Robert Trevino, music director of the Basque National Orchestra in Spain, writes about the restaurant meal that gave him the idea, how he and the orchestra staff planned and marketed the series (and convinced the media not to reveal the secret), and how the audiences responded. (includes complete video of concert) – Gramophone
Opera Carolina Lays Off Its Executive Director
In a statement to supporters obtained by the Observer, the opera said Beth Hansen’s role was cut “as a result of a harsh economic climate for the arts and a possible reduction in fiscal year 2021 support from the Arts & Science Council.” – Charlotte Observer
YouTube Now Makes More From Advertising Than All Broadcast Networks Combined
YouTube makes more money from advertising than the ABC, NBC and Fox broadcast networks—combined. It’s an astonishing domination of the video ad market. – The Information
Long A Visual Desert, Baghdad Is Coming Alive With Political Art
“Where did all this art come from? How is it that a city where beauty and color have been largely suppressed for decades by poverty, and by the oppression or indifference of successive governments, suddenly came to be so alive?” – The New York Times
At Santiago’s Theatre Festival As The Chilean Uprising Continues
“Sometimes comic, sometimes earnest, always indignant, Chilean theatre repeatedly gives voice to the abused, the angry and the dispossessed. … All this is consistent with a festival that has its roots in the underground resistance to the Pinochet dictatorship. Fiercely independent, Santiago a Mil sees itself on the side of the people and has accessibility in its DNA; the three-week festival attracts audiences of 200,000, of whom 150,000 pay nothing.” – The Guardian
Canada Proposes Outlines Of A New Media Landscape
They range from bringing online media platforms like Yahoo and Facebook under the scope of the Broadcasting Act to making sure that streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime are sufficiently promoting Canadian material. – CBC
How The Right Conductor And The Right Orchestra Can Make A Statement
Alex Ross: “For the most part, the classical-music world is in need of conductors with broad horizons, who can guide audiences from a passive worship of the past to an active awareness of the present. The rote repetition of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Mahler ultimately does those composers no favors. But we also need conductors who know how to revitalize the grand tradition—and orchestras that can respond in kind. At the moment, Pittsburgh is one of the few places on the international scene where that alchemy regularly happens.” – The New Yorker
If Hits Can Be Built With Data, Won’t Everything Be A Hit? Well…
“If there are benefits to humans using data to assimilate this kind of information and attempting to make it actionable, the results have yet to impact the production-to-hit ratio of major studios in any meaningful way. That said, I expect that to change very soon as AI models trained to maximize engagement start to show up in video production departments.” – Shelley Palmer
Data: Pop Songs Have Become Sadder. Why?
English-language popular songs have become more negative. The use of words related to negative emotions has increased by more than one third. Let’s take the example of the Billboard dataset. If we assume an average of 300 words per song, every year there are 30,000 words in the lyrics of the top-100 hits. In 1965, around 450 of these words were associated with negative emotions, whereas in 2015 their number was above 700. – Aeon
The Remarkable Caroline Shaw
Some composers deal with the threat of boredom by cramming their scores full of drama and extreme sounds. Others embrace it, stretching time and indulging in trancelike repetition. Shaw describes her approach as the avoidance of both extremes. “I know what I don’t like,” she says: “plain harmonies that don’t ever change. What makes me sad is hearing a sequence of interesting chords — and then it goes to vanilla. That’s the worst.” – New York Magazine
Scholar And Author George Steiner Dead At 90
“An essayist, fiction writer, teacher, scholar and literary critic … Mr. Steiner both dazzled and dismayed his readers with the range and occasional obscurity of his literary references.” As one New York Times critic wrote, “His bracing virtue has been his ability to move from Pythagoras, through Aristotle and Dante, to Nietzsche and Tolstoy in a single paragraph. His irritating vice has been that he can move from Pythagoras, through Aristotle and Dante, to Nietzsche and Tolstoy in a single paragraph.” – The New York Times
Disney’s “Hamilton” Movie Could Change Theatre
While a handful of Broadway productions are filmed for airings on PBS or to be added to BroadwayHD’s on-demand streaming library, “Hamilton’s” road from stage to studio might set a lucrative precedent for future commercial productions to prepare for potential major releases. – Los Angeles Times
YouTube Earned More Than $15 Billion From Ads Last Year
For the first time, Google and its corporate parent, Alphabet, broke out from overall revenue reports the income from its video platform — and that income is enormous. What’s more, YouTube ad revenues have almost doubled over just the past two years, and the platform is bringing in another $3 billion annually from its 20 million paid subscribers. – The Hollywood Reporter
One In Six American Adults Sings In A Choir — And They’re Healthier For It
“[A recent] study identifies numerous reasons: Singing in groups has been linked to better mental and physical health, a sense of belonging and feeling connected to others, better social skills, increased civic engagement and volunteering, developing leadership skills and much more.” – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Mystery/History of the Bottle in the Box
Recently we had a small dinner party at Millwood Farm, the excuse for which was to drink a special bottle, one that had been in my cellar for a very long time. It was in its own, individual wooden box, and I had long overlooked it. – Paul Levy
Disney Will Release “Hamilton” Movie Starring The Original Cast
Obtaining the rights to movie, set for release on Oct. 15, 2021, is another huge coup for Disney — which topped $10 billion in box office sales last year — and allows a stage show that still fetches eye-watering ticket prices to be seen around the world. – Axios
We Think Poverty And Opportunity Are In Cities. Here’s Another Way Of Looking At It
Newly released Index of Deep Disadvantage looks at poverty and disadvantage across all the nation’s counties and 500 of the largest US cities. The index was based on three categories of data: income, health, and social mobility. While the most advantaged communities in the U.S. rank alongside the most developed parts of the world, those struggling the hardest measure up with countries like North Korea and Bangladesh. From among the list of 100 most disadvantaged communities, 80 are rural. – Daily Yonder
The Freelance Theatre Designer Life Isn’t For The Faint Of Heart
Joanna Scotcher trained as a sculptor, but when she started trying to sculpt doorways between spaces and the human interactions in those spaces, one of her professors hinted that she might consider the theatre. But, she notes, “a career in design ‘isn’t financially viable’ for most people, and the opportunities on offer – unpaid work, training schemes, assistant designing – ‘remain the preserve of the privileged few.’ It’s something she is passionate about changing.” – The Stage (UK)