ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

MUSIC

Vinyl Is A Perfect Medium For Discovering Classical Music

Why? "The rough edges of a medium are what allows us to get a grip on it. When I hold a record in my hands, there’s no getting around its physicality, its presence, its here-ness." - Washington Post

An Investigation Into Sony Music Australia Yields Hordes Of Complaints

More than 40 former employees have contacted the investigating law firm "since allegations of a toxic workplace culture first aired and its Australian chief executive was removed in June." - The Guardian (UK)

Creating An Opera About The Ugly Side Of Desire

Composer Amanda Feery got a range of advice about composing her first opera, and she decided to ignore almost all of it. - Irish Times

How To Have A Massive Hit In England

Get your men's sports teams to play well, and the rest follows. - The Guardian (UK)

A Famous Guitar Joins The Museum Of London

The Clash's smashed guitar isn't trash - it's treasure. - The Guardian (UK)

This Woman Has Been Playing Piano For 104 Years, And She’s Still At It

Colette Maze was born in 1914, began picking out melodies on the keyboard by age three, released her first CD at 84, and recorded Debussy at age 103. She still practices four hours a day. - Classic FM

Revolving Door? Toronto Symphony CEO To Step Down

Matthew Loden has reportedly decided to leave the role after accepting an offer to serve as Dean at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Huston, Texas. - Ludwig Van

At The Robot Version Of The Eurovision Song Contest

The A.I. Song Contest features three dozen or so teams that use artificial intelligence networks to create parts of, and sometimes all of, a song, along with a jury of scientists and songwriters led by Imogen Heap. And what did they come up with? - The New York Times

Scientists Are Figuring Out The Chemical Baths Stradivari And Guarneri Gave Their Spruce Wood

Researchers using an array of high-tech methods have found traces of alum, potash, lime, borax, and plain old salt in the wooden fronts of these old instruments — and the cellulose molecules in the spruce were rearranged by those treatments. - The Strad

The Man Who Made Munich An Opera Mecca Says Farewell

As superintendent, and with Kirill Petrenko as music director, Nikolaus Bachler made the Bavarian State Opera a beacon of "artistic excellence, destination programming and, during the pandemic, fearless advocacy." He's stepping down this summer, and Joshua Barone has the exit interview. - The New York Times

City Of Dallas Wants To Offload Its Classical Radio Station

The City of Dallas owns a classical radio station? Yep. WRR Classical 101 FM, which celebrates its 100th birthday next month, is operated by the municipal Office of Arts and Culture — for now. – Inside Radio

Why Are So Many Musicians Looking To Space For Inspiration?

It is understandable that musicians believe in extraterrestrial beings: after a year socialising over Zoom or from behind a mask, every interaction IRL feels like you need to relearn social skills after arriving from another planet. - The Guardian

The Toll COVID Is Taking On Opera

There was “great appetite when we reopened," but “it’s been a little bit flat now,” whether because of the health pass requirement or the good weather and the reopening of cafe terraces. - The New York Times

Can You Still Play A Violin After Cutting It Up? For This Guy, The Answer Is Yes

A visit to the dungeon (that's what he calls it) of Tyler Thackray, proud proprietor of the Instagram account @violintorture, dismemberer of instruments, creator of Franken-fiddles, and champion troll of self-serious string players. - The New Yorker

Met Opera And Stagehands Union Reach Agreement

"The company's roughly 300 stagehands were locked out late last year because of a disagreement over how long and lasting pandemic pay cuts would be. But the opera house is in desperate need of workers … if it is to reopen in less than three months." - The New York Times

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