ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

MUSIC

Translating Proteins Into Music

We’re computational biologists who believe that hearing the sound of life at the molecular level could help inspire people to learn more about biology and the computational sciences. - The Conversation

New Vision For Orchestral Pops?

 Orchestral pops programming now ranges from film scores, cartoon medleys and video game music to rap artists and jazz and circus acts. It’s whatever fusion of orchestral music and flavor-of-the-day entertainment the ensemble selects. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Using Artificial Intelligence To Complete Beethoven’s Tenth Symphony

Yes, it has now been done, and the AI researcher (already known for robot-created art) who led the tech side of the project —working with pianist/musicologist Robert Levin as well as a composer and a computational music specialist — writes on how they went about it. - The Conversation

To Make Its Concert Halls COVID-Safe, Singapore Goes High-Tech

State-of-the-art filterless air purifiers and an "ionisation curtain" (a row of snake plants with ionisers attached to draw in aerosols) at the front of the stage are among the measures being taken to reassure live audiences. - The Straits Times (Singapore)

Violinist James Buswell Dead At 74

After debuting with the New York Philharmonic at seven and studying at Juilliard, he became one of the key members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. His recording of Barber's Violin Concerto, one of many he made for Naxos, was nominated for a Grammy. - The Strad

Meet The Boston Symphony’s New Leader

The orchestra has a deep pool of artistic talent, a fiercely devoted following, and Gail Samuel’s predecessor, Mark Volpe, grew the BSO’s endowment to roughly $550 million (the largest of any American orchestra) while overseeing a pre-pandemic operating budget of more than $100 million. - Boston Globe

“Fire Shut Up In My Bones” At The Met Isn’t Just A Landmark For Black Artists, It’s A Damn Fine Opera

Justin Davidson: "Librettist Kasi Lemmons and composer Terence Blanchard … haven't blown up the genre or bent it to new purpose or smuggled anything subversive into a temple of tradition. For all its newsworthiness, Fire Shut Up in My Bones is an old-fashioned opera opera." - Vulture

San Antonio Symphony Is On Strike

Two weeks ago, orchestra management made a "last, best and final" contract offer which would cut the number of full-time musicians by 40%; Sunday night, management declared an impasse in negotiations and tried to impose that offer. The musicians declared a strike the following day. - San Antonio Report

Why Does Classical Music Humor Keep Getting More And More Lame?

Time was, Dudley Moore could dash off a witty parody of a Beethoven sonata or Britten folk song arrangement. These days, NPR Classical and Britain's Classic FM tweet cartoons about John Cage's 4'33" or, god forbid, the sort of viola jokes we told in middle school. - Van

Pittsburgh Symphony Keeps Manfred Honeck For Six More Years

The 63-year-old Austrian conductor has extended his contract as the orchestra's music director through the 2027-28 season, which will be his 20th at the PSO's helm. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

How A Hit Song Behaves Like A Viral Infection

"When a disease breaks into a population you tend to see a sharp increase in infection cases and eventually it will peak at some point when it sort of makes its way through the susceptible population and starts to decline. We see that same pattern with song downloads in our data." - CBC

Video Game Music Can Also Truly Be Symphonic

Consider the music of Final Fantasy at Royal Albert Hall: "The two worlds of gaming and classical music merged, and while some concertgoers wore suits and bow ties, others dressed in cosplay as their favorite characters from the game." - The New York Times

Decoding Opera With The New Populist Audio Form

The podcast Aria Code, now in its third season, is a collaboration between the Met and WQXR, and it's hosted by musician Rhiannon Giddens. "Producers aim for a mix of well-known operas and ... more obscure gems," and downloads are booming. - The New York Times

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Moves And Cancels Concerts

The BSO relocated one concert and canceled two at Strathmore Hall, and not for the first time - this decision was "once again to allow Strathmore and the ticket sellers union an opportunity to resolve their dispute." - Baltimore Sun

That Punk Beethoven?

Who are the supposed punks of the classical music world? It seems that, for many commentators, any composer who went against the grain in some way was a punk. - The Conversation

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