It is a mammoth undertaking that involves about 3,500 artists; 1,000 staff members; 16 stages; and a budget of 75 million euros (about $88 million). This summer alone, there were six staged operas and four plays, featuring more than 1,500 costumes, including leopard-print hats and glittering Swarovski-covered masks. - The New York Times
The creative director post is the first major initiative by Kim Noltemy, who became L.A. Phil president and chief executive last summer, and with it she proposes a possible rethink of the very nature of how a symphony orchestra might operate in the future. - Los Angeles Times
It turns out there are arts administrators — some of them right here in California — who understand the importance of innovative creative leadership. They understand that the key to attracting audiences in both the short and long term is to offer them something exciting and different and worth their attention, rather than warmed-over retreads. - San Francisco Chronicle
In the end it comes down to a simple question. Western classical music as a living art form – do we want it or not? If not, then that is, of course, our prerogative. - Engelsberg
The 61-year-old Finn, currently Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra in Finland, takes up his post in Ottawa one year from now. He succeeds Alexander Shelley, who departs next summer. - Ottawa Citizen (Yahoo!)
The real reason that indie started to die is Spotify. As streaming supplanted downloads and album sales, it automated music discovery. Instead of reading Pitchfork or asking a record-store clerk for recommendations, more and more people began to let algorithms suggest their next obsession. This had a variety of consequences. -The Atlantic
Generative AI, with its ability to spit out seemingly unique content, has divided the music world, with musicians and industry groups complaining that recorded works are being exploited to train AI models that power song generation tools. - APNews
“Our audience globally is about 55% of what it was before the pandemic. We still have a significant audience. We reached countries across eleven time zones, but whereas we used to have over 400,000 viewers per broadcast, now we have around 200,000.” - El País (Spain) (in English)
Classical California, the umbrella organization which operates both KUSC and KDFC in San Francisco, lost $1.1 million in the Trump administration’s rescission of public broadcasting funding. Eight positions, all based in Los Angeles, are being eliminated, though no announcers have been laid off. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
“The Los Angeles Philharmonic announced that Salonen would be its first creative director, starting in fall 2026. Simultaneously, the Philharmonie de Paris announced that he would hold its inaugural creativity and innovation chair starting in 2027, while taking on the role of principal conductor of the Orchestre de Paris.” - The New York Times
“Opera Naples has seen a 71 percent increase in ticket sales over the past two years, and a 310 percent jump in corporate sponsorships.” - WGCU (Fort Myers, FL)
The busy 29-year-old maestro, soon to start music directorships at both the Chicago Symphony and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, will relinquish the post of chief conductor in the Norwegian capital at the end of the coming season. - Moto Perpetuo
