Conductor Alan Gilbert On The New York Philharmonic And The Hamburg Elbphilharmonie

“The 2019-20 season will be Alan Gilbert’s first with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester in Hamburg. On paper, a German radio orchestra, with the system’s long tradition of advocacy for new repertoire, would seem to be an excellent fit for Gilbert. Over two conversations, one in a Hamburg café, the other on the phone, we talked about how taste is made, gender quotas for orchestras, self-doubt, and parenthood.” – Van

London’s Philharmonia Orchestra Names Successor To Esa-Pekka Salonen

Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 33, begins his 10-weeks-a-year, five-year contract term at the start of the 2021-22 season. He is also chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony (which is the official national orchestra of Sweden), where he just extended his term for four years), and the Tampere Philharmonic in Finland’s second city, where “the Rouvali effect” has seen extra concerts scheduled to meet audience demand. – The Times (UK)

Cabaret Star Baby Jane Dexter Dead At 72

“[She] first gained acclaim in the 1970s, when she appeared in New York nightclubs as a bluesy singer with a powerful voice and presence. She dropped out of show business for a decade before returning to the stage in the 1990s, using elements from her personal life — her size, her experience of sexual assault and depression — to heighten the emotional intensity of her performances, which were often so intimate that they seemed to be exercises in group therapy.” – The Washington Post

Computer Wars

Rifftides reader Orsolya Bene writes, “Listening to jazz on the radio after finishing chores. “North Of The Sunset,” by Thelonious Monk was just playing. Now, it’s the Denny Zeitlin trio. The radio guy must be channeling you.” – Doug Ramsey