MUSIC

How Gen Z Is Hacking The High Cost Of Music Festivals

Enter Breakaway: a growing dance-music festival brand built on the premise of making concerts and festivals accessible and affordable again. - Fortune

This Opera Used To Be About History, And Now It’s About Today’s News

“History is repeating itself 70 years later, just in a different way. The government is ‘systematically trying to erase our history with the demonization of trans and non-binary community,’ Newbury said. ‘It has given itself license to hate.’” - Oregon ArtsWatch

South Texas Has A Huge Mariachi Community, And ICE Is Destroying Some Of It

“‘For McAllen, mariachi is like the Friday Night Lights of high school,’ said Anthony Medrano, a prominent San Antonio mariachi musician. ‘There’s pride in it.’” - The New York Times

The Met Is The Largest Performing Arts Company In The US, And It’s Desperate For Money

“The core problem has been ticket revenues, which were weakening even before the coronavirus pandemic shuttered its theater with a devastating financial impact. Box-office receipts last year were down $20 million from a decade earlier.” - The New York Times

Does This Musician’s Nostalgic Performance Prove The Brits Are Becoming More Conservative Again?

“For all that the audience are loving it, the enthusiastic self-infantilisation feels depressing to me. Is Middle England so deprived of communal singing – the pub, the church, the local choir – it makes this appealing?” - The Guardian (UK)

The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Firing Of Nelsons Provides Conductors With A Cautionary Tale

“Nelsons, 47, has become one of the most unfortunate symbols of all that is irresponsible about the overstretched, overtired, overindulged modern music director. It has been not only deeply frustrating, but genuinely sad, to witness his trajectory.” - The New York Times

Andris Nelsons Out As Music Director Of The Boston Symphony

“The decision to not renew his contract was made by the BSO’s board of trustees because, beyond our shared desire to ensure our orchestra continues to perform at the highest levels, the BSO and Andris Nelsons were not aligned on future vision,” the BSO said in a statement from its trustees and CEO Chad Smith. - AP

Washington’s National Symphony Top Official Resigns

“It’s no secret that this has been a really hard year,” she said. “So I started looking for a new opportunity several months ago.” - The New York Times

Appraising Zubin Mehta At The End Of His Career

The most efficient maestro of his generation — blessed with a brain surgeon’s hands and a barn owl’s ears — he never commanded a premier ensemble. - The Critic

Study: Pinpointing Where Stradivari’s Wood Came From

A study of the tree rings in Stradivarius violins, published in January in the journal Dendrochronologia, has revealed the most likely origin of some of the craftsman’s violins: wood from trees growing at high elevation in northern Italy in the same valley that hosted part of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. - The New York Times

Philadelphia Orchestra Inks Partnership Agreement With Temple University

The agreement — concerning educational activities at Terra Hall, which Temple purchased from the collapsed University of the Arts and is turning into the nucleus of its planned Center City Philadelphia campus — means the Orchestra can stop pursuing plans to build a $100 million educational annex at the Kimmel Center. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

Musician Opens Jewel Box 750-Seat Music Venue In LA

In a few weeks, this site will be Pacific Electric, a new 750-capacity music venue that Ben Lovett and his venue-developer firm TVG Hospitality have been converting for six years. It’s a small but ambitious entry into a Los Angeles venue landscape that’s recovering from fire and economic woes. - Los Angeles Times

Where Stradivarius Found Just The Right Wood

“A study of the tree rings in Stradivarius violins, published in January in the journal Dendrochronologia, has revealed the most likely origin of some of the craftsman’s violins: wood from trees growing at high elevation in northern Italy in the same valley that hosted part of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.” - The New York Times

Barbara Hannigan On The New Work She’s Premiering: “It’s Like Turning Your Soul Inside Out”

Composer Laura Bowler wrote the piece, which sets excerpts from Nobel laureate Han Kang’s The White Book, following her mother’s death in an accident after recovering from leukemia. Despite the daunting circumstances and Hannigan’s description, the soprano says, “I don’t think I’ve ever been more calm for a world premiere.” - The Guardian

Live Nation Anti-Trust Trial Begins

The government says Live Nation retains its grip on the music industry with strong-arm tactics like demanding that artists use its promotion services in order to perform in its amphitheaters. - The New York Times

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