Music

While the report’s tone and conclusions are unambiguous — in just one telling example, across 70 major and independent music companies, just 13.9% of top executives across were from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, 4.2% were Black, and 13.9% were women — its wording is polite. – Variety

This means that groups and single artists who were still trying to pay back debt – and thus were not eligible for royalties – can now start earning money from streaming. – BBC

After a planned protest in one of the school’s buildings, the students “were barred from the Diamond building, and the school told them that it was investigating an incident that included reported violations ‘pertaining to community safety.’ On Thursday, about 20 students continued their tuition protest on the sidewalk outside, waving placards and accusing the school of using heavy-handed tactics to quell dissent.” – The New York Times

The Pulitzer citation describes Stride as “a musical journey full of surprise, with powerful brass and rhythmic motifs that incorporate Black music traditions from the US and the Caribbean into a Western orchestral fabric.” – NewMusicBox

“When she took the position in 2007, she was the first female music director of a top-tier American orchestra. She was, it seemed certain then, the avatar of a new generation of women on important podiums. … But when she departs this summer, the field will go back to the way it was before she came: 25 major orchestras … with no female music directors. Alsop and her Baltimore appointment are often referred to as trailblazing, but so far she remains alone on this particular trail.” – The New York Times

Last summer, back home in Wales after completing his 16-year term in Raleigh, he suffered what turned out to be a three-day stroke that severely impaired the use of his right arm and leg. After a month’s hospitalization and six months of physical therapy, though he can’t hold a baton, he is back working with the Orchestre national de Bretagne, his ensemble in Rennes, France. “The irony of my situation is that I can conduct Beethoven symphonies but I can’t get out of bed. I can’t tie my shoelaces.” – BBC

With now over 60,000 students having taken online practical and theoretical exams, it became a sink-or-swim moment testing RCM’s ability to keep anxious students engaged and motivated. –Ludwig Van

Percussionist Sam Wilson of Riot Ensemble writes about Georg Friedrich Haas’s Solstices, in which he has the hardest job: “A pianist can feel where their keys are even if the music is extremely complex; a violinist has a constant physical connection with their instrument; a trumpet player always knows where the valves are. For me, holding up four sticks to hit a vibraphone in the dark was a challenge. … This required some serious focus and some particularly motivational pep talks into the mirror. What Haas was asking surpasses muscle-memory. I needed to discover how to manage absolute physical reproduction; how high up you hold your sticks, exactly where you’ve planted your feet, and quite how sweaty your hands are on any occasion.” – The Guardian

With no dance floors or concert halls to fill, many listeners turned toward gentler, unobtrusive music to help quiet their restless minds. In response, artists who might not have publicly ventured into this sometimes esotericterrain now feel emboldened to do so. – The New York Times

Northeast Indiana Public Radio purchased the license for 94.1 FM in 2002 for $1.8 million and has been operating it since then as Classical 94.1 WBNI. But NIPR never raised enough money to cover both running costs and debt service from acquiring the frequency, so the broadcaster is now selling 94.1 FM — for $350,000 — to a licensee which will operate it as “Rhythm and Praise” with an Urban Gospel format. – Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly

The Symphony’s shift to a customer-centric approach is also reflected in their departure from sending the industry standard “killer offer” coupons to first-time audiences in an attempt to bring them back. It seems simple on the surface, but offering a cash voucher instead of a discount coupon is a dramatic shift in messaging from the egocentric “Please come back!” to the customer-centric “Thanks for coming! Let us help you afford another concert.” – Culture for Hire

“The problems have built up over at least the last half century and they cannot be solved overnight. But there are a host of strategies—many already being implemented successfully by some of the more forward-looking organizations.” – Nightingale Sonata

The revelation of “Circus Days and Nights” is existentially simple and direct. Cut through a thin layer of tawdriness and cheap tinsel that may be on its surface, and you discover that a circus can exist only thanks to absolute trust. The life of every acrobat lies in unerring balance. Balance is the religion of circus life. Trust and balance, of course, are the two essential things our polarized societies need to regain. – Los Angeles Times

