Heyward, 31, is Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s first music director of color and the youngest current music director of any major U.S. orchestra. To that, he says, “Challenge accepted.” - Time
“It was a very hard decision,” Emily Moss, the music director of WCPE, a nonprofit station based in Wake Forest, said in an interview. “It’s been a hard day and a hard week.” - The New York Times
Musicologist Dr Shara Rambarran says virtual influencers-turned-popstars entering the arena may unsettle IRL (in real life) musicians "who want to put their music out there and not have to have that competition". - BBC
Various measurements became more synchronised during the concerts, such as the participants’ heart rates, breathing speeds and their skin conductance, which measures how much someone is sweating based on their skin’s varying electrical properties. - New Scientist
"But the opera, with music by Jake Heggie and a libretto by Terrence McNally, had never been performed in a prison until last week at Sing Sing, which is home to more than 1,400 inmates." - The New York Times
The DG recording of Nielsen's 4th and 5th with the Danish National Symphony also took the Orchestral award; among other winners are the London Philharmonic in Tippett's Midsummer Marriage (Opera), Krystian Zimerman playing Szymanowski piano works, and mezzo Helen Charlston's ‘Battle Cry: She Speaks’ (Concept Album). - Gramophone
Black country singers and journalists are being called racial slurs by fans and openly LGBTQ+ performers are having to back out of performances. - The Guardian
"In general, Noseda is a servant of the ‘big idea’ – overarching themes that unify a series of concerts, galvanise audiences, empower musicians and attract donors." - Gramophone
For decades hip-hop artists have used their power as popular culture stars to influence the political sphere. As academics have begun to take notice of the power of hip-hop to inspire youth and impact social change, more and more research on the history and power of hip-hop has developed. - The Conversation
Like the 45-day budget bill passed by the U.S. Congress the day before, this new contract seems likely to serve as little more than a stopgap designed to tide both parties over toward a more decisive reckoning. - San Francisco Chronicle
These “time-tested and great operas” that you tout in your letter are rife with misogyny, violence, racism and casual pedophilia. You say you are “happy to broadcast” them, but I suggest you think again. Just because they’re calling someone a whore in Italian doesn’t mean it’s any less offensive. - Current
Following the successful launch of Spotify’s AI-powered DJ feature and, more recently, added support for AI-translated podcasts, Spotify now appears to be developing another means of using AI in its app: AI-powered playlists. - TechCrunch
"A union official said that it would seek continued intervention by a federal mediator and continue negotiations, but that a strike was possible. In all, the vote was 81-8 as members of Philadelphia Musician’s Union Local 77 voted against the contract." - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Summer festivals now face a balancing act between creative imagination and fiscal conservatism in the wake of a Covid wipeout that dispelled the older audience. If festivals are to survive, they will need to invent a twenty-first century purpose. - The Critic
The new contract mandates a minimum weekly salary of $3,313 ($172,276 annually), rising by the end of the term to $3,450 ($179,400). - San Francisco Chronicle
