Mehta doesn’t mind that both Domingo and Levine are facing allegations of sexual harassment in the United States. “We leave the blacklists to American puritanism. Levine has been ruined by the US media. Domingo has had to leave the Los Angeles Opera, which was worth nothing before him. And all because of complaints that have come from failed artists after 30 years . That sounds like revenge,” commented Mehta. – Weiner Zeitung
‘Conceptual Virtuosity’ — Clever Classical Musicians Are Treating Their CDs As Brainy Mixtapes
“Among the smartest recording labels, one-composer programs — the norm since the arrival of the LP record in the early 1950s — are giving way to conceptual collections of music that juxtapose the ancient and modern, progressive and retrogressive, as well as the familiar and the obscure. … Is this fusion cuisine, classical music style? I prefer the term ‘conceptual virtuosity,’ since these programs often have an intellectual depth that goes beyond any Spotify algorithm.” David Patrick Stearns examines some recent examples. – WQXR (New York City)
Study: Listening To Mozart As A Treatment For Epilepsy
They found that listening to Mozart, especially on a daily basis, led to a significant reduction in epileptic seizures, and also to a reduced frequency of abnormal brain activities in epileptic patients (called interictal epileptiform discharges, which are commonly seen in epileptic patients). These effects occurred after a single listening session and were maintained after a prolonged period of treatment. – Eureka
Making Romance Languages Gender-Neutral Is A Tricky Business, But Some Folks Are Trying
English has some nouns and adjectives that apply strictly to one gender, but the languages descended from Latin are full of them, especially when referring to occupations. Here’s how some queer activists and linguists are trying to address that issue in Spanish (notably in Argentina), Portuguese, French, Italian, Catalan, and (trickiest of all) Romanian. – Global Voices
Boston Symphony Musicians Accept 37% Pay Cut In New Contract
“In ratifying a new contract guaranteeing their jobs through August of 2023, BSO players have agreed to pay cuts averaging 37% … to mitigate a $50 million loss of ticket and rental revenue from the organization’s $100 million annual budget. If and when monies re-materialize, the contract provides for tiered, and possibly retroactive, restoration of the cuts. … Under the plan, no player shall receive less than $120,000, and many will continue to benefit from seniority bumpups and overscale compensation.” – The Boston Musical Intelligencer
Incoming Director Of Chicago Public Radio Withdraws Over ‘Turmoil’ At Her Previous Station
“[Andi] McDaniel, 39, a [Chicago-area] native who spent the last five years as chief content officer at WAMU-FM, Washington’s NPR station, was set to take the helm at WBEZ Sept. 28. … During the interim, her former station was rocked by allegations of sexual harassment by a former reporter, and complaints about the station’s workplace culture.” – MSN (Chicago Tribune)
“Porgy” and Race — continued
On “the Porgy Exchange,” in which an ordinary woman changed, on the spot, the opinion of two prominent Black opera singers that white baritones should be able to take on the lead role in Gershwin’s opera. – Joseph Horowitz
Theatre Sells Cardboard Audience Cutouts For Empty Seats
Since the theatre is only being filled to one-third capacity, the cutouts will fill the remaining seats, and the cost will go toward supporting the theatre. – Broadway World
How Dance Can Heal Trauma
Is it the community, the special bonds developed from years of rehearsals and auditions and performances? Is there something to be said for the pure athletic exertion of dance and the endorphins brought forth by exercise? Or does dance transcend other activities and provide us with a deeper connection to our own humanity? – Dance Magazine
What It’s Like Being A Successful BookTuber
“I purposely weight my videos into about 50 percent that will age well, and be watchable a year from now and you’ll be fine, and another 50 percent that are just about what’s hot right now.” – Wired
French Government Attempt To Ban Feminist Book Backfires
A French government official’s attempts to ban an essay entitled I Hate Men over its “incitement to hatred on the grounds of gender” have backfired, sending sales of the feminist pamphlet skyrocketing. – Irish Times
Is Nepotism In The Arts Good Or Bad?
There are few issues that lead to such widespread feelings of anger and frustration as the idea of nepotism, especially in an artistic or literary context. For many would-be writers or actors, in particular, the suspicion remains that both industries operate as essentially a closed shop, and entry can only be obtained to the glamorous and well-remunerated professions through having a famous name or similarly high-profile connections. – The Critic
Social Media Has Become Toxic. So Why Do We Stay On?
Liberal and left-wing tech critics like to suggest that we post, even against our own self-interest, thanks to nefarious software design that has been built in service of a multibillion-dollar advertising industry. The right wing has a tendency to blame the incentives encouraged by a hardwired social hierarchy, in which “blue checks” “virtue-signal” to improve their standing within social platforms, even to the point of self-sabotage. Neither answer seems particularly satisfying. – BookForum
Times Are Grim. So Why Hasn’t Comedy Rallied On TV?
It’s just striking to me that at a time shrouded in so much darkness, the aggressive joke-per-minute efforts of a Veep-like show, for example, haven’t found their way to air, specifically because the environment is begging for it. – The Daily Beast
Thoughts On Art, Justice And Interpretation
Just as authors and composers must be free to write about any world they can imagine, so must interpreters be allowed to play and sing any roles for which they are held to be more qualified than their competitors—provided they agree to the creators’ terms and conditions. – Conrad Osborne
How A Washington State Choir Changed The Course Of COVID Research
Along with new data at the time on the virus’s potential for asymptomatic spread—cases when infected people are less likely to spew heavy droplets through coughing—the report out of Skagit Valley further intensified the transmission discourse: If COVID-19 could spread so thoroughly and quickly through a choir, did that mean the coronavirus was airborne? And if the primary route for the disease’s spread was through the air, had our initial response been woefully misguided? – Slate
Festival-Free Edinburgh Lost 2 Million Tourists In August
The Edinburgh Hotels Association said the average occupancy was down to just 50 per cent in August – at a time when they would normally be almost full. – The Scotsman
How To Remake American Theater In The Wake Of COVID? Five New York Times Critics Offer Their Ideas
“Things clearly had to change — and with the enforced pause of the pandemic, the opportunity has now arrived in the nick of time. If ever there was a need, and a moment, to fix the theater, this is it. So for the six-month anniversary of the shutdown, The New York Times asked its theater critics … what those fixes might look like.” – The New York Times
20 Stage Professionals Weigh In On How To ‘Revolutionize’ American Theater
“Here, six months after most stages went dark, 20 theater figures — many far from the heart of the commercial sector — offer their own suggestions.” – The New York Times
Fauci: When It Will Be Safe To Go Back Into Theatres
Basically, a year after the vaccine. Anthony Fauci made his prediction in a 30-minute interview with the actress Jennifer Garner on Instagram Live about vaccines, lockdowns, and the coming flu season. – Business Insider