18 June 2007
Newsletter 12
The beat goes on! Only halfway through the year, already our forecast made at the end of 2006, that the coming twelve months would prove to be the most productive in the Foundation's history, is proving to be accurate.
In this relatively short period, we have added official status as a Swiss charity to that already established in the United Kingdom. With similar status in the United States, we have opened an office in New York.
We have presented a number of memorable events in Switzerland, the UK and the USA and planned a number of additional productions of quality in musical and other fields for the second half of this year and into 2008.
The soirées held so far this year have had wide appeal and revealed some exceptional young talents, as well as proving convivial occasions for long-standing members and new supporters alike. We began in Basel, with a French Opera Gala at the Stadtcasino in the presence of HE the Ambassador of France to Switzerland. The programme was devoted mainly to works by Jules Massenet. The Basel Festival Orchestra, together with the Basel Festival Chorus and the Basel Girls' Choir, was under the baton of the young Swiss conductor Thomas Herzog, who has performed for the Foundation on a number of previous occasions. Amongst the international array of singers, the Foundation supported the appearances of Elizabeth Bailey, Bénédicte Tauran, David Borloz and Matthew Garrett. The verdict of the sell-out audience: magnifique!
The following evening, Matthew Garrett, the outstanding young New York tenor, travelled from Basel to Montreux for a delightful and intimate member's-only reception and recital at my apartment, in which he performed a programme of arias by Donizetti, Lehar, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky and Richard Strauss.
London saw two events, in March and April. The first, in collaboration with the Swiss Cultural Fund in Britain, was held at the Residence of the Swiss Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Hosted by HE Ambassador Alexis P. Lautenberg and Mrs Lautenberg, the theme was "Byron and the Shelleys--The Genesis of Frankenstein; Creative Moments by the Shores of Lake Geneva". Lectures on the creation of Frankenstein combined words and pictures, while extracts from the writings of Byron and the Shelleys were declaimed by students of LAMDA--the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Music from the period was performed by the Swiss pianist Louis Schwizgebel-Wang, making his first British appearance, and tenor Mark Milhofer accompanied by Louis Bronchti. The evening was rounded out with a sumptuous gala dinner.
Of equal satisfaction was that earlier in the day, two of the Foundation's pianists, Louis Schwizgebel-Wang and Benjamin Moser, were presented by the Foundation to audition as potential soloists with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. They have now been accepted by that prestigious ensemble for future concerts. It is compelling early evidence of the success of our mission to discover and promote exceptional talent and to help support developing professional careers.
At the end of April, the imposing Great Room of Christie's in St James's, London was the setting for our now well established annual reception, private viewing and concert. More than 130 invited guests enjoyed champagne and a tour of the major paintings in the forthcoming Early Masters sale, commentated by Dr Timothy Hunter, a director of Christie's and member of our Advisory Board. Our thanks to Christie's for their kind hospitality and continuing support.
The equally splendid Lotos Club, in New York, has been a landmark of the city's literary and artistic life for over a century. It was the appropriate backdrop for our inaugural event in the United States, on 20 May. Its overall theme was "An Evening of Rachmaninoff". During champagne and canapés, a collection of new ceramic works by Welsh artist Paul Philp was presented by his brother, Richard Philp, a member of our Advisory Board. I then welcomed the 140 invitees and expressed special thanks to the Swiss Consulate General in New York for their valued support. Additional presentations were made by other Advisory Board members: Lord Poltimore, Chairman of Sotheby's, London, who lectured on Russian art during Rachmaninoff's time, and Professor Tamás Ungár, Director of PianoTexas, who introduced the musical repertoire performed. Michael Green, our Public Relations advisor, spoke on Rachmaninoff's special connection with Switzerland and the composer's home on Lake Lucerne.
The musical section of the evening brought together a sparkling and truly global array of young musical talents. Swiss tenor Gilbert-Michel Rolle and American tenor Matthew Garrett were accompanied by Djordje Stevan Nesic, and there were piano solos by the Russian Natalia Katyukova and Belorussian Andrey Ponochevny. The Korean violinist Hahn-Bin teamed with pianist John Blacklow. All in all it was a "night to remember" and the best possible start to our transatlantic operations, which will continue with other events before the end of the year.
Later that week our Artistic Director, Geoffrey Simon, represented the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation for the second successive year at the Playhouse Project, in the fabled area of East Hampton near the tip of Long Island. He gave the 2007 Playhouse Master Class and presented the Elizabeth Brockman Awards in Classical Music. He reported that the 16 young musicians, drawn from local public high schools, performed at a higher standard than pertained at last year's Master Class. He was able to meet with the Playhouse Project's founders Mirra Bank and Richard Brockman, and music teachers from the participating schools, to discuss further refinements to the programme. The Foundation will be represented at the Prizewinners' Concert at the Playhouse on 16 June.
There have been several other developments during this period. We were delighted and honoured to welcome two new Patrons. Don Pedro Serra is one of Spain's leading businessmen and one of the world's most significant private collectors of Spanish painting and sculpture. He is a generous and lifelong supporter of the arts, as anyone who has had the privilege of visiting the remarkable Es Baluard, in Palma de Mallorca, will testify. Don Pedro was the driving force in the creation of this recently opened Museum, which houses some of his personal collection. We hope before long to welcome Don Pedro, who was closely associated with the artist Joan Miró and possesses many of his major works, to Switzerland, to honour his patronage and allow him to meet our members.
We are equally thrilled that Lady Jeannie Galway, wife of Sir James Galway, a long time Patron and Swiss resident, has agreed to join Sir James on our Patron's list. As indeed she joins Sir James so splendidly on the concert stage-she is a talented flautist in her own right. The Foundation recently hosted a celebration dinner for Sir James and Lady Galway in Palma after their concert appearance there in the presence of HM The Queen of Spain.
On a sad note, we record the recent untimely death of Professor Herbert Fleisch. He was, with his wife, Maria-Pia, a founder member of our Friends Association, and an enthusiastic supporter of our work over the years. We will miss his congenial presence very much and extend our heartfelt sympathy to Maria-Pia and her family in their great loss.
In addition to holding master classes for young performers, the Foundation, through the initiative of Artistic Director, Geoffrey Simon, is now actively involved, in conjunction with Cala Records, in the production of music for all the needs and phases of early childhood. In addition to music such as Baby Cello, designed purely to sooth babies and infants (and their parents), we are collaborating by way of Cala's new website, www.babymusic.com, in the encouragement of children's growing self-expression and musical awareness as they learn and develop. Baby Symphony, Peter and the Wolf (narrated by Sir Ben Kingsley) and Mother Goose are our early releases, all such orchestras as the London Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra.
In recent personnel changes, Nadia Sikorsky, a still valued "friend" is no longer working with us as Development Executive. The administration of our Friends' programmes continues to be carried out by Sabine-Hélène Green in Switzerland and Susi Kennedy in the UK. Our ever expanding and always informative website www.swissglobal.org, which is updated on a regular basis and enables you to keep in touch with all our past, present and future activities, is now under the charge of my Executive Assistant, Anne-Rose Schmid.
You will of course also be personally informed of and invited to all future events-and there are many exciting ones, including some of a literary as well as musical nature, planned for the months ahead. Please continue to encourage any of your friends or associates who are not yet members to join our ever-expanding and always convivial circle. Your loyal support continues to be a vital part of what we do. 24 Heures, the leading newspaper for French-speaking Switzerland, recently carried an interesting article on the Foundation, and in case you missed it, a copy is enclosed.
As the season of relaxation approaches, may I wish you, and your family and friends, very happy and harmonious holidays!
With kind regards
Heather de Haes
Founder and President