Researchers Say Beethoven Died from Lead Poisoning
A team of researchers has concluded, after a four-year project involving DNA tests made on Beethoven’s hair, that the composer died of lead poisoning. When Beethoven died in 1827 at age 57, doctors cited a liver infection, which could easily have been a symptom of lead ingestion, said a report on the recent tests.
Beethoven lived at a time when people dumped all sorts of waste materials in the nearest river, according to the website www.lead.org.au. When he was in Vienna, Beethoven loved to venture into the countryside and visit the banks of the Danube. Eating locally caught fish was probably one source of the lead, says the website, adding that another could be the medications Beethoven took for his ailments.
www.lead.org.au/lanv7n1/L71-13.html
www.casesblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/beethoven-died-of-lead-poisoning.html
www.anl.gov/Media_Center/Argonne_News/news00/an001030.html
Modesto Shows Off New Concert Hall
On Sept. 27, the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto Calif. opened its doors to the public. Its new facility contains two halls: the 1,251-seat Mary Stuart Rogers Theater and the more intimate Foster Family Theater, which seats 444.
No seat in either auditorium is more than 100 feet from the stage and the acoustics in the larger hall are excellent, says www.galloarts.org. The Rogers Theater has a well-equipped orchestra pit, making it a good venue for opera. The Gallo Center is a nonprofit facility operated by Stanislaus County.
www.galloarts.org
Wagner Women Vie for Bayreuth
Wolfgang Wagner, grandson of the composer, is now 87 and will turn over leadership of the Bayreuth Festival to a successor in the near future, reports the New York Times. The candidates for the position include his daughter Katharina Wagner (whom he seems to favor), an older daughter (from a different mother) Eva Wagner-Pasquier, and Nike Wagner, a daughter of Wolfgang’s late brother, Wieland, says the report.
Katharina staged the 2007 revival of Die Meistersinger and was roundly booed by the audience for her efforts. Nike has written a book on the family, The Wagners: Drama of a Musical Dynasty.
www.nytimes.com/2007/08/30/arts/music/30meis.html
www.faqs.org/faqs/music/wagner/general-faq/section-23
www.playbillarts.com/news/article/6842.html
Musicians Helping Battle Parkinson
William Barnewitz, principal horn for the Milwaukee Symphony, was diagnosed with Parkinson Disease a few years ago. Barnewitz recently joined efforts with other concerned artists to record a CD on the Europadisc label to raise money for research.
The Long Road Home features Barnewitz, members of the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and pianists Carol Anderson and Ursula Oppens accompanying vocal soloists Ann-Carolyn Bird, Joyce Didonato, Eglise Gutierrez, and Jennifer Holloway. Featured composers include: Bach, Brahms, Mozart, Schubert, and Richard Strauss.
www.europadisc.co.uk/classical/39437/Long_Road_Home.htm
www.amazon.com/Long-Road-Home-Johann-Sebastian/dp/B000QFBW4W/ref=sr_1_1/002-2187015-9041601?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1190327683&sr=1-1
Amazon Produces CDs on Demand
Amazon.com has a service that can be helpful to classical singers. The site’s CustomFlix Labs manufactures and ships each disc only after a customer orders it, so Amazon doesn’t need to spend money on maintaining an inventory of recordings that may or may not sell in the near future.
Dana LoPiccolo-Giles, cofounder and managing director of CustomFlix, says that the company is changing the way recorded music is distributed, reports ibtimes.com.
www.ibtimes.com/articles/20060919/amazon-cd-on-demand.htm
Orchestras Striving to Get Symphony Lovers into the Theater
One of the problems that face managers of symphony orchestras is getting music lovers to set aside their iPods and CD players for a few evenings of live sound. Since most symphonic works have been definitively recorded and there is little visual stimulation at an orchestral concert, listening in the comfort of one’s home looks inviting to many fans.
Some orchestras are attempting to get fans in the seats by hiring young, attractive conductors. Others are featuring new and interesting music that has not yet been recorded. Vocalists, of course, add a visual aspect to any performance.
www.commentarymagazine.com/cm/main/viewArticle.html?id=10934
www.therestisnoise.com/2007/07/how-young-is-al.html
Violinist Drops Discrimination Suit
One-time New York Philharmonic violinist Anton Polezhayev has dropped the lawsuit in which he charged that the organization dismissed him after a 17-month probationary period because the orchestra preferred women musicians, according to the New York Post.
The terms of his settlement were not disclosed, but the orchestra has always maintained that Polezhayev lost his position because his playing was not up to the orchestra’s high standards.
www.nypost.com/seven/09042007/news/regionalnews/philharmonious_end_to_lawsuit.htm
Lucerne Plans an Adjustable Opera House
Michael Haefliger, artistic and executive director of the Lucerne Festival, plans to build a salle modulable, an auditorium that can be set in a variety of configurations suitable for experimental theater, chamber music, or grand opera. The main hall, which is to seat 1,000, will also be divisible into two halls of 400-500 seats each, says Playbill. Plans also call for the ability to raise or lower various levels of flooring, including, of course, the orchestra pit, which can be open or closed over in Bayreuth style.
The Salle Modulable Lucerne is expected to open in 2011 or 2012.
www.playbillarts.com/news/article/7001.html
www.musicweb-international.com/sandh/2001/Aug01/Lucerne1.htm
