
John Nelson, conductor who championed Berlioz, dies at 83
He served for more than a decade as music director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, a group he helped elevate through national tours that stopped at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. He later worked for years in France, recording a complete set of Beethoven's symphonies while leading the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris.
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Mr. Nelson was a prolific guest conductor, directing major orchestras worldwide. He also won a Grammy Award for directing the English Chamber Orchestra and star soprano Kathleen Battle in a recording of Handel's 'Semele,' released by Deutsche Grammophon in 1993.
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But he remained best known as an interpreter of Berlioz, whom he described as 'my patron saint in music.' He traced his interest in the French composer back to a conversation he had with his manager, Matthew Epstein, at age 28, when Mr. Nelson was a young Juilliard grad leading New Jersey's Pro Arte Chorale.
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'John,' he recalled Epstein saying, 'you need to do something to haul yourself out of your choral doldrums - something spicy and interesting that'll make a splash in New York. Why don't you do 'The Trojans?''
Commonly known by its French name, 'Les Troyens,' the opera was Berlioz's most ambitious work, retelling the tragic love story of Dido and Aeneas in a run time that regularly exceeds four hours. (The composer, who died in 1869, didn't live to see it performed in full.)
Mr. Nelson told Gramophone magazine that he studied the work by picking up conductor Colin Davis's recently released 1970 recording of the opera - a listening experience he likened to 'being struck by a thunderbolt.'
Deciding 'to go for broke,' as he put it, he and Epstein arranged for the Pro Arte Chorale to perform the opera in 1972, in concert at Carnegie Hall. It was one of the work's first full performances in the United States.
'It started around 7 P.M., ended around midnight, and at the end a mighty roar went up,' wrote New York Times classical music critic Harold C. Schonberg, praising the 'extraordinary vitality and understanding' that Mr. Nelson brought to the music.
'Carnegie Hall,' he continued, 'has heard nothing like that yell of approval since the 'Götterdämmerung' performance two seasons ago by Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony.'
Decades later, Mr. Nelson dryly noted that in some ways the performance was a disaster for his choral group: 'It cost $50,000, which it took the board 10 years to pay off - and they lost their music director in the process.'
Mr. Nelson left the company after directing high-profile concerts, including in 1973 when he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera, conducting 'Les Troyens' as a last-minute substitute for the group's ailing director, Rafael Kubelík.
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Nearly 45 years later, in 2017, he made an acclaimed four-CD recording of the opera for the classical label Erato. Mr. Nelson said he spent about a year and a half planning the project and assembling the musicians, settling on a lineup that included France's Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, three choirs, and a 16-person cast led by Joyce DiDonato, Michael Spyres, and Marie-Nicole Lemieux.
The album was named Gramophone's record of the year. It won top prizes at the International Opera Awards and France's Victoires de la Musique Classique.
'Nelson never allows the dramatic pace to slacken, which is no mean achievement in itself in a work that even its greatest admirers would admit has occasional longueurs,' music critic Andrew Clements wrote in the Guardian. The record, he added, was 'now unquestionably the version of Berlioz's masterpiece to have at home.'
Mr. Nelson led the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Evgeny Kissin as soloist in 2011.
Stu Rosner
John Wilton Nelson was born in San José, Costa Rica, on Dec. 6, 1941. His parents were Protestant American missionaries, his mother a nurse and his father a minister. Mr. Nelson said he spent much of his childhood traveling the countryside with his family, at times playing the accordion in a trio with his dad, who played the saxophone, and his brother, who played guitar.
He was 6 when his family bought a Steinway piano for $50 and enrolled him in lessons. Mr. Nelson was later sent to the United States to study at a private school in Orlando. He continued at the piano, although he moved away from the instrument - eventually turning to conducting - after losing the tip of his right pinkie in a childhood accident, according to the magazine Christianity Today.
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Mr. Nelson studied music at Wheaton College in Illinois, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1963. He went on to train in conducting at Juilliard, where he studied under Jean Morel, and received a master's degree in 1965. He taught at the school for a few years while launching his career, directing the Greenwich Philharmonia in Connecticut in addition to the Pro Arte Chorale.
'It was clear that I could not have a music directorship in a major city, so I went to the boondocks to settle down, work on repertoire and get my feet wet as a music director,' he told The Boston Globe in 1991, explaining his decision to join the Indianapolis Symphony.
Mr. Nelson toured and recorded with the group while taking on additional responsibilities as director of the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the Caramoor music center in Katonah, N.Y.
But by 1987, he was tired and burned out and decided to leave his main job in Indianapolis. 'I said goodbye to the orchestra at the last stop of our first European tour, in Nuremberg,' he said in a Los Angeles Times interview. 'My wife and I got into the car and drove off into the sunset - to Paris.'
Mr. Nelson and his wife, the former Anita Johnsen, married in 1964. She died in 2012. The John and Anita Nelson Center for Sacred Music at Wheaton, where she was also an alum, was later dedicated in their honor.
Mr. Nelson leaves two daughters, Kirsten Nelson Hood and Kari Magdalena Chronopoulos; four grandsons; and three great-grandchildren.
