MUSAIC—a collaborative digital initiative between the New World Symphony

MUSAIC—a collaborative digital initiative between the New World Symphony, Cleveland Institute of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester), Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London), Manhattan School of Music, Royal Danish Academy of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, University of Missouri-Kansas City, and University of Southern California—is an online community of classical musicians and continuously updated video library curated by America’s Orchestral Academy. Just as teachers have traditionally passed down knowledge to their students, MUSAIC provides access to classical music instruction and conversations for students and performers alike. Watch videos here!

A Mozart Mystery: Sonata Manuscript Surfaces in Budapest

For Balazs Mikusi, a young Hungarian musicologist, it was the find of a lifetime. Leafing through folders of unidentified manuscripts at the National Szechenyi Library in Budapest recently, he came across four pages of what looked to him like Mozart’s handwriting. As he read through the music, he told Agence France-Presse, he realized that he had stumbled onto Mozart’s own score of the Piano Sonata in A, K.331 – one of the best-known Mozart sonatas because of its “Rondo alla Turca” finale.

To verify his impression Mr. Mikusi showed a copy of the score to Ulrich Leisinger, the director of the Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg, and Neal Zaslaw, the editor of the new Köchel catalog of Mozart’s works. Both agreed that the writing was Mozart’s, Mr. Mikusi said in an interview published in the library’s blog.  More

Man charged in $5M violin theft pleads guilty

Associated Press= MILWAUKEE (AP) — A man accused of masterminding the theft of a $5 million Stradivarius violin pleaded guilty to robbery on Friday, nearly eight months after the 300-year-old instrument was snatched from a musician who was attacked with a stun gun following a performance in Milwaukee.

Salah Salahadyn was taken into custody after changing his plea during a hearing in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. He could face as many as 10 years in prison when sentenced Nov. 10.

The instrument was missing for nine days before police found it, in good condition, in a suitcase at the Milwaukee home of Salahadyn's acquaintances. Police said the homeowner didn't know what was in the suitcase, which was found in the attic.   more