Favorite Scores
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Darryn King | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When the New York Philharmonic honored the work of the film composer John Williams this past spring, the director Steven Spielberg introduced a clip of the opening scenes of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” — without the music. The clip was played again, this time with the orchestra joining in. On June 30, the rugged archaeologist at the heart of that film (played by Harrison Ford) will return for the fifth entry in the franchise, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” He’ll be accompanied, as ever, by Williams’s indispensable music. The composer, who turned 91 this year, had said it would be his final film score. “If they do an ‘Indiana Jones 6,’ I’m on board.”

Persons: John Williams, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones, ” He’ll, Indiana, ’, ” Organizations: New York Philharmonic, “ Raiders, Indiana Jones

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