It argues that streaming via services such as Spotify and Apple Music be legislated more like radio. “The law has not kept up with the pace of technological change and, as a result, performers and songwriters do not enjoy the same protections as they do in radio,” the letter states. “Today’s musicians receive very little income from their performances – most featured artists receive tiny fractions of a US cent per stream and session musicians receive nothing at all.” – The Guardian

Seeking a grand symbol of New York’s revitalization after a brutal pandemic year, Mayor Bill de Blasio is planning a large-scale performance by multiple acts and has called on Clive Davis, the 89-year-old producer and music-industry eminence, to pull it together. – The New York Times

Another creative moment borne from boredom during the pandemic: “Dan Tepfer plays the first of Bach’s “Goldberg” Variations. The piano is a Disklavier, which can record and play back. When he finishes, Tepfer taps a button on his iPad, triggering the piano to play back what he’s just recorded with the notes inverted, as if the score were turned upside down.” And if you’re skeptical, know that Anthony Tommasini of the NYT approves. – NPR

See: Bartlett Sher’s Oslo and his Elisir.”It’s rare that history colors a human experience without applying a layer—even a thin layer—to the whole surface.” – Van Magazine

Admirers and critics alike may say, “At last!” This is a strong about-face. “He proudly played Bach on modern pianos; referred to fortepianists with an interest in Schubert as mere ‘specialists’; and told a New York Times interviewer in 1983, ‘I’ve heard some ghastly things done in the name of authenticity.’ Time and experience, though, have brought about a wholesale change in his attitude, and Schiff has transformed into an eager evangelist for the use of historical keyboards.” – The New York Times

Universal, Hipgnosis, Primary Wave, and others have paid multiple hundreds of millions for music catalogs ranging from Bob Dylan’s to that of Stevie Nicks. But “music publishing and related intellectual-property management and exploitation is not a business one enters lightly. Famously called ‘a business of pennies,’ it requires attentive nurturing and development in order to maximize the value. … [Song catalogs] are demanding, ephemeral assets that require a lot of attention — pitching, repackaging, finding new opportunities — without oversaturating and thus damaging the artist (a.k.a the brand) or the songs.” – Variety

Zachary Woolfe: “There are more of them than ever, and they go by a variety of titles: assistant, associate, fellow, resident. Almost every major orchestra has at least one, … [and they’re] a far more diverse group in which women and musicians of color have found success in recent years. … The question now is how soon they will enter the topmost ranks — and whether, as major orchestras search for music directors in the coming years, they will look toward the crowd right under their noses.” – The New York Times

Three members of the national company’s governing body (reportedly the three with the most experience with and connections within the industry) stepped down in May. One of them has since spoken up to refute speculation about specific reasons for their departure, but his explanation is less than entirely clear: “What I saw was a huge upswelling of discontent and confusion about the artistic direction of the company. … This is not about editing opera … this is what we saw as a lack of thought and lack of responsibility toward those who love opera,” meaning the traditional opera audience. The only specific complaint he mentioned was about the company not offering enough work to New Zealand singers returning from overseas. – Radio New Zealand

Thomas, named artist in residence at the Los Angeles Opera and about to star in the new LAO COVID-safe performance of Oedipus Rex, says about his also new Russell Thomas Young Artists in Training program, “The most exciting project is the academy for young singers, because being a singer is so expensive and I was lucky when I was younger that people invested their time and energy in me. Setting up a program like this, we can find and nurture young singers through the early stages of their careers who wouldn’t be able to afford it.” – San Francisco Classical Voice

It’s not because they’ll live forever; think of the precipitous decline of Elvis’ music and memorabilia. It’s because they’re hot right now and for the next few years. And if you’re a young singer? Well. “The future of the music business is in fashion, make-up, booze, shoes—almost anything except the music itself. If you’re looking for the next Dylan, you are advised to forget about songs entirely. See who has the best side deals, because the sides are now the main course.” – Culture Notes of an Honest Broker

The 38-year-old conductor and cellist is also music director of the Orlando Philharmonic and the Greater Bridgeport (Ct.) Symphony, but he’s best known in the wider world for two dynamic contemporary music ensembles: chamber orchestra The Knights, which he founded with his violinist brother Colin, and the string quartet Brooklyn Rider. – The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.)