Video games do better with a serious commitment to music: "The self-taught British composer David Wise, with valuable contributions from Robin Beanland and Eveline Fischer, had managed to coax a richer variety of sounds than had ever emanated from a game console.” - Seattle Times (NYT)
“We need to show our industry and music-loving public that there are consequences for inappropriate behaviour,” Katherine Needleman says. - Baltimore Banner
The longtime Toronto Star classical music critic reflects: Littler remembers the words of a former editor who told him, your job is to take us to that event. It’s about recreating the experience for your readers. And, whatever that experience was, it’s not written in stone. - Ludwig Van
They do not feel like fun experiments or celebrations of beloved albums. They feel like the onward acceleration of a culture industry that is unsettlingly dedicated — not just in our concert halls but on our screens and everywhere else it can reach us — to monetizing our nostalgic attachment to media from the past. - The New York...
He declared opera in America “in grave danger,” entrapped by a “star system” enforced by a social elite. He advocated American opera and opera in English. He urged the substitution of smaller auditoriums, shedding the glamour of opera houses in New York, Chicago, and San Franciso that far exceeded in scale European norms. - The American Scholar
"The project responded to ongoing reports of record-breaking levels of first-time attendance. Since full houses are central to the artistic and financial health of opera companies, OPERA America set out to uncover ways to retain and convert these newcomers into a sustaining audience for the future." - Opera America
"ENO says it will be 'firmly established' in Greater Manchester by 2029. But it will start working in the city before that, with productions at the Lowry, Bridgewater Hall and Aviva Studios from 2025, and plans for (a youth opera company and) a mass singing project with grassroots football teams." - BBC
The Swiss conductor, who was chief conductor of the Paris Opera for 12 years (2009-2021) and the Vienna Symphony for six years (2014-2020) before moving to the Vienna State Opera (whence he departs in 2025), will succeed Cristian Măcelaru at the ONF in 2027. - Le Monde (in English)
After six years on the job, the 42-year-old conductor will step down at the end of this season. He is only the fourth music director in the orchestra's 53-year-history. (The second, Kent Nagano, remained for 31 years, long into his high-profile international career.) - San Francisco Chronicle
A budget series called "World's Greatest Music," produced by RCA Victor and marketed and distributed by the New York Post, included 38 discs (78 rpm) released from 1938 to 1940; ultimately more than 1 million records were sold. But the performers were unnamed — until now. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
Nono saw the potential to communicate with contemporary audiences, neither bound by nor rejecting the past, building solidarity against any resurgence of the fascism he had resisted under Mussolini. - The New York Times
The German maestro is currently chief conductor of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana and the Bruckner Orchestra Linz in Austria; he begins his term in Utah in 2027, when he departs Linz. Beginning next season, he will also be chief conductor of the Sinfonieorchester Basel. - The Salt Lake Tribune
"Drawing from a bank of over 7,000 'musical shapes, textures and gestures,' as (Michael) Schumacher describes the mix of sampled audio, field recordings and musical fragments, Living Room Pieces assembles the sounds into 301 'modules' and algorithmically arranges their playback through seven 'modes,' one for each day." - The Washington Post (MSN)
“When you lose your voice, it takes away more than just your ability to communicate. You also lose part of your identity, personality and persona.” - The Guardian
