The Berlin State Opera, where the 76-year-old conductor is general music director, has extended his contract for five additional years to 2027. Some doubts about Barenboim’s future there arose in February when reports surfaced of his ill-treatment of some musicians, though musicians’ representatives now say they have always been in favor of Barenboim staying on. – Deutsche Welle
Author: Matthew Westphal
Another London Newspaper Axes Its Theatre Critics
Henry Hitchings and Fiona Mountford had been contract freelancers at the London Evening Standard, he for 10 years and she for 17. Their redundancy is part of what Standard ownership calls “necessary cost-cutting.” – PressGazette (UK)
London Philharmonic Creates Frequent-Flyer-Style Loyalty Program For Single-Ticket Buyers
“With LPO Plus, points can be earned each time an order is placed for eligible items including tickets, … gift vouchers, CDs, merchandise and programme book vouchers. Points can then be redeemed against future purchases.” – Classical Music (UK)
One Of Jiří Kylián’s Greatest Works Was Inspired By Australian Aboriginal Dancers. After Nearly 40 Years, An Aboriginal Dance Company Is Performing It.
In 1980, Kylián traveled to the Northern Territory to see the largest-ever gathering of Australian Aboriginal tribes; they all spoke different languages, so they communicated with dance. The experience led Kylián to choreograph The Stamping Ground in 1983, and it’s been performed in many countries since. But never in Australia until now, as Bangarra Dance Theatre, the country’s leading Aboriginal company, takes the piece on. – The Sydney Morning Herald
Turkish Filmmaker Chains Himself To Culture Ministry After Authorities Confiscate His Entire Body Of Work
“Oktay İnce, a longtime video activist fighting to retrieve an archive worth 20 years of his work, was held in police custody and accused of terrorist propaganda after he chained himself to a pole outside the culture ministry in Ankara.” – Hyperallergic
Michael Tilson Thomas Cancels All Summer Concerts, Will Have Cardiac Surgery
The 74-year-old conductor, who withdrew from one weekend of concerts last month due to illness, said in a statement, “‘On the advice of my doctors, I need to undergo this procedure at this time in continuation of treatment for a heart condition I have managed for many years.” – San Francisco Classical Voice
Camille Billops, Artist And Documentary Filmmaker, Dead At 85
“Billops is best known for documentary works like Finding Christa (1991), a 55-minute film that recounts why she gave up her four-year-old daughter and how they reconnected more than two decades later.” – ARTnews
The opera that dares you to like it – and so you do. Defiantly.
Ever tried to get a date by saying, “Hey, wanna go see Chunky in Heat? It’s an opera about a girl and her swimming pool. And it’s got six composers.” – David Patrick Stearns
Ojai Music Festival and JACK Quartet
This year’s Ojai Festival was programmed by soprano Barbara Hannigan and features, among other performers, new-music stars the JACK Quartet. The other day I spoke to Jay Campbell, the group’s cellist. – Scott Timberg
The Nine Best Literary Magazines In The English-Speaking World Right Now (According To Stack)
“We are being deliberately vague about the term ‘literary’ here: there are traditional fiction and lit-crit magazines listed, but we’ve also included a sci-fi publication and a psychogeography title. The only thing that really unites the magazines on this list is that every one is an exceptionally good read.” – Stack