The Romanian "embodied an ideal of the complete musician in his roles as composer, virtuoso violinist and pianist, conductor, teacher and generous mentor to younger artists." And the country attracted 32 orchestras from 14 countries for the 25th Enescu Fest. - The New York Times
Winding up in the local El Sistema orchestra, he became a conductor almost by accident when handed a baton and told to conduct a piece: “I knew then that it was what I wanted to do.” - Toronto Star
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
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
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
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)
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
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
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
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
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
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
