Kedrick Armstrong, a 29-year-old "Black queer kid from Georgetown, South Carolina," starts the job immediately, but his first concert will be next October's season opener. In this Q&A, he compares conducting to cooking his favorite dish, shrimp and grits. - The Oaklandside
The Russian republic of Chechnya has banned dance music it deems either too fast or too slow, in an attempt to quash a “polluting” western influence on the conservative majority-Muslim region. - The Guardian
The Pasteur Institute has made advancements in another field — the musical arts — as some of its scientists have formed bands and other acts involving colleagues as well as students who have studied there. That cohort has honed its musical passion and ability at an on-site studio they call the music lab. - The New York Times
"Reframe the task and it could become very attractive for a particular kind of musician. The key is to take a cue from the sports pages, where the concept of 'rebuilding' is well understood." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
Troublingly, a backlash regarding this appointment has quickly gained momentum—let’s call it “Klaustrophobia.” Unlike Mr. Dudamel’s early days in L.A., when nary an unkind word was spoken, the vitriol from various quarters directed at Mr. Mäkelä is disconcerting. These naysayers may prove prescient, but can’t we give the guy a chance? - The Wall Street Journal
Eiko Ishibashi says that in scoring Ryûsuke Hamagachi’s new film, she felt his raw emotion - “anger that felt directed towards the way humans work, the unfairness of this whole world” - and matched it to her own. - The Guardian (UK)
Her climate change studies were getting a professor down. So she turned to the University of South Florida's school of music. "Composition professor Paul Reller worked with students to map pitch, rhythm and duration to the data. It came alive ... in ways it simply does not on a spreadsheet." - NPR
Whether you love him, hate him, pay him or his music no mind, or pretend he doesn’t matter — you cannot escape Philip Glass. His impact on composers of succeeding generations, whether they accept him or oppose him, is indelible. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
Violins like Ayoung An’s, made in the tradition of Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri, require about two months of work and sell for about 16,000 to 17,000 euros, or $17,500 to $18,500. “I can make a violin in three weeks, but I don’t want to,” An said. “This object is very precious to the person purchasing it.” - The New...
A comprehensive study spearheaded by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics provides evidence that people tend to show a predisposition towards rhythms formed by simple integer ratios regardless of cultural background. - PsyPost
"In August, after Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 ends the summer at Tanglewood, Rowe, 49, will take her final bow with the orchestra, which will probably also be her final bow as a professional flutist. Then, she’ll devote her days to her newly chosen career: leadership coaching." - The Boston Globe (MSN)
Something in his brain shifted; later, he would tell people that it was as if someone had turned over a deck of cards to reveal the hidden faces behind the plain backs. Over the next several years, he would come to believe he had discovered Beethoven’s secret code. - The Atlantic
This moment represents a new low for music journalism as a whole. But it’s in times like these that prefigurative visions come more clearly into focus. - Boston Review
“This campaign is going to solve a major problem that the symphony has wrestled with for years, of not having a big enough endowment to help balance its budget. It’s giving us future stability in a way that we’ve never been able to enjoy before.” - Charlotte Observer
"Michael, 49, was chorus master at the National Theater in Mannheim, Germany, then has held the same job at Oper Frankfurt since 2014-15. He spent 10 years assisting the chorus master at the annual Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth." He replaces Donald Palumbo, who has retired after 17 years. - AP
