New York, Berlin Philharmonics To Take Extended Residencies In Michigan

“The partnership begins next fall [in Ann Arbor] with three concerts [by the New York Philharmonic] Oct. 9-11, 2015 in Hill Auditorium, including two led by music director Alan Gilbert. The Philharmonic will return in the 2017-18 and 2019-20 seasons. The Berlin Philharmonic and another orchestra to be named later will appear in the alternating seasons.”

A Better Case For Corporate Support For The Arts

“More than half of all Canadians listen to music daily, read fiction several times a month or more and have visited a museum or art gallery in the last year. The numbers who go to concerts and plays are smaller, but when asked what kind of event they like to attend outside the home, 34 per cent of Canadians chose the arts while 29 per cent chose sports. That last stat contains a big message for business sponsors who sometimes prefer to lend their names to sporting events because they judge them to be more popular – and more populist.”

Use Your iPhone At The Orchestra Or Opera? In Philly, Sure!

“The technological barbarians are at the gate – and are being welcomed graciously. Only three years after an errant ringtone during the New York Philharmonic’s performance of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony sparked an international uproar, two august Philadelphia institutions are telling audiences to keep their phones on – within particular limits.”

Why Hasn’t The Internet Made More Of An Impact On Our Lives?

“The Internet age just isn’t that impressive. Technological advancements of the last century had a truly transformative effect over the previous industrial age. Ice farming was replaced by refrigeration, the horse and buggy by the automobile, burning of fossil fuels for energy by centralized electrical power production. These advancements were notable not just in what they achieved in themselves but how they affected society.”