Category: music

“Given the rewards, why have so few songwriters since then had any luck giving Rudolph and Frosty a run for their not-insignificant money?”

“After three months, the bitter dispute has left deep scars on the institution. The breakdown in trust between musicians and management has been well-documented, but the mounting financial impact of the strike in terms of lost ticket sales, alienated patrons and disaffected donors could linger long after the orchestra returns to the stage.”

“Alyssa Batula and Yougmoo Kim, from Drexel University, Philadelphia have developed a humanoid robot capable of playing any musical score on the spot. They’re using it to explore musical performance – expression and interaction with other musicians, for example – rather than merely note-playing.”

“In an effort to broker a deal in the 10½-week Detroit Symphony Orchestra strike, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin and Gov. Jennifer Granholm today publicly outlined a broad framework for a compromise that essentially splits the financial difference between the two parties with a $36 million package over three years.”

“Opera Boston announced today that Lesley Koenig, a veteran director and arts administrator with experience at the Metropolitan Opera and the San Francisco Ballet, will be its next general manager. Gil Rose, the company’s longstanding music director, has also been named to a new post of artistic director.”

“The BBC said yesterday it would be willing to hold talks with other arts bodies about the future funding of some of the UK’s best known orchestras as they face up to government-imposed spending cuts.”

“Silence is being hailed as the solution. John Cage’s 1952 silent piece, “4’33”,” is the theme song. The Brits are calling it “Cage Against the Machine,” and the movement for a silent night this Christmas, or Cagemas, has gone viral. In London, Cage’s picture is showing up on fake million-pound notes and the slogan is on posters with clenched fists and Che Guevara’s image.”

“Its latest report suggests more than 1.2bn tracks were pirated or shared, costing the industry £219m. Geoff Taylor, of the British Recorded Music Industry (BPI), said illegal downloading was becoming a ‘parasite’.”

It was one of the highest-profile world premieres in opera history: Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra, commissioned for the 1966 grand opening of the new Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center. The audience cheered, but critics sneered or sniffed. “Was the world deaf? Music once perceived as 50 years behind the times now seems to have been written 40 years too early. Same notes, opposite impressions.”