Category: music

“An album “collection” is no longer relevant for many listeners. Limited only by the number of songs offered by any service–MOG offers nearly eight million–they can create as many playlists as they like, and access them from almost any device. Whoever comes up with the most powerful and elegant version of the streaming model will have a very big portal.”

“Until three years ago, Andris Nelsons had never even set foot in Britain’s second city. Now he is chief conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and one of the sought-after talents in the musical world.”

“If his tenure in Denver has been too short, it has nonetheless been a wonderful time for the symphony — a period of continued artistic growth and an abundance of high-quality, often daringly adventurous programs.”

“During the week ended May 30, the U.S. music industry sold a total of 4.98 million albums, according to Nielsen Soundscan. That figure, which includes new and catalog releases, represents the fewest albums sold in one week since Soundscan began compiling this data in 1994.”

“Some in the audience howled with glee, others stood on trembling legs and a few drooled in delight as famed performance artist Laurie Anderson debuted her original “Music for Dogs” composition outside the Sydney Opera House on Saturday.”

“Slatkin did not completely absolve himself from blame and admitted he made mistakes opening night. But what he called Gheorghiu’s “unprofessional behavior” — blocking his view of other singers, taking outrageous liberties that went beyond liberal notions of expressive phrasing, entering early and ignoring cut-offs — so unnerved him that he lost his cool in the second act.”

“The blues, so deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of Chicago, stands at a perilous juncture. Nearly banished from radio, marginalized by rap and rock, celebrated in just a few scattered clubs, the blues struggles to be heard in the 21st century. Can the blues survive? Will it? Should it?”

“The scheme works like this: the trust secures a fabulous instrument – such as a Stradivarius violin or viola – and invites subscribers to buy shares in it to fund the purchase. It then gives exclusive use of the instrument to a virtuoso who has it for concert performances and recordings. Yet what is particularly appealing about this arrangement is that it is not so much a handout as a business deal.”

Do music competitions still launch careers? Perhaps…

Seiji “Ozawa, who spent three decades with the Boston Symphony Orchestra before joining Vienna in 2002, revealed in January that he had oesophageal cancer.”