Thanks to a massive box set issued earlier this year for the 30th anniversary of Metallica’s squillion-selling self-titled 1991 album. It includes 14 versions of “Sad but True”—demos, rehearsal tapes, abandoned takes, live recordings—from the germinal itchings to the cosmic swagger of the final version. - The Atlantic
The experience of being confined in a tiny practice room with an emotionally and psychologically threatening adult is, alas, not rare for children learning musical instruments. The necessary intimacy of one-to-one lessons can be a joy or a peril. The same could not happen now. - The Guardian
More than 5m vinyl albums have been bought in the UK over the past 12 months, up 8% on sales in 2020 and the 14th consecutive year of growth since 2007. By the end of the year, vinyl will have accounted for almost one in four album purchases – the highest proportion since 1990. - The Guardian
The use of AI in music is here today, and while its contribution is still small, it will likely grow. If you take that to its logical conclusion, the question arises: Could AI create pop stars -- and Grammy award winners -- completely out of thin air? - CNET
In being asked to stand in for clubs, concert halls, and festivals so frequently these last two years, recordings are still being asked to do an awful lot, far too much. Have they succeeded? Probably not, but I wouldn’t advise Sky Masterson and Nathan Detroit to bet against it. - Arts Fuse
The Times's Joshua Barone says she's "one of the world's top conductors." The LA Phil's CEO says "Susanna has to be at the top of anyone's list." And Mälkki herself? "I think this is a question that will be carefully thought about if it comes up." - The New York Times
“I just mean to really expose what these numbers mean and what they don’t mean." After splitting the revenue with a collaborator, those 80,000 streams only made him around $90, just over $0.001 per stream. - Seattle Times
Tony Kushner: "She either comprehends or intuits, not what necessarily is the most obvious choice for dramatic action, but what's under the surface, where the real meaning of a piece lies. … She has this absolutely uncanny ability to translate that into music." - The New York Times
New opera, by any reasonable definition – by any defensible amalgamation of the definitions commonly put forward over the years – is thriving. - Osborne on Opera: A Critical Blog
Orchestras are approaching these audiences through multilingual websites, artist and repertoire choices, and outreach activities, connecting more firmly with the communities they touch. - Strings
Here's an explainer about Musical Ear Syndrome — which isn't a form of tinnitus or of audio hallucinations caused by a psychiatric condition. In fact, MES is pretty common. - Ludwig Van
How these two Canadian companies chose to respond to our contemporary context of anti-racist calls when interpreting Messiah provides an opportunity to have a conversation about how performers and audiences of western classical music can engage more fully in anti-colonial and anti-racist work. - The Conversation
"Put it this way," writes David Patrick Stearns, "in a year when Berlin, London, and much of the operatic world were abuzz over higher-profile Ring activity, this — (at least) in the Dutch radio broadcast I caught — was the most important Wagner performance (of 2021)." - Classical Voice North America
Since 2013, she has been commissioning scores for a monumental project called “Density 2036”; when it comes to completion, in the designated year, it will have added as many as a hundred pieces to the flute repertory. - The New Yorker
It is one of the most vivid examples of efforts by major arts organizations across the country to bring youth education programs out into communities, rather than concentrating them in city centers or urban arts districts. - The New York Times
