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2008 is the 50th anniversary of the death of Ralph Vaughan Williams, one of the greatest of the 20th-century composers who gave British music a golden age unparalleled since the 17th century. Vaughan Williams wrote music shaped by his love of British folk tunes and the great Renaissance composers which is none the less strikingly original and unmistakably of our time. MORE | WEB LINKS | IMAGES | SHOP Ralph Vaughan Williams
Roger Louis Voisin, who at 17 became the youngest musician ever to join the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has died after a long illness. He was 89. Voisin, who died Wednesday, 13 FEB 2008, at a Newton nursing home, was a member of the BSO's trumpet section from 1935 to 1973 and was principal trumpet from 1950 to 1965. He was born in Angers, France, before moving to Boston at age 11. Voisin received much of his early training from his father, Rene, also a member of the BSO. MORE | WEB LINKS | SHOP ROGER VOISIN
Internationally renowned Danish soprano Inga Nielsen has died of cancer in Copenhagen at the age of 61, hospital sources and her family said Monday, 11 FEB 2008. Born on June 2, 1946, Nielsen, who died Sunday evening at the Gentofte hospital in northern Copenhagen, had for the past 30 years belonged to the international opera elite and was especially famous for her interpretations of Mozart. Nielsen, who released her first Danish record at the tender age of nine, hit the world stage in 1975 when she joined the Frankfurt opera. She stayed there for five years before going freelance and was subsequently hailed for performances on opera stages around the world, including in Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Paris, London and New York. NEWS | WEB LINKS | IMAGES | SHOP Inga Nielsen | VIDEO
The Brazilian's Rich Legacy Has Been Too Long Forgotten Here WEB LINKS | IMAGES | SHOP Heitor Villa-Lobos
Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27, was written by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1906–07. The premiere was conducted by the composer himself in St. Petersburg on 8 February 1908. Its duration is approximately 60 minutes when performed uncut; cut performances can be as short as 35 minutes. The score is dedicated to Sergei Taneyev, a Russian composer, teacher, theorist, author, and pupil of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky....MORE | SHOP Rachmaninoff Symphonies
Israel's Eliahu Inbal has been selected to become the chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, an official said Wednesday. Inbal, 71, was assuming the post for the 2009-2010 season, replacing Zdenek Macal, who resigned last year after taking the job in 2003, orchestra spokeswoman Barbora Kalosova said. In the past, Inbal served as a music director for Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1974-1990, and in 1995-2001 was the chief conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of the RAI in Italy's Torino. In 2001, he was named the music director of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. WEB LINKS | IMAGES | SHOP Eliahu Inbal
The 74-year-old founder and conductor of the Stuttgart Bach Academy is considered a leading expert on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). He was trained as an organist and church musician. Recently Rilling was one of the speakers at the evangelical convention “Vivace” on classical and contemporary church music in Schwaebisch Gmuend near Stuttgart. He emphasized that the church’s main purpose is to glorify God. He observes, however, that personal feelings are increasingly coming to the fore. In Rilling’s opinion it is not good enough to say, “I had a good time” after a worship service or a church concert. “Shouldn’t we rather say: I had a decisive or a deeply moving time?” asked the conductor. In his opinion entertainment and seriousness should be clearly distinguishable. Rilling is concerned that churches pay too much respect to the tastes of outsiders in their choice of music, for example by organizing Gospel or Pop concerts. The church has such a unique and great message, he said, that there is no need to snuggle up to entertainment elements. Rilling has recorded the complete choral works of Bach, involving more than 1,000 pieces of music and spanning 170 compact discs. He is also co-founder and artistic director of the Oregon Bach Festival.
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