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Emerging Genius
A biographical novel tells the tale of a talented but maligned composer, plus other news
It is 7 June 1837. Anton collapses in tears as he watches his father die. His mother cannot afford to keep him, so compels him, at the age of thirteen, to leave home. At the St Florian monastery in Upper Austria, he learns to play the organ. Later he trains to be a schoolteacher. Meanwhile he is improving as a composer. Suddenly, he realises he is at the crossroads of his life. Which of three paths does he take?
Gordon L Thomas: Anton Bruckner - A Genius Emerges
This is a novel based on the fascinating, colourful and varied life of the nineteenth century composer Anton Bruckner. It is based on fact and attempts to dispel some of the myths which still surround him. It shows his range of skills, from teaching music theory at the University of Vienna, through being a brilliant organist, and a sensitive choirmaster, to his success as a symphonist. It demonstrates his shrewdness, intelligence, independence and his efforts in dealing with others.
This novel is a must-read for anyone who loves music, history or simply a good story. It also marks the two hundredth anniversary of Bruckner's birth, which will take place on 4 September 2024.
British author Gordon L Thomas says:
My latest is a biographical novel about the nineteenth century composer, Anton Bruckner. Its contents are firmly based on the facts about this fascinating character. My aim is to dispel the cruel myths which unfortunately still surround him. Early biographers wrongly regard him as childlike and naïve, and too willing to agree to changes suggested by others to his symphonies.
Some regards him as an isolated individual but the number of interactions he has with a wide range of people, including his housekeeper, shows this to be incorrect, even though he was unlucky in love.
Anton Bruckner - A Genius Emerges has been published by Sell My Books in paperback format (ISBN 978-0995677869) and on Amazon Kindle.
Gordon L Thomas' previous books include The Harpist of Madrid (2011), The Emerald of Burgos (2014), Expulsion (2017, a prequel to The Harpist of Madrid), Return to Madrid (2019) and It began in Florence (2021, about English composer Ethel Smyth).
American broadcaster Fred Child (born 1963) will step down in October 2025 from his position as host and senior editor of YourClassical's Performance Today, completing a twenty-five-year run as host of the USA's most popular classical music radio show.
Fred Child
Performance Today is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the USA and features live concert recordings, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Based at the APM studios in St Paul, Minnesota, the show is frequently on the road, with special programmes broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the USA.
In addition, Child was the commentator and announcer for the PBS program Live From Lincoln Center and has hosted many live national concert broadcasts. His music reviews and commentary have appeared on NPR, the BBC and Billboard magazine. He continues to host musical events on stages around the USA, working with major orchestras and festivals and connecting with audiences coast to coast. He also plays piano, guitar, marimba and bagpipes.
Fred Child says:
It's been the greatest joy of my working life to share music, stories, conversations, and ideas with audiences around the country for a quarter of a century. I will dearly miss our daily meeting in the virtual space we all create together in our hearts and imaginations, via radio and streaming. But after twenty-five years, I feel I have accomplished far more than I could have imagined, connecting music-makers with music-lovers in service of this wondrous art form we call classical music.
I'm ready to step away from this platform, and to heartily welcome new voices and talent who will carry this work forward. My deepest thanks to the entire APM and YourClassical team. Hugs and thanks to every member of the Performance Today team, past and present. And special thanks to every station that has entrusted their airtime to me, and to every listener I've connected with through our shared love of music.
Liwanag Ojala, brand leader for YourClassical, comments:
For twenty-five years, Fred Child has been the voice of classical music in America. We have the deepest gratitude and admiration for Fred and his talents for connecting with listeners worldwide. We will work with Fred to ensure his legacy with Performance Today is honored and that he has a fantastic final year hosting for us.
Fred's distinctive style has guided and enthralled audiences far and wide blending his genuine passion for classical music with eloquence, knowledge and insightful commentary. We're mutually excited for the next chapter of Performance Today and we're working on next steps.
The USA's Bowdoin International Music Festival has announced a USD 3.7 million bequest from Patricia Crawford Brown, an ardent supporter and trustee of the organization.
The gift, the largest in the festival's sixty-year history, establishes a fund to support student scholarships. Earnings from the fund will supplement the nearly USD 600,000 in scholarships awarded annually, further enabling young musicians from around the globe to study at the music institute in Brunswick.
Patricia Crawford Brown was born in Long Beach, California, USA, in 1933. After graduating from the University of Southern California, she spent her career in book and magazine publishing, where notably she was a founding editor of Bon Appetit and editor-in-chief of Cuisine. Pat mentored countless food writers and editors until her death in May 2024 at the age of ninety.
Patricia Crawford Brown (1933-2024) in 2019, with violinist Becca Kasdan, one of many festival young musicians that she sponsored over the years
Crawford Brown and her husband retired to Brunswick in 2001. Her love of the arts led her to the Bowdoin International Music Festival where she was honoured in 2023 for her tireless work raising scholarship funds for young musicians.
Daniel Nitsch, the festival's executive director, comments:
Bequests provide a unique opportunity to do meaningful and perpetual good for a cherished cause. Pat chose to make arts education her legacy, building opportunities for future generations of young musicians. Her steadfast belief that everyone deserves a quality education, regardless of finances, inspires us all.
The mission of the Bowdoin International Music Festival is to prepare gifted young musicians from around the world for a life in music through study with world-class artists, and to present classical music in concerts throughout Midcoast Maine at the highest artistic standards. Over its sixty-year history, the festival has established itself as a vital force throughout the music world. Further information: bowdoinfestival.org
British conductor John Eliot Gardiner has decided to step down from his position with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras, following reports from last year that Gardiner allegedly called bass soloist William Thomas a 'dozy bugger', threatened to pour beer over his head, slapped him on the face and punched him in the mouth. The singer had apparently merely left the podium in the wrong direction, following a performance of Les Troyens at the French Festival Berlioz. Stories abound of Gardiner's rudeness in the workplace - a style of working which is thankfully going out of fashion.
Gardiner comments:
After a long period of deep consideration and reflection, I have decided to step down as leader and Artistic Director of the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestras (MCO) with immediate effect.
The MCO, which I founded in 1964, has been the proudest and most inspiring project of my life, and I have arrived at this decision with a heavy heart after six decades of remarkable collaborative achievement.
I have done a great deal of soul searching since the deeply regrettable incident at the Festival Berlioz at La Côte-Saint-André last August and have apologised repeatedly and unreservedly for losing control in such an inappropriate fashion. I have undergone extensive therapy and other counselling over the past eleven months and have learned a great deal about myself and my past behaviour, but I have reached the conclusion that the best way forward for both myself and for the MCO is to accept that a clear change in our relationship is necessary now for the good of both parties.
After extensive discussions with the MCO board, I therefore feel that in the interests of the institution and its richly talented players - many of whom I value as close personal friends - the time has come for us to go our separate ways.
For the avoidance of doubt, I am not in any sense ready to retire. I will be focussing on a rich variety of other activities including guest conducting, recording, writing, creative and education projects (to which I am deeply committed) as part of a lighter, lower pressure schedule. I truly feel energised and excited about the future and fully intend to commit wholeheartedly to carrying on the work that I remain passionate about and which is forever part of my DNA.
My profound thanks go to the musicians, singers, sponsors and patrons of the MCO for all of their dedication, creativity and generous support. It has been a magnificent journey.
Posted 15 August 2024 by Keith Bramich
