Upbeat: Stepping up

SO what happens to the maturer violinists? If they are Yehudi Menuhin, they turn to conducting - he presided over the closing concerts of his competition, and often appears in London with the Royal Philharmonic. Yan Pascal Tortelier has done the same, rather earlier. Now Salvatore Accardo has accepted the music directorship of the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, which he takes up in September: during the autumn he conducts Pergolesi's Il Flaminio and Rossini's Mose in Egitto, repertoire a long way from being routine. International solo appearances, however, continue: he has just recorded the Beethoven concerto for Sony, with Giulini conducting.

Another Italian job puts Frank Shipway in charge of Italian Radio's Turin Symphony Orchestra. Like many British conductors, Shipway has reacted to the lack of openings here by developing his career abroad - and his strong-minded rehearsal tactics, imbibed by watching Karajan, have gone down better on the Continent than at home, where orchestral players of a relaxed disposition used to insert a 'von' between his names. In his first season, guest conductors include Giulini, Muti and Sawallisch.