September 25, 2023

The U.S. military has asked the public to help find its missing $80M Stealth Fighter after the pilot ejected before it crashed. The downside of building an invisible jet is that you can't find the invisible jet.

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In this week’s email:

The big idea: The shocking halt of Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, explained
Strings: Sheku Kanneh-Mason denied entry on British Airways
Opera: Opera community mourns “Wagner Marathon Man”
Photo of the week
Around the web: Read PDFs on your phone, find out if a show concluded prematurely or left on a cliffhanger, make a beautiful stained glass window on your monitor, plus more curious internet finds.

CLASSICAL CHARTZ

Weekly selections are based on sales numbers and albums we love and think you NEED to hear!

For the complete top 20, tune into Classical Chartz with the New Classical FM’s Mark Wigmore every Saturday from 3-5 pm EST!

THE BIG IDEA

Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Fiasco, Explained

The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony (KWS) has announced they are filing for bankruptcy, leaving its musicians and the community scrambling to make sense of what this means moving forward.

What Happened?

Just days before its opening, the Symphony’s ’23-’24 season was to start, the board cancelled all events due to a $2M dollar deficit, which effectively put them in a state of insolvency.

According to the Symphony's chair of the board of directors, Rachel Smith-Spencer, they worked feverishly, reaching out to stakeholders to secure the needed $2 million to keep the music playing, but to no avail.

The entire board has since resigned, leaving the orchestra musicians in a state of panic.

The beloved Youth Orchestra and the Bridge to Music program, a beacon for low-income families, also fell victim to the closures.

The Symphony had been a cultural staple for 78 years, playing a pivotal role in community life in the Waterloo region. This sudden closure affected not only the musicians and patrons but also the local economy, including restaurants and local businesses that thrived around the Symphony's activities.

The decline in subscribers post-pandemic, from 8,000 to 2,000, contributed majorly to its downfall, showing the shifting dynamics in performing arts audiences.

The Symphony tried to adapt with various inclusive approaches, but the financial constraints and changing cultural landscapes posed significant challenges.

Musicians band together

Musicians and the community scrambled to raise funds, with a GoFundMe page reaching over $350,000 in just over a week.

According to the page, Ved Khan, the Senior Corporate Affairs Manager for GoFundMe Canada, broke the record for the highest donated Canadian Fundraiser in the first 24 hours in the last five months. The campaign is also the highest donated Ontario-based fundraiser in the first 24 hours this year.

Where is the Government in all of this?

According to a report from the CBC, the Symphony’s sudden closure was spotlighted in the House of Commons, leading to heated conversations about federal intervention. According to the report. MP Mike Morrice has been making a plea for emergency support for the beleaguered Symphony since last fall.

Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge acknowledged the symphony's financial tribulations and expressed commitment to exploring support through various programs, marking a potential ray of hope for the Symphony and its patrons.

Morrice emphasized the long-standing neglect and need for a solution, highlighting the pressing appeals made to the Prime Minister for one-time support to salvage the Symphony. Minister St-Onge articulated her awareness and assured continued support to arts organizations, suggesting a possibility of aid for the Symphony through available programs.

Wake-up call

The abrupt end of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony is not just a loss of an orchestra but a shock to the cultural ecosystem of the region. This situation unveils the fragility of performing arts in the contemporary age and prompts reflection on sustaining crucial cultural institutions in changing times.

It also draws attention to the wider impacts of such closures on community life, local economy, and cultural identity. It's a wake-up call to re-imagine and re-structure how we preserve and interact with classical music and cultural legacies. In a world teetering on the edge of cultural shifts and technological advances, the fall of this Symphony underscores the urgent need for rejuvenation and reinvention in the classical music scene. — MV

TOUR DE HEADLINES

‘Desperate’ Opera Singer Puts Public Toilets On the New York Map — Teddy Siegel, an opera singer in New York, created Got2GoNYC, a real-time, user-editable map locating nearly 1,800 public toilets across the city. With over 370,000 followers, she's advocating for more public facilities, addressing the city's scarcity and enhancing accessibility. | The Telegraph

Symphony Shutdown Devastates a Community, Begs the Question, ‘What’s next?’ — Violinist and concertmaster with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony had just bought a house in Waterloo and was preparing to move from Montreal with her husband and kids when the email arrived. | The Record

