Instead of the whiff of noblesse oblige and platitudes about the uplifting nature of classical music, this is about working together. "The key phrases when Bandwagon 2 was announced last month were the desire to 'center the voices of our partners' and 'utilize the Philharmonic’s resources to amplify the work of our collaborators.' In less fancy terms, the orchestra...
The Sala Paganiniana, where Il Cannone resides inside the Palazzo Tursi, is monitored by scientists, experts, and bodyguards. The instrument is played monthly by curator Bruce Carlson and each year by the winner of the Premio Paganini contest for young violinists. - Strings
"For centuries, the tradition was passed down from one man to another. But sisters Irfana and Rihana Yousuf began to play with support from their father, Mohammad Yousuf. A musician himself, he sometimes had to sell household items to afford the costly instruments so they could keep their dream alive – and his. … In Sufism, a form of...
The artists’ demands are threaded with anger and anxiety over the degradation of creative labor. But the musicians face long odds. Despite solidarity among many older and independent artists, the most successful current pop acts have largely been silent on the issue. And while many musicians paint Spotify as the enemy, the shift to streaming over the last decade...
Over the past months we've gotten "a range of short films that showcase top talents in American opera, highlight contemporary composers and recruit other artists (including costume designers and cinematographers) as well as tens of thousands of new viewers … overdue embrace of the dormant chemistry between cinema and opera, so rarely consummated." - The Washington Post
"The foundation stone has been laid for new building, which will be constructed to the rear of the existing structure." The project, designed by architect Mario Botta, "will expand the area for assembling sets, there will be new rehearsal rooms including a vast new space for the orchestra and a new ballet studio, and there will be office...
Over the last year, dozens of music's biggest artists have cashed in the rights to their entire catalogues of songs, netting tens or hundred of millions of dollars. This week, the Red Hot Chili Peppers became the latest, landing a reported $140 million US for the publishing rights to every song they've ever written. - CBC
"A test among people with dementia found an algorithm that 'prescribes' songs based on listeners' personal backgrounds and tastes resulted in reductions in heart rate of up to 22%, lowering agitation and distress in some cases. … The technology operates as a musical 'drip', playing songs to patients and monitoring their heart rates as they listen." - The Guardian
"What is most radical about Current, Rising is not the technology but how the creative process has been flipped. Rather than the composer setting the librettist's words to music and leaving the music to be interpreted by directors, designers and musicians, it was Annette Mees, head of Covent Garden's Audio Labs, and who initially developed the idea of...
"According to the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), which has been tracking festivals taking place in Britain this year, 26% of all festivals with a capacity of more than 5,000 people have been cancelled by their organisers. The AIF has projected that more than three-quarters of the remaining festivals could be called off imminently if action regarding cancellation insurance...
Over the past half century, Denver’s Appalachian anthem has also lodged in the hearts of many families in Asia, thousands of miles away from the Blue Ridge Mountains. In a 2009 paper, the sociologists Grant Blank and Heidi Netz Rupke published an informal survey of college classrooms in Western China that found that “Country Roads” was the most popular...
In a statement issued by its president, IATSE Local One stressed that the current situation is a lockout rather than a strike and that the Metropolitan Opera, rather than giving its craftspeople work, has outsourced fabrication of sets, costumes and the like for three future productions to the West Coast and the UK. - OperaWire
In the past two years, the debate over whether music is universal, or even whether that debate has merit, has raged like a battle of the bands among scientists. The stage has expanded from musicology to evolutionary biology to cultural anthropology. - Nautilus
When you listen to music, do you tend to analyze and think critically about what you are hearing (head)? Or is music listening pretty much an emotional experience for you—something that can tingle your spine or make you cry (heart)? - NightingaleSonata
