Thursday, July 4, 2019

Composer Sid Ramin dies aged 100

– musical tributes pour in

3 July 2019

By Helena Asprou, Classic FM

The Oscar-winning composer and adapter of on–screen musical West Side Story died of natural causes at his New York home on Monday.

Composer Sid Ramin on orchestrating ‘West Side Story’

Credit: New York Philharmonic

Legendary American composer, orchestrator and arranger Sid Ramin has died, aged 100, of natural causes at his home in New York.

He passed away on Monday 1 July after turning 100 earlier this year — and tributes have been pouring in.

Born on 22 January 1919, Ramin was best known for winning an Academy Award in 1961 for co-orchestrating the music to Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story.

The composer had teamed up with Bernstein and Irwin Kostal to re-work the music to the popular Broadway production for the big screen, also taking home a Grammy for the spectacular soundtrack album.

Fans in the musical world have taken to Twitter to share their condolences:

Alongside his orchestration for West Side Story, Ramin’s work also included 'Smile, You're On Candid Camera' for US TV show Candid Camera and a musical collaboration with arranger Robert Ginzler on the 1959 musical, Gypsy.

He also penned the hit ‘Music to Watch Girls By’, which was released as an instrumental single in 1967.

Ramin married Gloria Breit, in January 1949, and they had a son, Ronald, who has followed in his father’s footsteps and now works as a composer for TV and film.

His other accolades include a Daytime Emmy Award for his work on the drama series, All My Children.

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Andre Rieu replaces instruments ...

... stolen from disabled musicians:

‘My heart broke’

André Rieu donates 20,000 euros of musical instruments — Picture: Getty

By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM London

The Dutch violinist has vowed to reimburse an orchestra for the mentally disabled, whose trailer full of instruments was stolen in the early hours of Thursday morning.

André Rieu has pledged to replace 20,000 euros of musical instruments, which were stolen from an orchestra of musicians with mental disabilities.

The instruments, which belonged to the Haarlem brass band ‘Happy with Music’, were stolen in the early hours of Thursday 13 June, along with the band’s trailer.

The chairman of the band, Juria van der Lubbe, told Dutch newspaper the Telegraaf: “Seventeen years of work is in it. Sponsor promotions, the VriendenLoterij, the local Vomar. All these years they have contributed bit by bit to all instruments. That is gone in one fell swoop.”

After reading about their story, Dutch violinist and maestro André Rieu decided to step in.

He said: “My heart broke when I read on the Telegraaf website that this group of musicians had been robbed of all their instruments. I want them to be able to perform again very soon.

Van der Lubbe described the news as “fantastic” and “almost unbelievable”.

She told RTL Nieuws: “What a lovely man that he is going to do this for our brass band. I am completely confused.”

Last year, Rieu pledged 700 tons of steel towards the restoration of Notre-Dame, following the fire which devastated the 850-year-old cathedral in April.

Friday, June 14, 2019

A lock of Beethoven's hair ...

... has just been sold at auction – and it went for a whopping £35,000

Ludwig van Beethoven composer's hair auctioned at Sotheby's

Ludwig van Beethoven. Picture: Getty / Sotheby's

By Rosie Pentreath, ClassicFM London

Sotheby’s in London sold ‘a substantial lock of the composer’s grey and dark brown hair’ for more than double the expected amount.

A lock of Beethoven’s hair has been sold at Sotheby’s in London, fetching a massive £35,000.

When a “substantial lock of the composer’s grey and dark brown hair” was announced for auction in Sotheby’s Important Manuscripts, Continental Books and Music sale, it was expected to fetch somewhere in the region of £12,000 to £15,000.

In the sale, which took place yesterday on Tuesday 11 June, the preserved lock reached over double that estimate when the hammer slammed down on a £35,000 final bid.

The hair in question was by all accounts snipped from the great composer’s magnificent mane in 1826 at the request of 19th-century pianist Anton Halm, who wanted to present the keepsake to his wife, Maria.

L. van Beethoven. A lock of the composer's grey hair given by him to Anton Halm in 1826, in a C19 frame — A lock of Beethoven's hair from 1826. Picture: Sotheby's

BUT, like all good stories, this one has a twist.

Before he got a certifiable Beethoven hair in his hot little hands, Halm was duped by violinist Karl Holz. He had enlisted Holz’s help in securing the strands, but by all accounts Holz tried to pull the wool (or, more accurately, hair) over his eyes: he initially presented Halm with a lock of goat’s hair.

According to accounts, Beethoven quickly learned of the treachery and helped Halm secure his desired trophy.

“You have been deceived about this lock of hair! See what terrible creatures I am surrounded by, whom respectable people should be ashamed to be with,” Beethoven is recorded as saying. “You’ve been given the hairs of a goat.”

“He gave me a sheet of paper containing a considerable quantity of his hair, which he had cut off himself,” Halm himself recalled.

All's well that ends well. Beethoven’s lock of hair was presented to Maria and it stayed in her and Halm’s family for years, before being handed down to one of Halm’s pupils.

Beethoven’s wild hair is an iconic part of his appearance so it’s little wonder it sparked wide interest and garnered so high a sum yesterday at Sotheby’s.

And it’s not the first lock of hair in history to do so. A few of Horatio Lord Nelson’s hairssold for £13,750 at Sotheby’s in 2017. And stars from Bieber and Bowie, to Marilyn Monroe have had various hairs auctioned for thousands a piece over the years.

Beethoven’s Fur Elise on the harp

Klaus Döring's Classical Music/Klaus Döring's Klassische Musik

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