Category: music

“Schlepping across the Sunshine State might not be as sexy as marching through Europe. But it was still a landmark week for an orchestra trying to shake off the malaise of a $3.8-million deficit, sharpen its artistic edge, raise its national profile and forge deeper ties with its donors, wherever they happen to live.”

Chen, 36, is the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s assistant conductor. “Members of the search committee said last year that they were looking for an ‘up-and-comer’ to be the musical leader of the symphony. … She replaces retiring maestro David Loebel.”

“Callas’ ability to sing such a wide range of roles was one of the things that led to her meteoric rise. But … Callas’ voice was already starting to fail her by the time she was in her 40s — quite young for an opera singer. A number of factors, including a rapid loss of weight, may explain why.”

“[B]esides composing and conducting, Bernstein was a champion talker about music, and these [1950s] ‘Omnibus’ appearances, which range from 33 to 76 minutes, were his first opportunities to try out his lecture style on television.”

“Increasingly in recent years adventurous ensembles and young artists have been drawing their programs from all camps of contemporary music, camps that were once engaged in fierce ideological battles. The biggest combatants were practitioners of complex, cutting-edge 12-tone composition who claimed the intellectual high ground and those who still wrote sonatas, symphonies and such, in essentially major and minor keys.”

“Music for skating has never been noted for its quality. Fans are accustomed to kitschy arrangements, abrupt cuts and sub-par sound systems. Yet over the years, in part because of the improvement in technology, there’s been a shift away from random juxtapositions toward programs that are at least thematic.”

“A conference on northern languages in Iqaluit has ended with some participants urging territorial governments to use popular music as a way of promoting and preserving Inuktitut.”

“Leaving aside for the moment the question of whether music blogs are good or bad for the music industry, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act forces Google to take these actions — otherwise, it would lose the protection of the DMCA’s “safe harbor” clause and could be found liable for any copyright infringement on its blogging networks.”

“Sir John Dankworth and Dame Cleo Laine – both were honoured for their services to music – wanted to take music out of the privileged milieu of Huygens and – to a lesser extent – myself. They believed it ought to be available to everyone. They used their fame, and the thrill their playing gave to their audiences to generate a grass roots movement in music.”

“In a sign of how strongly Slatkin believes in his deepening bond with the orchestra, he is also taking a voluntary pay cut as the DSO struggles to restructure in the wake of the recession and a $3.8-million deficit.”