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• Simon Hewitt Jones, Violinist

  English concert violinist. Asking essential questions about what's happening to music and the arts, and the role of the violin in contemporary world culture.

• Contact Me: T: +44 (0) 20 7060 0607 E: shj [at] courtlanemusic [dot] com W: www.courtlanemusic.com Instant: Message My iPhone

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Norman Lebrecht is an important voice. You may love or hate his polemicism. He is undeniably controversial.
But I don’t understand why he is remaining silent about the recent allegations that have resulted in the withdrawal of his book.
I think Classical Music needs voices like Norman Lebrecht, even if they’re sometimes wrong.
So I sincerely hope that […]

The London Arts world has a new palace.
It’s all too rare that something is so outstanding, so good, that you overflow with joy just by standing there and looking at it. But the new Southbank Centre is one of those things, and I haven’t even heard the new acoustics or been inside the hall yet.
The […]

If you didn’t hear of the recent Apple/EMI decision to make music available for download with no DRM at all (albeit at a slightly higher price), read about it here. Sure this is good for music-lovers, but you might be wondering why there’s such a fuss, and why some people think this is so significant.
In […]

I was just browsing the website of my Alma Mater, and noticed that my left hand (see the big picture, left) appears to have become the new image for lunchtime concerts!
In other news, Court Lane just relaunched this. And from the stats I’m seeing coming in, everyone’s talking about it.
Many ideas to share with you […]

This analysis of Chicago Symphony’s current dilemma expresses well the ever-evolving qualities now needed in music leaders around the world.
“Serious musicians — including the 100-plus members of the CSO — know that finding a new music director for one of the world’s top orchestras is not comparable to finding a new coach for a sports […]

If you haven’t already heard about the proposition that the vast majority of pianist Joyce Hatto’s recordings are hoaxes, you should read here and here. Also her Guardian obituary (she died last year) is here. This could have massive consequences for classical music, if it proves to be true.