Director of Paris Conservatory declares conducting too demanding for women

Photo: Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra is one of the world's top conductors
 
The head of the Paris Conservatory, Bruno Mantovani, has caused controversy by saying that conducting is too demanding for women.

The comments were made in an interview with the radio station France Musique during a programme discussing the lack of top female conductors.

He said: ‘The profession of a conductor is a profession that is particularly physically testing, sometimes women are discouraged by the very physical aspect – conducting, taking a plane, taking another plane, conducting again. It is quite challenging.’
Mantovani went on to discuss ‘the problem of maternity’.
‘A woman who wants to have children will have a hard time having a career as a conductor, which can mean changing tack abruptly overnight for several months… Raising a child at a distance isn’t easy.’  More

Breaking: Osmo Vanska quits Minnesota

1 October 2013

Press statement from Osmo Vänskä
Today I have given notice of my resignation as Music Director and Conductor for the Minnesota Orchestra Association, effective 1 October 2013.

It is a very sad day for me. Over ten years ago I was honoured to be invited to take up this position. I moved from Finland to the Twin Cities. At that time I made clear my belief that the Minnesota Orchestra could become one of the very greatest international ensembles. During the intervening years I have had the privilege of seeing that belief vindicated through the skill, hard work and commitment of this wonderful group of players and with the valued support of the Board of Directors, management and administration team, volunteers, as well as our exceptional community.

I send my deepest thanks to everyone involved for what we have achieved together and I wish the Minnesota Orchestra all the very best for its future.  Read viewers comments as well as the statement.

Video: Orchestra Asks Random New Yorkers to Conduct It

The prank collective Improv Everywhere brought Carnegie Hall's resident Ensemble ACJW into the middle of Greeley Square in Midtown and put a conductors' podium, a baton and a big sign that read "Conduct Us" in front of it.
 

See what happens when New Yorkers, said to be regular people off the street, take the orchestra up on the offer. It includes some rather unusual approaches to Mozart's Overture to The Marriage of Figaro.
Watch it!

Report: Opera Attendance Drops, Digital Engagement Rises

Opera companies saw a 15 percent drop in attendance from 2010 to 2011, from roughly 2.7 million patrons to 2.3 million nationwide. That continues what has been an annual decline since 2007, a year when 3.6 million people went to the opera (back in 2000, 3.9 million attended a production). Americans for the Arts says the data does not account for opera companies' educational and community events, nor does it include attendance at HD movie theater screenings by the Metropolitan Opera and other companies. (The Met currently simulcasts to 1700 theaters in 54 countries; whether those screenings cannibalize live audiences remains a point of debate.)  Read More

Jeremy Denk (Oberlin class of '90) a 2013 MacArthur!

Jeremy Denk is a concert pianist enlivening the musical experience for amateurs and aficionados alike through his eloquence with notes and words. As a soloist and in concerti and chamber ensembles, Denk masterfully performs some of the most technically demanding works of iconic masters—Bach, Beethoven, Chopin—as well as compositions of storied twentieth-century artists—Ives and Ligeti—with virtuosic dexterity and imagination. Noted for his unexpected pairings of pieces in recital programs and recordings, he often draws out surprising themes and continuities between historically and stylistically disparate works. His live and recorded duets with violinist Joshua Bell, a longstanding tradition, are critically acclaimed and lauded for their extraordinary balance and original interpretation. - See more at: http://www.macfound.org/fellows/888/#sthash.kv86F10h.dpuf

Jeremy Denk is a concert pianist enlivening the musical experience for amateurs and aficionados alike through his eloquence with notes and words. As a soloist and in concerti and chamber ensembles, Denk masterfully performs some of the most technically demanding works of iconic masters—Bach, Beethoven, Chopin—as well as compositions of storied twentieth-century artists—Ives and Ligeti—with virtuosic dexterity and imagination. Noted for his unexpected pairings of pieces in recital programs and recordings, he often draws out surprising themes and continuities between historically and stylistically disparate works. His live and recorded duets with violinist Joshua Bell, a longstanding tradition, are critically acclaimed and lauded for their extraordinary balance and original interpretation.  More

Jeremy Denk is a concert pianist enlivening the musical experience for amateurs and aficionados alike through his eloquence with notes and words. As a soloist and in concerti and chamber ensembles, Denk masterfully performs some of the most technically demanding works of iconic masters—Bach, Beethoven, Chopin—as well as compositions of storied twentieth-century artists—Ives and Ligeti—with virtuosic dexterity and imagination. Noted for his unexpected pairings of pieces in recital programs and recordings, he often draws out surprising themes and continuities between historically and stylistically disparate works. His live and recorded duets with violinist Joshua Bell, a longstanding tradition, are critically acclaimed and lauded for their extraordinary balance and original interpretation. - See more at: http://www.macfound.org/fellows/888/#sthash.kv86F10h.dpuf

MacArthur Fellows / Meet the Class of 2013

Jeremy Denk

Pianist and Writer

New York, NY

Age: 43

Published September 25, 2013

 

 

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Jeremy Denk is a concert pianist enlivening the musical experience for amateurs and aficionados alike through his eloquence with notes and words. As a soloist and in concerti and chamber ensembles, Denk masterfully performs some of the most technically demanding works of iconic masters—Bach, Beethoven, Chopin—as well as compositions of storied twentieth-century artists—Ives and Ligeti—with virtuosic dexterity and imagination. Noted for his unexpected pairings of pieces in recital programs and recordings, he often draws out surprising themes and continuities between historically and stylistically disparate works. His live and recorded duets with violinist Joshua Bell, a longstanding tradition, are critically acclaimed and lauded for their extraordinary balance and original interpretation.

- See more at: http://www.macfound.org/fellows/888/#sthash.kv86F10h.dpuf

Top Five Women Conductors on the Rise

Last week, the Russian maestro Vasily Petrenko landed in hot water after making disparaging remarks about women conductors.

The incoming principal conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic told the Oslo newspaper Aftenposten that orchestras react better to male conductors because men "often have less sexual energy and can focus more on the music," adding that "a sweet girl on the podium can make one's thoughts drift towards something else." He also claimed that "when women have families, it becomes difficult to be as dedicated as is demanded in the business."  More

No Strings on a Piano, but the Tone Is Grand

There are some things you just don’t expect to read about in a column about electronics. Gluten-free waffles, for example. Ferrets. Moist towelettes.

The latest in technology from the Times’s David Pogue, with a new look.

The NU1 upright is Yamaha’s fourth AvantGrand hybrid digital piano.

And you’d probably expect that list to include pianos.

No, not digital pianos. Not those plastic, flat appliances with 983 instrument sounds and realism that would fool nobody. I mean real pianos, the kind in concert halls, clad in glistening black lacquer, with three pedals and wooden keys that make felt-covered hammers strike taut metal strings. Those instruments have always been strictly analog. And very expensive.  More