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MUSIC

For First Time, Boston Symphony Will Have Female CEO

"In picking , the orchestra looked west, to one of the most successful American orchestras of recent years" — the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where she is COO — "for its choice to succeed Mark Volpe, who led the Boston Symphony for 23 years. Samuel will be responsible for steering the organization out of one of its most dire crises,...

This Summer’s Glyndebourne Opera Festival Will Happen (Almost) As Normal

Says managing director Sarah Hopwood, "We are determined to present a festival this summer in whatever form is possible. We consider this essential to protect the livelihoods of our staff and freelance artists we employ and to continue to engage with our audience." Audiences will be limited to 50% of capacity, and other COVID safety measures will be in...

Now We Know What New Orleans Without Mardi Gras Music Is

His city—our cities—aren’t empty now. They’re just pretty much shut down. There’s a social media campaign attached to the Jazz & Heritage Foundation’s new outreach efforts, asking for posts in response to the question, “Have you ever been saved by a song?” Our answer is and will be, yes. - The Daily Beast

How Bang On A Can Changed Contemporary Music

These days, Bang is a sprawling artistic conglomerate, with an annual budget of $2 million to $2.5 million, a dedicated record label, a virtuoso chamber ensemble (the Bang on a Can All-Stars) to carry its branding internationally, an active commissioning program, a summer residency and a distinctive performance format — the new-music marathon concert — that is practically a...

Opera Singers Help Long-Term COVID Patients Get Their Breath Back

"Called E.N.O. Breathe and developed by the English National Opera in collaboration with a London hospital, the six-week program offers patients customized vocal lessons: clinically proven recovery exercises, but reworked by professional singing tutors and delivered online." - The New York Times

San Francisco Opera Is Returning To Live Performance With A Drive-In Show

The company's first staged presentation, set for April and May, will be a 90-minute English-language adaptation of Rossini's Barber of Seville on an outdoor stage (repurposing what would have been the set for this season's opener, Fidelio) before an audience parked in cars in Marin County. The other big event will be free streams of San Francisco Opera's sold-out...

San Francisco Opera To Return To The Stage With Drive-In Opera

“There is a certain visceral quality about being in the same location together and experiencing art. I’m giddy with anticipation at the thought of reconnecting with that important part of our lives.” - San Francisco Chronicle

Composer Gets No Play Until She Puts Her Music Out Under Male Pseudonym

A change of name it all started to click. After adopting the pseudonym Arthur Parker her pieces were getting the airplay she had struggled to achieve as a woman. - The Times (UK)

Everyone’s Pivoting – Here’s What’s Relevant To Classical Music

According to Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, there are ten different kinds of pivots. At least six out of them are relevant to classical music. - Ludwig Van

Documentary: Could It Be Years Before Big Music Festivals Return?

"If, like me, you happened to watch the documentary mere hours after hearing that statement, the Glastonbury scene took on a whole different kind of emotional meaning. All of a sudden, it wasn’t so much, “I can’t wait to get back to that,” as, “is that now gone forever?” - Chicago Tribune

Music Critic Peter G. Davis, 84

He was longtime critic for New York Magazine. Peter was best known as an authority on opera — his 1997 book The American Opera Singer is an essential work — but he covered every form of music-making with expertise and panache. - The Rest is Noise

Santa Fe Opera Hires New Boss With New Title

With the previous artistic director, Alexander Neef (who was shared with the Canadian Opera Co.), having left for the Paris Opera, Santa Fe decided to combine his position with that of director of artistic administration and call the resulting job "chief artistic officer." The company has now filled that job with David Lomelí, a former tenor who also has...

Here’s What A British Musician Now Has To Go Through To Work In Europe

While the UK was in the EU, a British musician could pretty much just accept a gig and go. Now she has to apply to each member country for a separate short-term work permit, with all the embassy visits, surrendering of passports, processing fees, and delays the process requires. Pianist Joseph Middleton, one of Britain's top specialists in art...

How A Young Pianist Learns About The Liszt Sonata From Historic Recordings

“I almost feel like you should know the notable recordings of a work like this,” Benjamin Grosvenor said of the sonata in a recent interview. “More than anything, it helps you understand what works and what doesn’t work. You react to some things positively and you react to some things negatively, and that fuels your imagination.” - The New...

The Chamber Music Series Getting Ten Times Its Usual Audience (And Making Money)

There’s one metric, however, that stands out as a marker of success. Philadelphia Chamber Music Society’s virtual concerts are technically free of charge, but the pay-as-you-wish donation model has drawn real money — an average of $7,500 in donations per concert. This sum is at roughly equal to the paid ticket revenue PCMS typically collected pre-pandemic at APS for...

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