All Things Strings: News & Notes

Excerpted from Strings Magazine, July 1999, No. 79

People

Cellist and prizewinner Julie Albers. See Story

Stephen Sims has become assistant principal violinist with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Israeli cellist Amir Eldan is now associate principal cellist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. The Cleveland Institute of Music has appointed Jeffrey Irvine as professor of viola, effective with the 1999-2000 school year.

In February, Marin Alsop, music director of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, was appointed principal guest conductor of both the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Glasgow and the City of London Sinfonia. Both appointments begin in September and extend for three years. As of March 1, 1999, the general manager of the Seattle Symphony is Laurence E. Tucker. And San Francisco Opera General Director Lotfi Mansouri has announced plans to resign at the end of this year; negotiations are underway to extend his stay and a search committee is seeking a successor.

Baroque violinist Jeanne Lamon has won the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize in the Arts, worth $50,000 CDN ($33,000 U.S.). In February, 18-year-old American cellist Julie Albers won the grand prize at the Thirteenth International Competition for Young Concert Musicians, in Douai, France. She received $6,000 and a four-concert tour next year with L’Orchestre de Douai. Also in February, the Avalon String Quartet won first prize in the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York, thus netting $2,500, a New York recital, a commissioned work from a composer of the winner’s choice, and free management by the Guild. Cleveland Institute of Music student Austin Hartman, age 17, won the 24th annual Stulberg International String Competition in March. He received $3,000 and a performance with the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony in April.

Milton Salkind, president of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 1966 to 1990, died at his home in San Francisco on December 9, 1998. Under his leadership, a local music school with 42 students became a national conservatory with 250 undergraduates and a preparatory division.

Salkind was born in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1916 and began studying piano at the age of five. He was a life governor of the San Francisco Symphony and served on several important boards. During his tenure at the San Francisco Conservatory, a number of innovative programs and events were instituted. Salkind is survived by his wife, Peggy, and their two children. The family requests that any contributions be made to the Milton Salkind Scholarship Fund at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 1201 Ortega St., San Francisco, CA 94122.

The music community lost an important link with old old-time American traditional music with the passing of Wilson Douglas, age 76, on March 10, 1999. Douglas, who lived in central West Virginia, became an icon for revivalists seeking precommercial (or "pre–mass media") fiddle styles and contact with someone who grew up in the traditional culture of rural Appalachia.

Douglas learned his art by listening to legendary older fiddlers French Carpenter and Ed Haley. He may be best known for introducing "Elzic’s Farewell" to this generation, for whom it has become a standard. A widely circulated story tells of his wife ordering him to choose between married life and his fiddle. He later remarried.

In later years he became a fixture at music festivals and fiddling camps, where he would impart his understanding of the myriad subtle and difficult rhythms and bowings of the traditional music of West Virginia. His music is documented on several recordings.

Summertime brings hundreds of music festivals, and while we can’t list every one, here are a few interesting events you may not have known about.

The Uncle Dave Macon Days Old-Time Music and Dance Festival will take place in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, July 9–11, 1999. A family-oriented event drawing 40,000 visitors, it is held in Cannonsburgh, a restored pioneer village. Take in old-time music and dance competitions, the Motorless Parade down Main Street, an arts and crafts show, heritage activities for children, shaped-note singing in the country church, and, last but not least, impromptu jam and dance sessions throughout the weekend. What’s more, admission is free. For details, call (800) 716-7560 or (615) 893-2371, or write to PO Box 5016, Murfreesboro, TN 37133.

Kaustinen, Finland, will host the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival July 17–25, 1999. The theme of this year’s festival is the folk musician’s roles as performer, ensemble member, dance accompaniment, composer, and more. More than 200 concerts will feature everything from traditional soloists to the latest in world-music groups, with players coming from Finland, Sweden, Scotland, China, Madagascar, Romania, Estonia, Spain, Poland, and the U.S. For more information, write to PO Box 24, FIN-69601 Kaustinen, Finland; telephone (358) 6-860-4111; e-mail folk.fest@kaustinen.inet.fi; or point your Web browser to www.kase.fi/kaustinen/ktk.htm.

The Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur is slated for July 30–August 15, 1999, in Saint-Sauveur, Quebec. The highlights of the festival are competitions in Music Composition for Dance and in Choreography. Finalists develop and rehearse their works with dancers provided by festival organizers, and many of these rehearsals are open to attendance by festival goers. The music is in a range of styles, from classical to pop. Set, costume, and lighting designers will also be working on the productions, and last year’s winners will be in residency. The festival culminates in final performances of the works for judging. For more information, write to 75 Ave de la Gare, Bloc L-1, Saint-Sauver-des-Monts, PQ J0R 1R6; phone (450) 227-0427; or e-mail festart@qc.aira.com.

The International Violin Competition of Indianapolis has acquired the late Josef Gingold’s Antonio Stradivari violin and, in keeping with Gingold’s firm belief that Strads were meant to be played, is including four years’ use of the instrument in its first prize (Gingold was artistic director of the competition from 1982 to 1994). The "Gingold" Strad, formerly known as the "ex-Martinelli," was built in 1683. Gingold bought it in 1946 and was the first professional player to own it. The 1998 competition winner, Judith Ingolfsson, received the Strad in time for her New York recital debut in April. "I was amazed at its rich sonority and carrying power," she says. "You can’t imagine how thrilling it is for me to perform on this magnificent instrument, with its rich history."

Violinist Janice Martin was recently awarded the use of the "ex-Bagshawe" Stradivari, now to be known as the "Joseph Burstein ex-Bagshawe" in honor of her patron, Stradivari Society member Joseph Burstein. The instrument dates to 1708, during Stradivari’s "golden period." Declares Martin, "Playing this wonderful instrument is like dancing with a partner who instantly responds to every nuance of movement, gesture, and thought. It is teaching me new ways to color and create music and is deepening my strength as an artist." Martin’s debut CD, on the Sonoris label, was released in the spring.

The country of Austria has designated 1999—the 100th anniversary of Strauss’s death—as the Year of Johann Strauss, and Austrian Airlines is celebrating with a commemorative aircraft bearing an enormous portrait of the "Waltz King," violin in hand. The Austrian Airlines Airbus 321, dubbed the "Schani Strauss" ("Schani" was Strauss’ nickname), took 180 hours of work to decorate with a 40-foot-tall, fuselage-to-tail image of Strauss playing the violin and surrounded by clef symbols and notes. The plane will be in regular service, traveling to cities in which Strauss performed, such as Vienna, London, Paris, Berlin, and St. Petersburg, throughout 1999 and possibly into 2000.

Grade-schoolers in south-central Los Angeles, many of whom had never seen a violin before last fall, are now clamoring for music lessons given by a new nonprofit group, the Youth Empowerment Center for Creative Achievement (YECCA).

Violinist Chan-Ho Yun, who teaches six days a week at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, was looking for a way to connect with inner-city kids when he met Dr. Margaret Martin, whose background in public health and interest in string music gave her an appreciation for his goal. The pair hooked up with a group of interested mothers in south-central L.A. and, as a result, 25 kids have already begun playing the violin since November. Another 25 are on a waiting list, and more are expected to join now that a consortium of local churches has thrown its support to YECCA. The response has surprised even YECCA organizers themselves. "Kids are signing up like crazy," says Martin.

YECCA has already received instruments and maintenance support from the Colburn School, the Thomas Metzler Violin Shop in nearby Glendale, and Robert Cauer Violins in Hollywood. Shar Products in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has also donated some instruments. But, says Martin, the group needs more violins and violas—especially half and three-quarter sizes—as well as additional board members ("with deep pockets," laughs Martin) who can help the growing organization network and raise funds. For more information, contact YECCA’s executive director, Hakikah Keith, at 3870 Crenshaw Blvd., Suite 372, Los Angeles, CA 90008; phone (323) 295-1111; or fax (323) 296-1111. Instrument donations may be made directly to YECCA board member Barbara Don at the Metzler Violin Shop, 604 S. Central Ave., Glendale, CA 91204; phone (818) 246-0278.