Local media are reporting that Cornelius Meister has resigned as Generalmusikdirektor in Stuttgart, following heated disagreements with the intendant, Viktor Schoner, and his team. Meister, 44, will leave Stuttgart in 2026. Things should be interesting between now and then. He has no other job on the side and has been quoted as saying he will not conduct again in Bayreuth, following dissension from some musicians there. The post German Meister quits appeared first on Slippedisc ..read more

The late Rafael Kubelik, suffering heart tremors while conducting the Czech Philharmonic, begged to be left to die in the podium (he wasn’t). Yesterday, the Brazilian conductor Jorge Rivero Tirado had a heart attack in mid-rehearsal with the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra in Guadalajara. Medics who rushed to the scene were unable to revive him. Tirado, who was rehearsing a popular programme of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and the Four Seasons of Buenos Aires by Piazzolla, was the orchestra’s co-principal oboe.     The post Conductor, 74, died doing what he loved best appeared first on Slip ..read more

The management of the New York Philharmonic last night issued this blunt note to players in the orchestra: ‘Please note that for the time being, Matthew Muckey and Liang Wang will not be at rehearsals or performances.’ Muckey is the associate principal trumpet who faces accusations of raping another player in July 2010. Wang (pictured) is principal oboe who was named as his accomplice in the alleged offence. This is a developing crisis for the orchestra. Its president Gary Ginstling, appointed last year, told the NY Times  that his hands are tied by a ‘binding aribitration’ that required ..read more

The orchestra today granted tenure, after two years’ probation, to a new principal viola, Diyang Mei. Mei, 29, is the first Chinese national in Germany’s flagship orchestra. Winner of the 2018 ARD Competition, he was swiftly hired as principal viola of the Munich Philharmonic. He said today: ‘A big thank you to all my wonderful colleagues, looking forward to further cooperation and many great concerts.’ The post Just in: Berlin Philharmonic confirms its first Chinese player appeared first on Slippedisc ..read more

Pro-Ukraine protests in South Korea have prompted the annulment of a tour by principal dancers from Russia’s Bolshoi Ballet. The Russian Embassy expressed ‘deep regret’. The post Korea cancels Bolshoi appeared first on Slippedisc ..read more

The violinist Joshua Bell has been renewed as music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields to August 2028. He says: ‘It is an honour to announce this extension during the centenary celebration of Sir Neville Marriner, a man who not only helped launch my own recording career but who, over the course of half a century, fostered the Academy’s exceptional standard of excellence in orchestral playing that I strive to uphold today.’     The post Bell prolongs appeared first on Slippedisc ..read more

The doyen German conductor has not been seen in the podium for around seven years after a period of ill health. He is 94 and doing well. Yesterday, without warning, he turned up at the Isar Philharmonie in Munich for a chat with his old pal, the pianist Rudolf Buchbinder. So nice to see Christoph out and about once more. The post A rare concert sighting of Christoph von Dohnanyi appeared first on Slippedisc ..read more

The Erich Bergel International Conducting Competition in Romania has been won by Davide Trolton. His Bologna Conservatory teacher Luciano Acocella was on the jury. As is so often the case. In case you think this is a victimless act, 246 musicians paid 90 euros to apply and 40 of them paid a further 400 euros plus air fares and hotels to participate. The post Another dodgy conducting competition appeared first on Slippedisc ..read more

Alpesh Chauhan, music director of the imperiled Birmingham Opera Company, has received a three-year extension on his principal guest contract with the Dusseldorf Symphony, taking him to 2027. Chauhan, 31, is also associate conductor of BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. The post Brit baton gets German extension appeared first on Slippedisc ..read more

We have been informed of the death of Paul Strang, a non-musician who played a key backstage role in several music organisations. Paul was the child of the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham and the English soprano Dora Labette, with whom he had a 13-year affair. A lawyer by vocation, Paul Strang joined the board of Trinity College of Music back in 1974 and became chair in 1992. He worked with three successive principals to merge Trinity with Laban Dance Centre an move the new hybrid out of central London, to Greenwich. He also supported the Kathleen Ferrier Prize and the Museum of Music History. Hi ..read more