At the moment, at least, people seem to prefer podcasts and music that make them feel as if they’re alone in the room with the performers. And that in turn has an appreciable effect on the kind of music and talk that’s produced. – Irish Times
Category: music
Study: What Kind Of Music Attracts Listeners
The music that the study volunteers said they enjoyed the most was neither too predictable, nor too unpredictable. Too predictable, and it’s boring. Too unpredictable, and it’s not at all pleasant to listen to anymore. – Forbes
Four Different Operas In 48 Hours – A Logistical Marvel
The new schedule of matinees on Saturday and Sunday means that the Met sometimes mounts four different productions in the 48 hours between Friday and Sunday evening — a truly herculean task that the company performs on a scale that is unusual, if not unique, in the world. – The New York Times
Eastman School Orchestra Tours China – But China Says S. Korean Students Can’t Come. Eastman Agrees To Go Anyway
Since 2016, China has blocked South Korean artists from performing. “We were suddenly caught right in the middle of this. It was really a challenging decision to make,” said dean Jamal Rossi. “Do we continue the tour without the valued colleagues or do we still go forward?” – 13WHAM
Another Opera Singer Speaks Openly About Plácido Domingo, And This One Is Well-Known
Brigitte Fassbaender had a long and admired career as a mezzo, and after retiring from singing she went on to run the opera house in Innsbruck, Austria. In her recently-published memoir and a subsequent interview, she says that Domingo’s womanizing habits were very well-known in the opera world and that he repeatedly pursued her without success but was polite about being turned down. (She also has something to say about the Metropolitan Opera and James Levine’s proclivities.) – OperaWire
The Domingo Defenders’ Argument, Stated Very Plainly
Heather MacDonald: “It is a grotesque inversion of the proper hierarchy between public accomplishment and private sexual behavior to sacrifice an artist of Domingo’s stature for the sake of 20 disgruntled bit players, laboriously harvested from thousands of professional interactions characterized by graciousness and consideration. Put simply, the discomfort of these belated accusers decades ago is not worth Domingo’s head.” – Quillette
The Music Inside Us: How The Brain Hallucinates
“As a composer and researcher in cognition and music, I have been thinking about my mother’s hallucinations and what they might tell us about the nature and role of music today. Neurological research has shown that vivid musical hallucinations are more than metaphorical.” – Nautilus
Artist Manager Jasper Parrott On Managing Artists In The Digital Age
“Finding performances online is a very impoverished view of the inspirational value of making live art. Art should be live. I know this myself because I’ve grown up throughout the whole period. I actually very seldom listen to music online or on recordings because, to me, the essence of the whole experience, the core value of creative activity, is a live experience. Therefore, the more of that you have, the more that is sustainable and the more that society believes in that whole principle, the better the society is. That’s my personal conviction.” – Van
Thanks To Seven-Week Strike, Chicago Symphony’s Ticket Sales Fell By $5 Million And Deficit Grew By 22%
The musicians’ walkout in March and April of this year was the key factor in the increase in the CSO’s deficit from $900,000 in 2017-18 to $1.1 million in 2018-19. On the other hand, operating expenses fell by $3.5 million (also due largely to the strike), contributions went up by $1.3 million, and the endowment grew by 3.6% to $314 million. – Chicago Tribune
UK Musicians Union Says Harassment, Sexism Is Rampant In The Industry
In a survey conducted by the union – which represents more than 31,000 musicians, 90% of whom are freelancers – 48% of respondents said they had experienced workplace harassment. More than four in five (85%) did not report it. – The Guardian