The changes he goes on to detail might seem like small tweaks to a potential concert-goer but are a bigger deal in a juggernaut organisation such as the Southbank. - The Guardian
"Matthew Spivey, 41, joined the Symphony staff in 2015 as chief programming officer. ... When his predecessor, Mark C. Hanson, stepped down as CEO in July 2021, Spivey stepped in to lead the organization on an interim basis. ... Now (the board is) making the appointment permanent." - San Francisco Chronicle
St.Clair, who turned 70 in June, requested that the symphony’s board begin plans for succession that assured continuity of leadership. - Voice of Orange County
"What should we be doing with those pummelled remnants of a drum kit? The electric guitar with a broken neck? The leaky Chinese saxophone at the back of the cupboard? The DJ set-up gathering dust in the garage?" Not to mention decrepit pianos. Here's some practical advice. - ArtsHub (Australia)
Joshua Barone pays a visit to, and is thrilled by, Barrie Kosky's production of Fiddler on the Roof at Lyric Opera of Chicago and Yuval Sharon's staging of Act III of Die Walküre, under the title "The Valkyries," at Detroit Opera. - The New York Times
These groups may indeed be performing the most innovative composers. But what is also emerging is a much more heightened gravitational pull of music to money. This has meant that for composers to survive they’ve become much more fiercely competitive. - Ludwig Van
Using Yunchan’s Rach 3 video for comparison, these numbers put the Van Cliburn competition viewership well above some of the biggest television show premieres in history. - Ludwig Van
The pianist-turned-conductor founded the RNO in 1990, as the USSR was collapsing. Now the orchestra has refused to renew Pletnev's contract, saying that "since the end of 2020," just as Pletnev moved to Switzerland, "there has been practically no creative contact between the orchestra and its artistic director." - OperaWire
“I do not look like what the CEO of orchestra is supposed to look like. Whenever people are a bit surprised, it just underscores for me the work that needs to be done. And in many ways, I am an example of that work. I want to be a champion for this music. It is for everyone.” - Toronto...
Richie Weeks - aka the Love Magician - lived his working life sorting the mail, but his other working life producing and creating music all night. But "I could not give up my pension," he said, "because I thought the music thing might be frivolous." - The New York Times
The pianist has spent the last four years commissioning new arrangements of the Disney songbook, turning the company’s vast library of show tunes — from the 1930s operetta of “Snow White” to the modern salsa of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” — for his new album. - Los Angeles Times
Back in March, early in the invasion, Sergiy Ivanchuk was driving escaping civilians from the besieged city of Kharkiv when his car came under Russian gunfire. Six months later, thanks to remarkable luck and hard work, he is safe in German and studying voice once more. - The New York Times
"She has only 20 predecessors, most of whom held their positions for life. ... Over the centuries, the function of the master as primarily a musician composing and performing for the pleasure of the sovereign has evolved into something more akin to a poet laureate." - MSN (The Washington Post)
It seems logical that an orchestra’s basic tools of sound production – tone colour, dynamics, rhythmic precision and articulation – are strongly influenced by their home concert hall, so much so that they continue to manifest those integrated sonic fingerprints in unfamiliar acoustical environments. - The Strad
