For every composer affirming authority in their work, opera’s history offers counterexamples: creators so committed to establishing a new world order in sound that they resisted all conventions and invented their own instruments, their own ensembles or their own theaters. - The New York Times
The turmoil began after the MSO canceled a concerto appearance by a pianist who made a statement about Gaza from the stage. Musicians objected to that move but also called for the resignation of managing director Sophie Galaise for more general "poor communication, a lack of accountability and declining morale." - Limelight (Australia)
New company director Anthony Roth Costanzo has raised over $7 million since he took over on June 1, and he says, "That fundraising is not only subsidizing this ticketing model, but a lot of it is inspired by this ticketing model." (Patrons who can afford more have a pay-what-you-wish option.) - WHYY (Philadelphia)
Last summer, the Russian soprano sued the company for cancelling all her engagements after she refused to denounce Putin following his invasion of Ukraine. A Federal judge has tossed out her claims for breach of contract, defamation, and discrimination due to national origin, permitting only her gender claim. - AP
“Concert music moves audiences bodily. … Music reaches not just the minds (the cognition and experiences of people), but also their bodies such as heart rate, breathing, body movement. This is called ’embodied cognition.’” - PsyPost
“At Hera, women were not only performing on stage but working behind the scenes as producers, engineers and more. It’s something Itzel González, festival promoter, and Ximena Sariñana, Mexican singer-songwriter, co-creator and director of the Hera committee wanted to highlight with the event.” - Seattle Times (AP)
These days, you get this sort of unabashedly instructional approach to pop music only from Republicans, whose musical choices at July’s Republican National Convention felt, across the board, unburdened by any metaphorical obligations. - Washington Post
The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra may look, from a distance, like a European orchestra, but its musicians play erhu, gaohu, huqin (all bowed strings), sheng, guan, di (woodwinds), conchs, ox-horns and percussion. The HKCO runs a competition for young conductors, who must know both Chinese and European classical genres cold. - Classical Music (UK)
The Nicaraguan-Costa Rican conductor will be music director-designate in 2024-25 as he completes his 16th and final season in Tennessee's capital, and his initial contract term continues for five years beyond that. He and the Nashville Symphony have released 21 recordings and won six Grammy Awards. - Sarasota Observer
Des Moines Metro Opera, founded in 1973, can’t rival Salzburg or Aix-en-Provence in scenic luxury. Yet musical values by no means suffer; casts are drawn from the upper ranks of younger American singers. And the company’s home venue—the Blank Performing Arts Center, on the campus of Simpson College, in Indianola—fosters unusual intimacy. - The New Yorker
"The bottom line ... is to remember that she, (and) everybody else in Janáček’s operas, are actually human beings. There aren’t any heroes, there are mostly survivors. … I always think that if somebody is considered an evil person, they must be so stiff emotionally, which makes them act in a certain way." - Bachtrack
The orchestra will have a venue with a 550-seat auditorium, spaces for education and community programs, and 8,000 square feet of office space — the first time all of these functions will be consolidated. The NJSO will continue to give concerts in five other venues around the state, including NJPAC in Newark. - NJ.com
The symphony — and not only the "Ode to Joy" — has been used for everything from Nazi propaganda to the fall of the Berlin Wall to the national anthem of white-ruled Rhodesia to Tiananmen Square demonstrations to entrance music for Melania Trump. Not to mention all the commercials. - The Guardian
