Miriam Pirazzini (21 August 1918 – 26 December 2016) was a well-known Italian mezzo-soprano.

She made her formal debut in Rome, in 1944, as Laura Adorno in La Gioconda. For the next twenty years, she was one of Italy's foremost mezzo-sopranos. Pirazzini was born in Castelfranco Veneto, Treviso, Veneto in 1918. Opposite Maria Callas, Pirazzini appeared as Amneris in Aïda, at Rovigo (1948), Reggio Calabria (1951) and the Verona Arena (directed by G.W. Pabst, 1953); in the oratorio San Giovanni Battista at Perugia (1949); as Azucena in Il trovatore at the Teatro dell'Opera, Rome (1953); and Néris in Médée in Venice (1953), as well as on the first studio recording of Cherubini's masterpiece. She was also the Adalgisa (replacing the indisposed Fedora Barbieri) in the infamous Norma at Rome in 1958, when the performance was cancelled after Callas sang Act I and felt unable to continue; she kept the role partnering Anita Cerquetti, who replaced Callas for the remaining performances. WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: Miriam Pirazzini sings "Stride la vampa" from Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Orchestra -Sinfonica della RAI Roma

Bernard Zaslav (April 7, 1926 - December 28, 2016)

Bernard Zaslav was an American viola soloist and chamber musician with an extensive recording and performance career. A founding member of The Composers Quartet in 1965, he went on to play with the Fine Arts Quartet, Vermeer Quartet, and the Stanford String Quartet. He has also performed and recorded as the Zaslav Duo with his wife, pianist Naomi Zaslav. WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: Bernard Zaslav, viola and Naomi Zaslav, piano Hall Overton's Sonata for Viola and Piano Recorded in concert on June 22, 1989 at the 17th International Viola Congress at the University of Redlands in Redlands, California.

Lotte Rysanek-Doerle, Austrian Soprano, Dies at 93

Rysanek-Doerler died Wednesday, 14 DEC 2016, at age 93. The sister of the late Austrian dramatic soprano Leonie Rysanek, Rysanek-Doerler appeared in nearly 1,000 performances and close to 50 roles at the State Opera. Appearances at other top venues included the Bayreuth Festival the Munich State Opera and the Hamburg State Opera. Rysanek-Doerler also was an accomplished operetta and concert singer. WorldNews VIDEO: Wiener Staatsoper Il Trovatore 11.4.1971 LIVE "d'amor sul ali rose" Lotte Rysanek Horst Stein dir

Elizabeth Bell (1928 – December 19, 2016) was an award winning American composer.

ELIZABETH BELL was born in 1928; graduated from Wellesley College (Music) in 1950, and from Juilliard (Composition) in 1953. She was music critic of the Ithaca Journal, 1971-1975; one of the founders and a longtime director of New York Women Composers; and a member of Board of Governors of American Composers Alliance, 2000-2004. She received grants and commissions from fine artists around the world, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Bradshaw/Buono duo, the Inoue Chamber Ensemble, North/South Consonance, the Putnam Valley Orchestra, and Vienna Modern Masters. Awards included the Delius Prize (Keyboard), 1994; first prize (1986), and grand prize (1996) in the Utah Composers Competition; many Meet-the-Composer grants.

  WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: Elizabeth Bell - composer Student years at Wellesley and graduate school at Juilliard - On composition and rule-breaking

Heinrich Schiff (born 18 November 1951, in Gmunden, Austria; 23 December 2016 in Wien) was an Austrian cellist and conductor.

He studied cello with Tobias Kühne and André Navarra and made his solo debut in Vienna and London in 1971. He studied conducting with Hans Swarovsky, and made his conducting debut in 1986. Schiff was Artistic Director of the Northern Sinfonia from 1990 to 1996, and recorded with them for the NMC label. He also held chief conductorships with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra in Copenhagen, Denmark(1996–2000), and the Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur. In 2004, he was appointed Chief Conductor of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and served in the post from 2005 to 2008. He stood down from the post in 2008 for health reasons. Schiff plays the "Mara" Stradivarius (1711) and "Sleeping Beauty" made by Montagnana in Venice in 1739. His recording of the Bach Cello Suites won prizes, and his recording of the Shostakovich concertos won the Grand Prix du Disque. His recording of the Brahms Double Concerto with Frank Peter Zimmermann and Wolfgang Sawallisch won the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis. Composers who have written cello concertos for Schiff include John Casken and Friedrich Cerha. Among his students are Rudi Spring, Gautier Capuçon, Richard Harwood and Natalie Clein. WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO...Heinrich Schiff BBC Interview Dmitri Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Opus 107

 

Karel Husa (August 7, 1921 – December 14, 2016)

Karel Husa was a Czech-born classical composer and conductor, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Music and 1993 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition.[1] In 1954 he went to the United States and became an American citizen in 1959.

  WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: Karel Husa (*1921): Sinfonia n.1 (1953) -- Orchestra Sinfonica di Praga diretta da Karel Husa --

 

Elliott Schwartz (January 19, 1936 – December 7, 2016) was an American composer.

A graduate of Columbia University, he was Beckwith Professor Emeritus of music at Bowdoin College joining the faculty in 1964. In 2006, the Library of Congress acquired his papers to make them part of their permanent collection. Elliott Schwartz ca.2006 Photo Erik Jorgensen He held visiting residencies and fellowships at the University of California (Santa Barbara and San Diego), Ohio State University, Harvard University, Tufts University, Cambridge and Oxford Universities (UK), and the Rockefeller Foundation Study Center (Bellagio, Italy). Performances of his music include the Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Houston Symphonies, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Kreutzer and Borromeo Quartets, Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, Symphony Space and the MOMA Summer Garden (NYC); Tanglewood, the Bath Festival (UK); Leningrad Spring (Russia), Gaudeamus Music Week (Netherlands), and the European Youth Orchestra Festival (Denmark). Recordings of his music can be heard on the New World, CRI, Capstone, Innova, Albany and GM labels. A CD recording of his six chamber concertos has recently been released by BMOP-SOUND. In 2006, Schwartz’s 70th birthday was celebrated with concerts, lectures and residencies at the University of Minnesota, the Library of Congress (Washington), Oxford, and the Royal Academy of Music (London). WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO: ELLIOTT SCHWARTZ'S "Voyager for Orchestra" (2002) 

Kamilló Lendvay (28 December 1928 − 30 November 2016) Hungarian composer, conductor, and music educator

 Lendvay was born in Budapest and attended the Franz Liszt Academy of Music from 1949 to 1957, where he studied with János Viski and László Somogyi. He began his career in Szeged as a conductor, music coach, and director of the choir at Szeged Opera and then was musical director of the State Puppet Theatre from 1960 to 1966, musical director of the Hungarian Army Art Ensemble from 1966 to 1968, and conductor and (from 1972) musical director of the Budapest Operetta Theatre from 1970 to 1974. He was a professor at the Liszt Academy from 1972 to 1992, where he was head of the music theory department from 1976. WIKIPEDIA VIDEO...Requiem y Kyrie del Requiem de Kamillo Lendvay

RIP...Jerrold Rubenstein, a New Yorker who became concertmaster at La Monnaie orchestra in Brussels and later of the Belgian national orchestra.

- See more at: slipped disc
Was born in in New York City, United States and became concertmaster at La Monnaie orchestra in Brussels and later of the Belgian national orchestra. A formidable chamber musician, widely recorded, Jerrold taught for 30 years at the Antwerp Conservatoire, and at Izmir and Dublin. He founded the Festival Mozart at Waterloo.

- See more at: http://slippedisc.com/2016/12/death-of-a-noted-concertmaster-and-festival-founder/#sthash.MastH971.tGrwiPcQ.dpuf

VIDEO...Jerrold Rubenstein & Dalia Ouziel - Brahms violin sonata 1 (1st mvt)

Cliff Barrows, Billy Graham’s Longtime Musical Director, Dies at 93

Clifford Burton Barrows (April 6, 1923 – November 15, 2016) was a longtime music and program director for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He had been a part of the Graham organization since 1949. Barrows was best known as the host of Graham's weekly Hour of Decision radio program, and the song leader and choir director for the crusade meetings. WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: George Beverly Shea and Cliff Barrows reminisce during a Senior Celebration at The Cove in Asheville, NC on September 20, 2011 (the last time Bev Shea sang in public). These two have been in ministry together with their good friend, Billy Graham, for over 60 years. Watch as Bev Shea tells how he composed the music for I'd Rather Have Jesus. Enjoy the music and the stories! 
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Ida Levin ( 1963 - 19 NOV 2016)

