Bill Newman
Bill Newman started work at EMI Records during September 1955 in the Classical Promotion Department, at first concerned with processing review requests from the main reviewers among London's National Press. Eventually he made personal contact with chosen critics who helped to correct his English in the writeups he provided following concerts and recitals attended at the Royal Albert and Festival Halls and other locations in Greater London. His critical evaluations eventually carried the day, whereupon various bosses decided to increase his responsibilities to incorporate and extend his artistic knowledge into the preparation of sales leaflets intended to better the coverage of international artists in the standard classical repertoire. Within a short time he was rewarded with the added privilege of deciding the repertoire planning - on a monthly basis - of the newly contracted American Mercury 'Living Presence' label with its revolutionary single microphone recording technique which caught the natural ambiance and musical balance of performers at selected locations. The artists' names now belong to musical history - Antal Dorati, Paul Paray, Howard Hanson and Frederick Fennell. The former's greatest worldwide success was Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture with its added bells, fusilades of cannons creating such an aura of excitement that the disc remained in the musical hit parade for a succession of years as the chosen version. With Newman's associations with some of the pre-eminent musical and recording executives assured, he planned ahead to take on a number of other contracted labels such as Westminster (ABC Paramount), Russian Melodiya and Epic-CBS before departing EMI and joining CBS' new UK setup in the mid 1970s. A further change of scene to Boosey and Hawkes Music Publishers showed greater difficulties in the area of sheet music. Today, his overall knowledge of CDs and the realm of live concerts is constantly sought after by a younger generation eager for help with promotion and recording.
M&V articles about Bill Newman
Beautifully Arranged - 'Antal Doráti and the joy of making music' by Richard Chlupaty, reviewed by Anna L Franco
Music & Vision articles by Bill Newman
Nikolai Demidenko plays Schubert at London's Wigmore Hall
Jurowski conducts the LPO
Jonathan Biss plays Beethoven and Janácek
Mozart and Brahms from the Razumovsky Ensemble
Bill Newman listens to the Danish String Quartet
Christian Blackshaw has begun his Mozart piano sonata Marathon in London, and Bill Newman was in the audience
Some recommended commercial recordings. 'How dare they!'
A roundup of London concerts enjoyed, featuring recitals by Alice Sara Ott, the Emerson Quartet, Martin Fröst and Roland Pontinen, the Orchestra of the Polish EU Presidency, Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä and Roope Grondahl, and Martino Tirimo's Rosamunde Trio
Bill Newman talks to Kazan pianist Rustem Kudoyarov
Henri Barda plays Brahms, Beethoven and Chopin. 'The performances are in a class of their own.'
Julian Jacobson plays Beethoven
Works by Julian Anderson, Mozart and Tchaikovsky performed by Janine Jansen, Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra
Yelian He and Yasmin Rowe play Chopin, Beethoven and Piazzolla
A recital by Erdem Misirlioglu
Debussy and Bartók
Cédric Tiberghien plays Debussy Preludes
A recital by pianist Arisu Nakao
Lionel Cottet and Louis Schwizgebel-Wang play Beethoven, Schubert, Zanon and Brahms, and impress Bill Newman
A recital by Janine Jansen and Itamar Golan
Kirill Karabits conducts the RPO
Ralph Kirshbaum and Shai Wosner play Beethoven, Janácek, Brahms and Schumann
Bill Newman attends a fundraising concert for the Raphael Sommer Foundation
Lyapunov's piano music. '... endearing charm.'