Philadelphia Orchestra Will Play Their First Performance Since the Musicians’ Contract Expired — The orchestra's concerts on Wednesday and Thursday represent the musicians' first performances since their contract concluded on September 10. They had cast a strike vote in August. | Philadelphia Enquirer

Prague Symphony Orchestra Announces New Music Director — Tomáš Netopil will become the Prague Symphony Orchestra's Music Director in the 2025-26 season, succeeding Chief Conductor Tomáš Brauner. Netopil, honoured by the appointment, anticipates a harmonious, culturally enriching collaboration. | OperaWire

Violinist Misses Flight After Ryanair Insists Violin is "Too Large" for Cabin — Violinist Mihaela Martin missed her Ryanair flight as staff insisted her violin was too large for the cabin and must be checked in. Martin, unwilling to risk damage, chose to return to her hotel in Bucharest. | The Violin Channel

Fire breaks out at Bösendorfer Piano Factory, Destroying an Entire Building — A fire engulfed an outbuilding of a historic piano manufacturer Tuesday night, destroying substantial company archives. Nearly 100 firefighters combated the blaze, which took two and a half hours to extinguish. | ClassicalFM

STRINGS

Photo courtesy of the artists

Sheku Kanneh-Mason Denied Entry on British Airways

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason was refused boarding despite having bought a separate ticket for his instrument.

What’s going on? Sheku Kanneh-Mason, the cellist who famously performed at the royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, was denied entry from a British Airways flight with his cello. Kanneh-Mason had purchased two tickets for the flight--one for his cello, one for himself — yet was told at the gate he could not board with no compensation offered. Kanneh-Mason has since publicly complained on social media to the airline, prompting widespread outcry on X (the social media site formerly known as Twitter).

Refresher Sheku Kanneh-Mason is a 24-year-old cellist who rose to prominence when he became the first Black musician to win the BBC Young Musician Award in 2014. In 2019, he played for an audience of 2 billion at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Why does it matter? Musicians are often subject to inconsistent airline policies regarding instruments. The cellist Steven Isserlis has often complained of similar treatment by airlines, as well as the violist Rachel Bolt, who in 2017 had a stand-off with the Dutch airline KLM. — SS

OPERA

(Photo: Stephen Gould)

Opera Community Mourns “Wagner Marathon Man”

Heldentenor Stephen Gould died at 61 of bile duct cancer last week.

What’s up?: Heldentenor Stephen Gould died of bile duct cancer at the age of 61 last week. Gould was acclaimed for his singing of Wagner at Bayreuth--where he was dubbed the “Wagner Marathon Man” due to his uninterrupted stay there between 2004 and 2002--, Covent Garden, and the Metropolitan Opera. He also notably performed about 3,000 performances with the national touring company of Phantom of the Opera in the U.S.

How is he being remembered?: Tributes for Gould are pouring in on social media. Soprano Lise Davidsen remembered him as “a kind and thoughtful colleague” and “an honest, powerful and amazing singer.” Fellow Wagnerian Adrianne Pieczonka posted, “an incredible artist he was - tirelessly singing the most demanding repertoire written for the human voice.”

The Wiener Staatsoper announced the death of the tenor — who was named a Kammersänger by the house--to audible dismay before their performances on September 20th, calling him one of the most important Heldentenors and Tristans in Tristan und Isolde of the past twenty years.

Wagner-lovers and fans wished him a speedy flight to Valhalla. — SS

QUIZ

What composer lost his right arm in WWI and composed left-hand compositions for the piano?

A: Paul Wittgenstein

B: Giacomo Meyerbeer

C: Ignacy Jan Paderewski

D: Ottorino Respighi

Scroll down for the answer…

AROUND THE WEB

📅 On this day: Dmitri Shostakovich was born (1906 - 1975).

🔨 Cure boredom: Turn this website into a beautiful stained glass window by smashing the screen.

📖 Useful: This app allows you to listen to PDFs on your phone.

📺 Downtime: You’re busy, so the idea of committing to a new TV show is a thing. Find out if a show concluded prematurely or left on a cliffhanger — all spoiler-free with this free website.

📍 Interesting: This site gives you a random Google map from anywhere in the world and all you have to do is explore.

🐈‍⬛ Aww: There’s no hung like a cat hug.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Digital rendering of Franz Liszt by CG artist Karimi.

QUIZ ANSWER

A: Paul Wittgenstein

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