Soundbites
Home loan
In December, we reported how the Royal Opera House was having to sell its muchprized Portrait of Sir David Webster by David Hockney to try to make ends meet. The good news is that the painting will be remaining at Covent Garden, as it has been bought at auction by the ROH’S own chairman David Ross. Having paid around £12m for his new acquisition, Ross says he is going to loan it back to the company.
Cummings coming
The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) has announced that Laurence Cummings is to be its next music director. Cummings, who is a renowned Handel scholar as well as an acclaimed harpsichordist and conductor, will be taking over from Richard Egarr at the beginning of the 2021-22 season and so will be at the helm when the AAM pushes the boat out for its 50th anniversary in 2023.
Reporting back
BBC Ten Pieces, the scheme aimed at introducing the joys of classical music to children, has launched a Ten Pieces Special Report to mark the end of a notoriously difficult first term of the school year. Presented by journalist Ben Hunte and written by comedian Vikki Stone, the short film presents all sorts of classical music facts and figures by means of a witty spoof news report and orchestral performances.
Top jazzer
Deschanel Gordon, a 22-year-old pianist from Hackney, has won this year’s BBC Young Jazz Musician competition. In the competition final, Gordon, along with saxophonists Alex Clarke and Matt Carmichael, bassist Kielan Sheard and guitarist Ralph Porrett, were all required to present 15-minute sets that included interpretations of music from the standard jazz repertoire and at least one of their own compositions or arrangements.