“Outrage in Israel over leaked reports that one of the country’s leading orchestras has been invited to open next year’s Wagner festival in Bayreuth, southern Germany, has prompted the composer’s great-granddaughter and festival head to withdraw the invitation.”
Category: music
Daniel Catan to Write Opera Version of Frank Capra Film
“Having already adapted one film for the operatic stage – Il Postino, currently playing at the Los Angeles Opera – composer Daniel Catán is set to repeat the task with a new work based on the 1941 Frank Capra classic Meet John Doe.“
‘The Four Hornswomen of the Apocalypse’ (aka Genghis Barbie)
“They go by the stage names Freedom Barbie, Velvet Barbie, Jungle Barbie and Attila the Horn. They play arrangements of songs by Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Queen and other pop acts. The name of their band is Genghis Barbie, and the group consists of four conservatory-trained French horn players.”
What’s Wrong With Classical Music
“The hard, cold truth is that classical music in public places is often deliberately intended to make certain kinds of people feel unwelcome. Its use has been described as “musical bug spray,” and as the “weaponization” of classical music.”
Lost Vivaldi Flute Concerto Found In Scotland
“Southampton University research fellow Andrew Woolley found the piece among the Marquesses of Lothian’s family papers at the archives in Edinburgh. It will receive its modern day premiere at Perth Concert Hall in January.”
Columnist: Detroit Simply Can’t Afford the DSO Anymore
“The financial realities bearing down on one of the state’s premier cultural gems are forcing a leveling that doesn’t respect artistic accomplishment, salary scales at rival orchestras or the outsized expectations of patrons who can’t – or won’t – accept the implications of a decade of economic decline and corporate retrenchment.”
In Tampa, Florida Orchestra Players Accept Pay Cuts
“The Florida Orchestra is opening the 2010-11 season this week with a revised musicians’ labor contract. … Essentially, the contract revision will mean that the base salary for orchestra members will be $24,500 for 24 weeks of work during this season and 2011-12.”
For the First Time, an Israeli Orchestra Will Play in Bayreuth (Um, Won’t It?)
Katharina Wagner had planned to travel to Tel Aviv to invite the Israel Chamber Orchestra to perform during her great-grandfather’s opera festival. Word leaked to the press, the usual Wagner-vs.-Israel arguments ensued, and KW called off her trip. The ICO still plans (for now) to appear in Bayreuth in July, though not in the festival proper.
Another US Orchestra (Columbus) Hires Another Hot Young Montreal Maestro
“After a near-death experience and two years without a maestro, the Columbus Symphony has turned to a youthful French Canadian to help restore some lost luster.” The orchestra’s new music director is 36-year-old Jean-Marie Zeitouni.”
Chopin: The Music That Diagnoses Its Interpreters
“For modern performers, [this] music acts like a Rorschach inkblot test. … For all its meticulous craftsmanship, improvisational inspiration and matchless charm, Chopin’s music asks – but never demands – a degree of self-revelation not all performers are willing (or able) to give.”