Labour’s plans are designed to target Amazon-style warehouses, with the cash raised going to lower the business rates for smaller high street businesses. But many concert halls will also be forced to pay “millions of pounds” more to the Treasury. - The Standard
“(Her) infectious creativity has made Amy O’Neil’s work for The Dallas Opera a must-watch. From her fun, punchy synopses of upcoming productions to her award-nominated series ‘Don’t Look Under the Wig,’ she says her work is aimed at making the opera feel (less intimidating and) more accessible.” - D Magazine (Dallas)
Businessman Henry Lee Higginson, who founded the Boston Symphony and was lead funder for its then-new venue, made what was then an unprecedented decision: he hired a Harvard physicist as an acoustical consultant (and followed the man’s advice). The concert hall that resulted is still considered one of the world’s best. - WBUR (Boston)
The open-air concert venue in Fairmount Park has been given a “substantial” grant from the Pennsylvania insurance company Highmark to support a renovation project to be completed by next spring. The new name: Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
When Charlotte Symphony music director Kwamé Ryan saw the orchestra’s newly-redesigned logo, he thought the CSO should have a musical equivalent — like NBC’s three chimes, Netflix’s “ta-thump” drumstroke, or T-Mobile’s five-note ringtone. So he commissioned Bates, who had “never been so excited to write five seconds of music.” - The Charlotte Observer (Yahoo!)
The British conductor is the first person ever to win Gramophone’s Artist of the Year award twice. The Record of the Year prize went to the Pygmalion/Raphaël Pichon release of Bach’s Mass in B minor. Awards were made in 17 additional categories. - The Guardian
Members of the orchestra’s volunteer chorus received an email from management notifying them of the “difficult but necessary development” just hours before a performance last Friday. Bruffy also leads the Grammy-winning professional choir the Kansas City Chorale, which is making no comment on the matter. - The Kansas City Star
The Mason Bates/Gene Scheer opera, whose ticket sales improved for each performance of this fall’s run (the last two selling out, despite widely divergent reviews), is being brought back for four performances this February. Only one other time in its modern history has the company added shows mid-season. - Playbill
I believe that Agentic AI, which dynamically employs complex reasoning and adaptation, has the potential to revolutionize how fans interact with and discover music. - Music Business Worldwide
The musicians’ union and management reached agreement (pending a ratification vote) on a new contract on October 5, bringing to an end a ten-day walkout that was the first strike in the VSO’s 107-year history. - CBC
Swift broke the record set by Adele's 25, which sold 3.378 million copies in its first week in 2015. The Life of a Showgirl was released Oct. 3. In its first week, pure album sales totaled 3,479,500 copies. She's also become the solo artist with the most No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200. - CBC
Roughly 96% of the classical music on terrestrial radio in the U.S. is broadcast on public radio stations — and those stations often have crucial symbiotic relationships with the classical music scenes in their listening areas. Michael Andor Brodeur considers what’s at stake. - The Washington Post (MSN)
As AI becomes more embedded in music creation, the challenge is balancing its legitimate creative use with the ethical and economic pressures it introduces. Disclosure is essential not just for accountability, but to give listeners transparent and user-friendly choices in the artists they support. - The Conversation
A team led by Dr. Shinichi Furuya at the NeuroPiano Institute and Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. has provided the first scientific evidence showing how pianists’ touch on the keys can actually change a piano’s timbre—the tonal character of its sound. - SciTech Daily
Cristian Macelaru: "The work is a lot more complex and challenging here , but it’s also much more rewarding. … I’ve always had such strong beliefs about what I would do if I were a music director of an American orchestra.” - The New York Times
