ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

MUSIC

What Makes A Song Great – Lyrics Or Music?

While a melody can tether you to a song, however, it’s the lyrics that make you want to excavate it. The best songs pull you in beyond their hooky topline. - The Guardian

What Little Optimism Might Have Been Left For NY’s Big Concert Got Washed Away By Hurricane Henri

"The Homecoming Concert felt like a stolen glimpse of that alternate reality : live music again, finally; exuberant crowds with few masks in sight. Fitting, then, that its abrupt, weird ending pulled the audience back into a chaotic, uncertain and disappointing world." - Washington Post

The Anti-Vax Choral Director Of The San Francisco Symphony Has Resigned

He didn't want to comply with the vaccine mandates of the symphony or the City of San Francisco. Singers say they're sad to see him go, but one added, "Just because one has a differing point of view does not mean it’s equally valid." - San Francisco Chronicle

This Los Angeles Radio Host Keeps Legendary Music Alive

Rubén Miranda hosts a five-hour radio show that "specializes in the Mexican version of oldies-but-goodies: corridos, boleros, norteñas, trios and duets but especially rancheras — ballads of love and the rural life that old and young Mexicans still sing and listen to on both sides of the border." - Los Angeles Times

How Aretha Franklin Paved The Way For Woman Musicians After Her

Perhaps her fame feels obvious now, but "Franklin's rise to superstardom wasn't easy. When she left the world of gospel music to try to become a mainstream pop star, it meant a move into a segment of the industry that was dominated by men who had very specific assumptions about how a woman should sing – and what she...

Is Elaine Mitchener Britain’s Boldest Vocalist?

Mitchener is "a vocalist (arguably the UK’s boldest operatic voice), movement artist ('dancer' isn’t quite right) and composer whose work cuts across music, theatre, dance, art and research. Her power is in her ability to generate intense collective empathy in a room." - The Guardian (UK)

The Afghanistan National Institute Of Music Falls Silent

"The music school's young students, teachers and faculty are staying home — they have reason to fear." The Taliban have banned music, and killed musicians, in the past - and the ANIM featured boys and girls learning music together. - NPR

What Drove The 60s Boom In British Jazz

"In 1966, 1968 – this was a time of liberation. We were all involved in anti-apartheid marches, CND marches, embracing different cultures. It all fed into the music and brought a freedom to it." - The Guardian

San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House Gets New, Roomier Seats

San Francisco Opera chief Matthew Shilvock: "The seats have historically been patrons' No. 1 concern for the building. Letters to me. Letters to the box office. Letters to the city. And with some justification. We had springs coming through some of the seats." - The New York Times

Music Teacher Makes Interactive Map Of 500 Forgotten Women Composers

 “We’ve never given them the place they deserve in history. They don’t appear in musical history books, their works aren’t played at concerts and their music isn’t recorded.” - The Guardian

Ravinia Recreates Leonard Bernstein In An Immersive Experience

What sticks, at least on a first viewing, is the technology at play—the light, the sound, the figures that look real enough to embrace. - Chicago Reader

A Leader Of Afghan Music’s Revival On Whether 20 Years Of Progress Will Disappear

"I'm hopeful that the Taliban learned that music is part of the cultural identity of any nation. And I hope that the Taliban also learned that a community, a society, or a nation that does not respect their own culture — that nation cannot exist." - Van

A Classical Recording Engineer Explains What Exactly He Does

"What you think of as a good photograph of you might not actually be the truth in how it presents you – that can also be the case with sound. … It's about presenting the (music) in somebody's home in as convincing a manner as possible." - Gramophone

Thomas Quasthoff Is Singing Again — But Only Jazz

The acclaimed bass-baritone experimented with jazz (including one album) before he made a surprise retirement announcement in 2012. Now, at age 62, he says: "It's a different kind of singing, but I have now learned a new instrument – the microphone – and I love it." - The Guardian

Curtis Institute Lets Go Its Longtime Star Oboe Teacher

Richard Woodhams, who retired after 40 years as the Philadelphia Orchestra's principal oboist in 2018, was told by the music school that his teaching contract will not be renewed. No reason has been given other than "Curtis has decided to move in a different direction." - The Philadelphia Inquirer

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