American concert violinist Ida Levin has passed away after a lengthy battle with leukemia – aged just 53. Ms Levin made her professional debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, aged 10, and went on to receive a prestigious Leventritt Award and an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Levin taught at the Sander Vegh International Chamber Music Academy in Prague and was a former faculty member of Harvard University and the European Mozart Academy. An active concert performer and recitalist, Levin performed throughout the world at such venues as the 92nd Street Y, London's Wigmore Hall, the Morgan Library, and Avery Fisher Hall to name just a few. Internationally, she performed in England, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Israel. She was also an active performer of chamber music and a member of the Boston Chamber Music Society. She also regularly played in Open Chamber Music in Cornwall, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Da Camera of Houston. She died of leukemia in November 2016 at the age of 53. WIKIPEDIA

 VIDEO: 2014 Winter Festival violinist Ida Levin talks about her love for Tchaikovsky and what makes his second string quartet unique as she finishes up the complete cycle of Tchaikovsky string quartets that she began during the 2012 Summer Festival. 

Mose Allison, Jazz and Blues musician , Dies at 89

Mose John Allison, Jr. (November 11, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was an American jazz blues pianist, singer and songwriter. Allison wrote some 150 songs. His performances were described as being "delivered in a casual conversational way with a melodic southern accented tone that has a pitch and range ideally suited to his idiosyncratic phrasing, laconic approach and ironic sense of humour". WIKIPEDIA VIDEO... Mose Allison, Jazz piano player. Mose Allison was honored as one of the 2013 Jazz Masters by the National Endowment for the Arts at Lincoln Center on January 14, 2013. The NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship is the highest honor that our nation bestows on jazz artists. Each year since 1982, the program has elevated to its ranks a select number of living legends who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz.

Al Caiola, Guitarist on Themes for 'Bonanza' and 'The Magnificent Seven,' Dies at 96

Alexander Emil "Al" Caiola (September 7, 1920 – November 9, 2016) was a guitarist, composer and arranger who spanned a variety of music genres including jazz, country, rock, western, and pop. He recorded over fifty albums and worked with some of the biggest names in music during the 20th century, including Elvis Presley, Ferrante & Teicher, Frank Sinatra, Percy Faith, Buddy Holly, Mitch Miller, and Tony Bennett. During World War II Caiola played with the United States Marine Corps 5th Marine Division (United States) Band that also included Bob Crosby. Caiola served in the Battle of Iwo Jima as a stretcher bearer. WIKIPEDIA

Hungarian pianist and conductor Zoltan Kocsis dies at age 64

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Zoltan Kocsis, a famed pianist and conductor and musical director of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, has died at age 64. The Philharmonic said Kocsis died Sunday afternoon, 6 NOV 2016. No specific cause of death was given, but Kocsis underwent major heart surgery in 2012. In October, 2016, the orchestra announced that he was suffering from poor health and, following doctors’ orders, cancelling most of his concerts to rest and recuperate.
  Zoltán Kocsis 30 May 1952 – 6 November 2016

He was a Hungarian virtuoso pianist, conductor, and composer. Born in Budapest, he began his musical studies at the age of five and continued them at the Béla Bartók Conservatory in 1963, studying piano and composition. In 1968 he was admitted to the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where he was a pupil of Pál Kadosa, Ferenc Rados and György Kurtág, graduating in 1973. He won the Hungarian Radio Beethoven Competition in 1970, and made his first concert tour of the United States in the following year. He received the Liszt Prize in 1973, and the Kossuth Prize in 1978. Kocsis performed with the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Philharmonia of London, and the Vienna Philharmonic. He recorded the complete solo piano works and works with piano and orchestra of Béla Bartók. In 1990, his recording of Debussy's Images won "The Gramophone" Instrumental Award for that year. He won another in 2013 in the chamber category with Bartók works. American critic Harold C. Schonberg praised Kocsis' technique and piano tone. Kocsis co-founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra in 1983. He was the musical director of the Hungarian National Philharmonic. WIKIPEDIA

VIDEO...Mozart K331 Piano Sonata A major, Kocsis Zoltán fortepiano
 

Death of Michael Antrobus | British Bandsman

Michael Antrobus (18 April 1943 - 23 October 2016)

Michael Antrobus — the former resident conductor of Black Dyke and a major musical influence on the Norwegian banding movement... at the age of 73 in Norway, where he moved in 1981 following a successful spell as Resident Conductor of Black Dyke Mills from 1978.

  rbarsrest British Bandsman

Gerhard Wimberger (30 August 1923 – October 2016) was an Austrian composer and conductor.

