This Little Light of Mine: The inimitable Mr. Cummings speaks to the League’s annual meeting about how the arts has the power to change lives. “As I march toward the twilight of my life, there’s nothing more important to me than seeing children have opportunities. – YouTube
Category: music
John Schaefer: Why We Still Need Music Curators
“When what we listen to is all based on algorithms, you’re fed things that will already fit your taste. My intention with the show was always to make it like a series of doors. You could peek in and you could go into that door if you liked, or you could choose another.” – The New York Times
Why Orchestras Giving Free Concerts Is A Very Bad Idea
Aubrey Bergauer: “Giving it away for free, whether by regularly scheduled programming or by striking or locked out musicians, is not getting the job done. It’s not growing audiences, it’s not building tons of new support, and — please hear this — it hurts us when people don’t see how much it costs to produce this art. [Here] are five reasons why free concerts are not serving us well.” – Medium
Ara Guzelimian To Be New Artistic Director Of The Ojai Festival
Guzelimian is currently provost of Juilliard and was Ojai’s artistic director for five years in the 1990s. He succeeds Chad Smith, recently appointed CEO of the LA Philharmonic. Smith has been in the Ojai post only for a few months and has yet to produce a festival. – Los Angeles Times
Gramophone’s Recording Of The Year Is Bertrand Chamayou’s Saint-Saëns Piano Concertos; Jaap Van Zweden’s Other Band Is Orchestra Of The Year
Chamayou’s Erato-label disc of the 2nd and 5th Concertos with Emmanuel Krivine conducting the Orchestre National de France prevailed over nine other category winners to take the top prize. The Hong Kong Philharmonic was elected Orchestra of the Year, the only honor awarded by public vote. Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson was named Artist of the Year and countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński was chosen as Young Artist of the Year, while Dame Emma Kirkby was given a Lifetime Achievement Award. – Gramophone
What English National Opera Really Needs From Its New Boss: Bankers
“Bankers” are something that ENO’s previous two artistic directors didn’t manage to provide many of, and it’s now up to Annilese Miskimmon, their new successor, to get some. Fortunately, explains David Benedict, “she’s startlingly well-equipped for the job.” – The Stage
Canadian Choir Performs On Both Sides Of US/Mexico Border
“With a barbed wire fence and border patrol dividing two groups of drop-in singers, one located on the beach at Border Field State Park in San Diego, Calif., and the other just metres away in the border town of Tijuana, Mexico, the popular choral group performed a rendition of With A Little Help From My Friends by The Beatles. About 300 people took part on the U.S. side and 500 across the divide in Tijuana.” – CBC
How To Pick The Best Seat In The House To Hear An Orchestra
The idea of a “best seat” is subjective and depends on how important a good sightline is to you and what sort of instrumental blend you enjoy. While describing sound in terms of “warmth” and “clarity” and “resonance” may seem subjective, these are in fact quantifiable acoustic terms. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Opera That Reimagined The Last Habsburg Emperor And Empress For The Shattered Europe Of 1919
“The year 1919 was pivotal in European culture, with bold portents for the postwar future — it was the year that Walter Gropius founded the Bauhaus and Marcel Duchamp painted a mustache on the Mona Lisa. [Richard Strauss’s] Die Frau ohne Schatten, in contrast, was almost reassuringly conservative in its late Romantic musical language, in its fairy tale libretto about a fundamentally good-hearted emperor and empress, and in its celebration of fertility and childbirth as the foundation of marriage and society.” – The New York Times
Hong Kong Has A New Protest Song Anthem
The orchestra wear hard hats and gas masks, the choir emerges from a swirl of tear gas-like smoke, and as the music swells, cutaway shots show crowds thousands-strong marching through the streets of Hong Kong. – The Guardian