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After the success of his 'Les Troyens' recording, Mr. Nelson continued to record major works by Berlioz, reuniting with Erato and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg for well-received versions of 'La Damnation de Faust' (2019), 'Les Nuits d'Eté' and 'Harold en Italie' (both in 2022),
and 'Roméo et Juliette' (2023). He also led a 2019 live recording of Berlioz's 'Requiem,' at
St. Paul's Cathedral in London, to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer's death.
His final recording, with the English Concert & Choir, was of Handel's 'Messiah' (2023), an oratorio he had first conducted as a college sophomore, in a Baptist church with organ accompaniment. This time he led the performance at England's Coventry Cathedral, in a concert that was shaped 'with intelligence and flair,' Lindsay Kemp wrote in Gramophone.
'Just listen,' Kemp added, 'to the way he builds towards the 'Wonderful, Counsellor' outbursts in 'For unto us,' with the cellos at one point contributing joyful spread chords. Or how 'and of his Christ' stands out in the 'Hallelujah,' and the final 'amen' is so carefully unfolded. Nelson gets these kinds of things right time and again.'
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Business Wire
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Yahoo
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Xilam Group Heads Back to Annecy Festival with Growing Film and Series Slate
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Xilam's raft of Annecy activity follows the recently announced partnership with commercial French broadcaster TF1 to develop Turbo Twins, a new comedy action CG animation series for kids aged 6-10 years old. Marc du Pontavice, Founder and CEO at Xilam Animation, said: "As we return to one of the key events in our calendar, our line-up for Annecy once again offers something for everyone in the family – from epic film adventures to vibrant comedy series. We look forward to unveiling a first glimpse into our moving and powerful film Lucy Lost, and to also presenting our diverse slate of new kids' series, which blends both original ideas as well as beloved IPs. Our flourishing development and production pipeline is testament to the leading creativity of our talent, and also to the strength of our relationships with key European broadcasters, such as France Télévisions, TF1, BBC, Super RTL and ZDF." 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Xilam's expanding and strong catalogue now consists of over 2,800 episodes and three feature films. Xilam employs more than 400 individuals, across its studios in Paris, Angoulême in France and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam. Xilam was ranked France's leading animation studio for the 2018-2023 period in a report by the French National Centre for Cinema and Animation (CNC). Xilam is listed on Euronext Paris Compartment C - PEA - SRD long Eligibility. ISIN: FR0004034072, Symbol: XIL For more information, visit: View source version on Contacts Marc du Pontavice – Chairman and CEOCécile Haimet - CFOPhone: +33 1 40 18 72 00 The DDA Groupxilam@ Charlotte Newcombe – Phone +44 7726 901 129 Image Sept Agencyxilam@ Karine Allouis (Media Relations) – Phone +33 1 53 70 74 81Laurent Poinsot (Investor Relations) – Phone +33 1 53 70 74 77 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data


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30 Walmart Bathing Suits You'll Live In This Summer
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But I love this suit. If you are big-chested, the straps may not be enough for you." —GINGER Price: $17.99+ (originally $39.78; available in sizes XS–XL and 16 colors) A one-piece swim dress screaming, "Get me into the water right now!" This suit, plus a mint julep in a highball, is everything you need to serve '50s elegance. Promising review: "This swimsuit feels great! It fits according to the advertised size. There is no bagginess making it feel like a part of my body." —PamPrice: $19.47+ (available in size XL–4XL and six colors) A two-piece tankini swimsuit so you can look like you're on the set of The White Lotus without the hefty price tag (or, ya know, TRAGEDIES) of booking a room at the White Lotus. Promising review: "The color is beautiful and bright. It covers well and is true to size. The tankini is not too short and the skirt length is perfect." —LindaPrice: $26.22 (originally $33.88; available in sizes S–XL and eight colors) A cute one-piece that will add just the right amount of preppy vibes to your otherwise minimalist style. Promising review: "My favorite bathing suit. It's full coverage and perfect for summer family time. I'm 5'6' and 100 lbs and I got size small. It fit perfectly!! Extra bonus is the straps are adjustable. I typically have issues with one pieces being too short for my torso but this one fits great. Lovely and feminine. I feel so confident and comfortable in this bathing suit!" —Kristina Price: $26.98 (available in sizes XS–3X and seven colors) A two-piece swim set with a cute halter top that you can totally wear, even while not at the pool or beach! Pair this with a flowing skirt when going on a beach town brunch with friends. Promising review: "So cute!! Stays in place. A bit cheeky. It's full coverage in the front, you can barely see my belly button. But the back is a little cheeky." —JodiPrice: $17.99+ (available in sizes S–XXL and 19 colors) And a cutout one-piece that serves two-piece energy without the panic of your top flying off you mid-wave or disappearing into the black hole that is your swimsuit drawer. Promising review: "I get more compliments on this swimsuit than anything else I own! I am thicker than I would like, but I still have a thin build overall. My kids, my friends, everyone says it looks nice. And with the cutout, I get the bikini feel without the actual bikini. I can't say enough good things about this suit. I came back to order another because when it inevitably wears out, I will be so sad if I don't have another!" —Jeannine Price: $17.79 (available in sizes S–XXL and 10 colors) Need ingredients for all your new recipes? Shop each recipe directly through the app, or check out Walmart's grocery selection to get veggies, meat, seafood, and more delivered right to your door. Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.