Category: music

“In San Diego, the symphony has moved from the status of a financially feeble and artistically erratic organization to an economically stable and musically energized public resource as it prepares to open a star-studded centennial season Friday at Copley Symphony Hall.”

“The series has had an enormous impact on donations, adding almost 7,000 to the list of Met contributors in recent seasons. Those donors are needed now more than ever: The Met’s budget last season was $300 million.”

It is considered normal these days for orchestras to be funded in part by the Arts Council. But one UK orchestra pays its own way (and it seems to be thriving).

“Crossover music is the elephant in classical music’s narrow living room. It takes up an awful lot of space, nobody quite knows what to do with it, and most people see only a piece of the whole. Yet more and more artists are exploring music outside their traditional boundaries, in ways that are more and more interesting to a discriminating audience.”

“All told, as last night’s performance and its reception made clear, Levine is energized and the musicians and BSO audiences are glad to have him back. If he can stay healthy, there could be some exceptional music-making in store this fall.”

“The power of competitions to launch a career appears less certain than ever. Instead, their role seems to be shifting from launch pad to career proper, offering performance and earning opportunities to pianists of all ages. The sight of established soloists entering competitions may become common as increasing numbers of contests push up or do away with their age limits

“At what was intended to be a celebration of some of the most romantic compositions of the 19th century, musicians will now vent their displeasure with management. The 70-strong ensemble will hand pamphlets to the audience and replace their usual white dinner shirts with T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan ‘Great Cities Have Great Orchestras’.”

“In fact, it was the first time in ages that I’ve enjoyed any live performance without being annoyed by the people around me … In the expectation-free pandemonium of Times Square, I could simply tune out or laugh off any distractions and focus on the production’s wonderful sounds and images.”

“According to analytics company Nielsen, digital music sales in the United States were flat during the first half of 2010; showing no positive growth from 2009. The data should be concerning to record labels as digital music sales rose 28% from 2007 to 2008 and 13% from 2008 to 2009.”

“The decision to terminate California Symphony founder and longtime music director Barry Jekowsky had already been made when a faction of the symphony’s board voted in executive session Sept. 21 to ratify it.” Board members say that Jekowsky’s attitude toward contract negotiations was less than cooperative.