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The Alleged Sins of Georg Ratzinger

Tuesday, 09 March 2010 11:01 Gene Gaudette

News stories concerning alleged abuse of children by Catholic clergymen have become almost routine, but this one is also sending ripples throughout the world of classical music: the Pope's brother, Georg Ratzinger — who served for three decades as choral director of "the much-heralded Regensburger Domspatzen, a thousand-year-old male choir and boarding school" — was involved in a conspiracy to cover up allegations of clergy sex abuse. The Independent UK has the full story.

Bernard Coutaz, 1922-2010

Tuesday, 02 March 2010 09:52 Gene Gaudette

Bernard Coutaz may not be a household name, but he was the founder of the influential harmonia mundi record label. The New York Times and AP have brief obituaries; Le Temps has more in French.

Wyn Morris, Champion of Mahler's Music, 1929-2010

Sunday, 28 February 2010 17:06 Gene Gaudette

It has been a while since I spoke with Wyn Morris, the mercurial and brilliantly gifted conductor who made a number of pioneering recordings of the music of Gustav Mahler. I just learned this afternoon of his death at age 81. Here is his obituary from his own favorite Tory-leaning paper, The Telegraph.

Kronos 25

Sunday, 28 February 2010 10:21 Gene Gaudette

Go read Steve Smith's interesting NY Times feature on the Kronos Quartet — an ensemble whose revolutionary programming and concertizing laid much of the groundwork for the "alternative classics" championed by Bang on a Can, Absolut Ensemble and innumerable other adventurous ensembles and series — as they celebrate their 25th anniversary. To be honest, though, the more traditonal but often more daring Arditti Quartet deserves the same amount of ink.

Two major corruption scandals stun the classical music business

Wednesday, 10 February 2010 16:47 administrator

"Corruption scandals sully the LPO and the Salzburg Festival," reads the headline to Charlotte Higgins' latest article for The Guardian (UK). More than a few impressarios and managers must be starting to ask questions about the ease with which musical festivals and organizations are being looted.

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