“He loved orchestras, couldn’t get enough of their gossip and intrigues while always respecting the players’ craft and commitment and never indulging in malice. Those who fell out with him – Christopher Hogwood, for instance – found themselves embraced in reconciliation. So many musicians, down in the dumps, were picked up and set on their feet again by the ever-patient Neville.”
Author: Douglas McLennan
Remembering Neville Marriner
Mr. Marriner and his group were part of a huge revival of scholarly and popular interest in music of the 18th and early 19th centuries that began in the 1960s and has continued to this day. Washington Post arts critic Philip Kennicott once described the original appeal of the St. Martin’s performances and its interpretation of classics. “The Academy played them like chamber music,” he wrote in 2001, “with reduced forces and an emphasis on clarity; it also played them fast, which produced a broad architectural overview. This was revelatory in an age when conductors often got bogged down milking each phrase for its maximum romantic yield.”
Chicago Radio Exec Retires, Assesses State Of Classical Music Radio
“There are stations that feel that digital will save them should the audience dwindle. They have to be very careful because the competition is so great. A single station is going to have a hard time making up lost over-the-air revenue online. Over-the-air radio isn’t going away for now, and this is not a head in the sand view—over-the-air is still the mainstay.”
Canadians Working On An Olympic Games For The Arts
“Olympic medals for the world’s best art seems an odd thing to revive, but a brave and no doubt well-intentioned Canadian organization is bringing back the idea of an international art competition nominally tied to or modelled on the Olympics. They hope to hold the International ArtsGames in Montreal in 2018.”
This Week In Audience: Measuring Audience Value – Three Things We Learned About Audiences
This Week: How are we measuring the value that audiences get for their money?… Think you own the culture you just bought? In the digital age, maybe you don’t… Wow! fan conventions are making stars really big bucks.
What Ails The Philadelphia Orchestra Won’t Be Cured When The Musicians Come Back
“Regardless of whether this is quick, or the kind of long, damaging strike the orchestra sustained in 1996, bigger problems loom. Musicians returning to work will no more end the orchestra’s troubles than the group’s exit from bankruptcy in 2012. The salient question: Is there enough willing philanthropy in Philadelphia to support this orchestra’s traditional spot as one of the top ensembles in the nation? Some believe wholesale change in the organization is what it will take to preserve that status.”
AJ Week In Review: Two Big Orchestras Strike, Two Others Report Record Success
This Week: Three orchestras now on strike as audience waits… Two other orchestras report record success… A museum raises $100 million in just three months… Bots are getting awfully good at making art… More links between being bored and being creative.
A Bad Week For Orchestras – Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Orchestras Out On Strike
“There’s no happy ending in sight for any of these situations. One can only hope that everyone has learned from the bitterness of other recent disputes to try to minimize the collateral damage and work hard for a swift resolution. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are two of the country’s leading orchestras, and while they are out, there is a lot of great music not being made.”
Philadelphia Orchestra Musicians Walk Out On Strike As Gala Audience Waited
“Friday night, a crowd of about 1,000 sat in Verizon Hall waiting for the orchestra to appear for the scheduled start of the Opening Night Gala. But no Philadelphia Orchestra appeared on stage. Unbeknownst to most in the audience, the 96 musicians and two librarians belonging to American Federation of Musicians Local 77 had decided to go out on strike about an hour before curtain time.”
Why A West Virginia NonProfit Is Promoting Artisans As An Economic Development Strategy
“Art just can’t be reduced to a commodity good. We also know that artists and creative placemaking have to be at the core of what we’re doing to rethink our economy in West Virginia.”