Wimberger studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. His teachers were Cesar Bresgen and Johann Nepomuk David for composition, and Clemens Krauss and Bernhard Paumgartner for conducting. After World War II, in which he served in the army, he worked as vocal coach at the Vienna Volksoper, then as conductor at the Salzburg Theatre, before becoming a teacher for conducting and composition at the Mozarteum. Among his many pupils were Klaus Ager, Sergio Cárdenas, Dieter Lehnhoff, and Gerd Kühr. Wimberger also served as member of the directory of the Salzburg Festival, and as president of the Austrian Composers' Association AKM. He died in October 2016 at the age of 93.WIKIPEDIA Bio

 VIDEO: Gerhard Wimberger and his son and family in Salzburg and Puerto Vallarta. Song written by Gerhard Wimberger. 

Vladimir Leyetchkiss August 8, 1934 - October 11, 2016

Evanston, Illinois... One of the last pupils of the great Heinrich Neuhaus, Vladimir Leyetchkiss began his piano studies in Baku, Russia and later studied at the Moscow Conservatory. Emigrating from Russia to the United States in 1974, Vladimir has built a reputation as a concert pianist, teacher and a transcriber, specializing in Russian and Romantic music. Leyetchkiss is a frequent performer on WFMT and has done several European tours. He has served as a juror in many piano competitions and appeared as soloist at national conventions of the American Liszt Society and the International Rachmaninoff Society.

 VIDEO Vladimir Leyetchkiss, piano Rec. 1991-07 (Chicago Public Library)
 

American composer Donald H. White was 95...

Donald H. White (February 28, 1921 – October 4, 2016) was a 20th-century American composer. Donald White was born in Narberth, Pennsylvania in 1921. He studied Music Education at Temple University in Philadelphia and composition with Persichetti at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music (1946) and with Bernard Rogers and Howard Hanson at the Eastman School of Music (1952). In 1947 he joined the faculty of DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana where he was chairman of composition and theory studies (1948–81). He was the director of the school of music at Depauw from 1974-1978. He became the chairman of the music department at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington in 1980. White died at the age of 95 on October 4, 2016.

  WIKIPEDIA | Depauw.edu    VIDEO: "Ambrosian Hymn Variants" by Donald H White

Former MET Opera announcer PETER ALLEN dies at 96

Peter Allen (September 17, 1920–October 8, 2016) 

Mr. Allen, who presided over 29 seasons of broadcasts, said introducing performances was, except for his marriage, “the richest experience of my life.” N YTimes 

Peter Allen was an American broadcaster and radio announcer based in New York City. He was especially noted for his 29 years as announcer for the Saturday afternoon radio broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera. WIKIPEDIA

 Allen began his long tenure as announcer at WQXR radio in 1947. His connection with the Metropolitan Opera began in 1973 when he served as the backup for Milton Cross who had been announcing the Met's Saturday afternoon broadcasts since their inception in 1931. In 1975, after Cross's sudden death, Allen took over as announcer for the Met and continued in the job until 2004.

Sir Neville Marriner, CH, CBE (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English conductor and violinist.

Marriner was born in Lincoln, England, and studied at the Royal College of Music and the Paris Conservatoire. He played the violin in the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Martin String Quartet and London Symphony Orchestra, playing with the last two for 13 years. He later formed the Jacobean Ensemble with Thurston Dart before going to Hancock, Maine, in the United States to study conducting with Pierre Monteux at his school there. In 1958, he founded the Academy of St Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra and recorded copiously with them. Marriner was the first music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, from 1969 to 1978. From 1979 to 1986, he was music director of the Minnesota Orchestra. He was principal conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1986 to 1989. Marriner recorded for various labels, including Argo, L'Oiseau Lyre, Philips and EMI Classics. His recorded repertoire ranges from the baroque era to 20th century British music, as well as opera. Among his recordings are two CDs of British music for Philips Classics with Julian Lloyd Webber, including acclaimed performances of Benjamin Britten's Cello Symphony and Sir William Walton's Cello Concerto. Marriner also supervised the Mozart selections for the soundtrack of the 1984 film Amadeus. He was chairman of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra until 1992, when he was succeeded by Malcolm Latchem. Marriner held the title of Life President. He was the father of the clarinettist Andrew Marriner, principal clarinet of the London Symphony Orchestra.

VIDEO: The Academy of St Martin in the Fields was founded by the now legendary conductor Sir Neville Marriner in 1958. Watch to find out a little more about Sir Neville and his relationship with the Academy, whilst enjoying the Academy's performance of the opening to Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner in April 2014. Read more about Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy at: http://www.asmf.org/sir-neville-marri...