Yasmin Rowe, Sarah Sew and Tadashi Imai at London's Wigmore Hall
Yasmin Rowe plays for the Keyboard Charitable Trust
Vadim Gluzman and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vassily Sinaisky
Bill Newman listens to American pianist Rorianne Schrade
Bill Newman attends two orchestral concerts at London's Royal Festival Hall
Peter Donohoe's complete Beethoven piano sonata cycle
Serghei Constantinov at Steinway Hall in London
Wigmore Hall recitals by Danny Driver, and by Jack Liebeck and Katya Apekisheva
The Dante Quartet at London's Wigmore Hall
Turkish pianist Idil Biret talks to Bill Newman
Bill Newman listens to Stephen Hough
Bill Newman attends a selection of concerts at London's Wigmore Hall
Bill Newman listens to Bulgarian pianist Vesselin Stanev
Sergey Sobolev plays Chopin, Liszt and Schumann
An array of artists at London's Wigmore Hall
Bill Newman listens to Emre Engin and Alison Rhind
Michail Lifits at London's Wigmore Hall delights Bill Newman
A celebration, not an obituary
Bill Newman listens to various artists at London's Wigmore Hall
The Israel Piano Trio
Kotaro Fukuma's performances of Schumann, Chopin and Liszt amaze Bill Newman
A roundup of recent London concerts
Bill Newman listens to the Russian pianist Nelly Akopian-Tamarina
The Emerson Quartet
A recital by John Paul Ekins delights Bill Newman
The Wihan Quartet at Kings Place
Bill Newman talks to all four members of the Wihan Quartet
A recital by Emanuel Rimoldi
Bill Newman's pick of June and July concerts at London's Wigmore Hall
Music by Janácek and Suk
Bill Newman comments on some recent concerts at London's Wigmore Hall
Bill Newman listens to Aldo Ciccolini
Bill Newman talks to pianist Igor Tchetuev
Bill Newman was at Nettle and Markham's thirtieth anniversary recital
Bill Newman reviews two recitals by pianist Igor Tchetuev
Lilya Zilberstein's recital at London's Wigmore Hall
Bill Newman listens to pianist Alexander Romanovsky
A recital by Australian pianist Jayson Gillham
Alessandro Taverna at London's Steinway Hall
A lunchtime piano recital by Maiko Mori
Tessa Uys at London's Wigmore Hall
A recital by Bálint Székely and Mariko Kondo
The Belcea Quartet plays Schubert and Beethoven
Young Concert Artists Trust recitals
A Bernard Stevens celebration at London's Wigmore Hall
The Artemis Quartet plays music by Beethoven, Stravinsky and Schubert
Quatuor Ebène plays Haydn, Webern and Schubert
Emanuel Ax plays Beethoven and Schumann, and
Valeriy Sokolov and Eric Ferrand-N'Kaoua play Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, Enescu and Prokofiev
Bill Newman listens to the Razumovsky Ensemble
Nikolai Demidenko plays Chopin
Chamber music at London's Wigmore Hall
Alex Kobrin plays Haydn, Beethoven and Chopin
Bill Newman listens to Mayuko Katsumura and Gordon Back
Eduardo Monteiro plays piano music from Brazil
Brazilian Eduardo Monteiro plays at Wigmore Hall and talks to Bill Newman about his varied musical life
A spring remembrance concert for the Armenian victims of 1915
Martino Tirimo's final 2006 Mozart recital
Martino Tirimo plays Mozart
The Rosamunde Trio plays Dvorák, Fribbins and Beethoven
Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung play Schubert, Ravel and Stravinsky
Recitals by Denitsa Laffchieva and Evelina Puzaite
Susan Milan at London's Wigmore Hall
More reviews from London's Wigmore Hall
Regrets and remedies, the Wigmore way
Sequeira Costa plays Chopin
Robin Zebaida plays piano rarities. '... musical appeal is immediate.'
Martino Tirimo celebrates Mozart's 250th Anniversary. '... outstanding performances.' [listen]
Martino Tirimo's Mozart from Cadogan Hall
A meeting with Gisela Doráti, better known as 'Gizi'
Bill Newman recalls the affection he felt for the great Hungarian conductor-composer Antal Doráti, who would have been 100 years old today
Tonina Doráti and opera production, as explained to Bill Newman
Bill Newman talks to British pianist Mark Bebbington
Bill Newman reports on the 250th anniversary
Celebrating the tenth series of live music at London's Wallace Collection
Two young pianists of outstanding promise
Oleh Krysa and Tatiana Tchekina at London's Wigmore Hall
Mûza Rubackyté in recital, and on disc
Maurice Hasson's 70th birthday recital with Gabriela Montero was a notable 2005 Wigmore Hall event for Bill Newman
Comparing two piano trios on the same day
Bill Newman at a concert by the London Chamber Music Group
Bill Newman attends three events given by young musicians
A portrait of pianist Clara Rodriguez
A portrait of piano duettists Isabel Beyer and Harvey Dagul
Remembering Sir John and others. Bill Newman visits Lady Evelyn Barbirolli
A portrait of the Greek-born pianist Eugenia Papadimas
Piano 40's eighth London concert
Bill Newman wishes Colin Bradbury many happy returns on the occasion of the clarinettist's seventieth birthday
Swiss ambassadors, a Bulgarian pianist and a marketing project
Finnish pianist Risto Lauriala talks to Bill Newman
The piano scene, and a young musical stylist in the making
Mei Yi Foo at Steinway Hall
Bill Newman listens to the Rosamunde Trio
Bill Newman talks to Jeremy Backhouse, Director of the Vasari Singers
Bill Newman visits pianist Ilse von Alpenheim at her home in Switzerland
Pianist Danny Driver talks to Bill Newman
Bill Newman enjoys an evening's entertainment by Piano 40 at London's Purcell Room, Wednesday 5 February 2003
Bill Newman talks to Igor Oistrakh as the 50th anniversary of the violinist's UK début approaches
Martino Tirimo at London's Wigmore Hall, prefaced by other thoughts from Bill Newman
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