How we listen has shrunk. Not in every instance, but often enough to be worthy of attention. The culprit is the single speaker—as opposed to a pair of them, like your ears—and once you start looking for it, you might see it everywhere, an invasive species of flower fringing the highway. - The Atlantic
"The 82-year-old musician has been in failing health for some years, and in January 2023 resigned from his position as the general music director of the Berlin State Opera. Although increasingly frail, he has continued to make occasional appearances as a conductor." - The Guardian
After Islamist-led rebels ousted Assad on December 8, the orchestra's rehearsals and concerts were halted as Syria embarked on a delicate transition away from decades of one-family rule enforced by a repressive security apparatus. - Yahoo
"More than 1,000 days after she and her fellow musicians were first displaced, (violinist Tetiana) Martyniuk-Bahrii said she had grown accustomed to the uncertainty. 'It’s a life, but I can’t say it’s a totally happy life,' she said. 'Who knows what will be next?'" - The New York Times
Before COVID, the company typically offered eight productions per season, but, as with the current season, there will be only six productions plus a few concerts in 2025-26. General director Matthew Shilvock said there is "great enthusiasm for the art form but with costs increasing faster than income." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
A Hong Kong troupe specializing in the traditional form (a sort of cousin to the better-known Beijing opera) has produced a modern-dress piece based on the 2024 election, with Trump and Kamala Harris singing in Cantonese — and it's a hit. - AP
Alex Shustorovich, who built his fortune buying Russian science journals after the collapse of the Soviet Union, is using his newfound control of IMG Artists, a small business known for managing classical musicians, to take on his much larger rival. - Financial Times (MSN)
Not only is he directing, he writes librettos and does translations; in fact, he still hates supertitles and thinks opera should be in the audience's language. He has other strong opinions, too: Arts Council England has "got it in for opera. It hates the art form." - The Telegraph (UK) (Yahoo!)
The Grammys’ handling of the city’s ongoing trauma felt more performative than profound: The fires became a prop and backdrop to the night’s honors, losing the human depth and unimaginable scale of the tragedy in the process. - Los Angeles Times
As Capella Romana was planning concerts in Portland and Seattle, their NEA grant funding was suddenly frozen. Donations have poured in, but the concert, “by bringing together Black and European musical and culture traditions, … may very well raise a warning flag in the new administration." - Oregon ArtsWatch
A truly sickening number of studios, equipment, instruments, and reliquaries of precious artifacts, mementos, and material memories from so many lifetimes in music are now nothing but ash. - Symphony
Without the rigid week-after-week subscription structure of the Philharmonic and other major orchestras, St. Luke’s has the versatility to take on unusual ideas. - The New York Times
Gabriela Ortiz’s Ortiz: Revolucion Diamantina, played by the LA Phil with Gustavo Dudamel as conductor, won a lot of those gold Victrolas. Other winners: Beyoncé, Chappell Roan, Kendrick Lamar, and some surprises. - Los Angeles Times
Remember the Los Angeles fires? “Some weren’t sure the show would go on as planned. The Recording Academy, the organization behind the Grammy Awards, announced last month that the ceremony would carry on and refocus to raise money for relief efforts.” - The New York Times
Case thinks that "if her upbringing had been stable, ‘I would have been a much better musician, because I’d have started earlier – I would have had people backing me up and some sort of safety to experiment.’” - The Guardian (UK)
