Dutch Radio Philharmonic on Chopping Block
A venerable classical-music institution in the Netherlands could be nevermore if plans by the Dutch cabinet are carried out. The Netherlands Broadcasting Music Center—home to the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, and an extensive music library—will no longer receive government funding if the motion is passed. For details, visit mco.nl.

Seasoned Violinist Sues Young Concert Artists
Former New York City Ballet Orchestra violinist Martin Stoner filed an age-discrimination lawsuit against the nonprofit Young Concert Artists, Inc., after he lost the preliminary round of a competition for 19- to 26-year-old musicians. Stoner is 60 years old.

Passings
Banjo player, fiddler, dance caller, and sound engineer Warren Argo died in September. A longtime director of the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington, Argo and his Gypsy Gyppo String Band were instrumental in establishing old-time music and dance in Seattle in the 1970s. He was 67.

Vienna Philharmonic double-bassist Georg Straka died in November while hiking Mount Fuji in Japan. He was 41. Straka, of Mödling, Austria, had joined the Vienna State Opera Orchestra in 1996 and became a member of the Vienna Phil in 1999.

Musical Chairs
The San Domenico School Virtuoso Program, in San Anselmo, California, has appointed violinist and conductor Ann Krinitsky as its new music director. Krinitsky will replace George Thomson in leading the Orchestra da Camera, which has won the grand championship at the American String Teachers Association’s National Orchestra Festival three times.

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