DISCUSSION: John Dante Prevedini leads a discussion about Classical Music and Politics, including contributions from Béla Hartmann and James Ross.
PROVOCATIVE THOUGHTS:
The late Patric Standford may have written these short pieces deliberately to provoke our feedback. If so, his success is reflected in the rich range of readers' comments appearing at the foot of most of the pages.
The 2021 Petrichor International Music Competition is a new annual music contest which will provide support, inspiration and exposure to instrumentalists and singers from around the world. The submission deadline is very soon, however: 31 May 2021 at 23:59 PST, so there is very little time left to apply. Due to the current and foreseeable circumstances, participation will be entirely online - musicians will be asked to submit videos of their performances. The total value of all the prizes is over US$ 10,000.
The competition's four categories are:
If the above category descriptions are taken literally and your date of birth is 1 July 1999, you would have to ask the organisers whether it would be possible to submit in categories A or B !
This competition is open to instrumentalists, singers, ensembles and composers of all ages and nationalities. All musicians, including established or emerging artists, are welcome to apply.
Further information: petrichor-records.com/music-competition
Bestselling author, Helena Attlee and Greg Lawson, violinist, composer, and conductor, launched a crowdfunding campaign to rescue and restore a unique violin at a special event at the Hay Festival in the UK on the morning of 28 May 2021.
Helena Attlee was inspired to write the story of this violin when she heard it played by Greg Lawson at a concert in Presteigne, near Hay on Wye in Welsh border country. She described its voice as 'powerful enough to open pores and unbuckle joints' in her book Lev's Violin: An Italian Adventure which reached millions of listeners when it was broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s 'Book of the Week' in April 2021.
But now this precious violin is broken. Its neck has collapsed and its fragile body needs thorough restoration. It has been lying in its case for a year or more, unplayable until it is restored.
The crowdfunding campaign is led by Helena Attlee. The campaign team includes Greg Lawson, violinist with Scotland's leading orchestras and a member of Moishe’s Bagel, a band playing Klezmer and world music, and Dr Lev Atlas, principal viola at the Scottish Opera Orchestra, who smuggled the violin out of Russia in the 1980s. The restoration has been facilitated by Martin Swan of Martin Swan Violins, and will be carried out by violin maker and restorer Anette Fajardo.
The crowdfunding campaign aims to raise sufficient funds to restore Lev's violin and give its wonderful voice back to the world for another hundred years. When it has been restored, Lev's violin will be offered on loan to exceptional students seeking out their own voices as musicians, and to other players with projects especially suited to its particular tone. Any additional funds raised will be given to Music for All, a charity dedicated to providing instruments for schools, supporting individual musicians and community music projects.
Contributors to the campaign will be given the opportunity to hear the glorious sound of Lev's violin on a newly recorded album featuring a variety of classical and world music. Among other funding rewards are tickets to an online concert with Lev's violin, Greg Lawson and Lev Atlas, a signed copy of Helena's book - Lev's Violin - and the opportunity to welcome Greg Lawson to your home for a private concert. The campaign was launched at the Hay Literary Festival when Helena discussed her work and Greg played live at a special event chaired by broadcaster Francine Stock.
The campaign, Save Lev's Violin - a Music crowdfunding project in Presteigne by Helena Attlee Ramsay can be found here: crowdfunder.co.uk/save-levs-violin
Posted 28 May 2021 by Keith Bramich