Category: music

“Shaggy-haired Nobuyuki Tsujii, blind since birth, proved a favorite early on. The standing ovations began after his performance in the preliminary rounds, when he played the Chopin Etudes, and continued all the way through the finals.”

“I think we’re seeing that now with tons of new bands that are amazing, and are doing way better music now than was being made pre-Napster.”

“Has jazz slowly ground to a creative standstill over the last half century, moving so far from its core values – as Wynton Marsalis and others have argued – that much of today’s ‘jazz’ seems hollow and insignificant when compared to past masterpieces? What does it say about the current scene that bold predictions about “the shape of jazz to come” are no longer welcomed?”

“Opera Australia has ordered an independent review of its organisation after a 10 per cent drop in ticket sales and a $4 million writedown of its capital fund value as a result of the economic crisis.”

“Bandmates fall out all the time; why not go the whole hog and start a trend for unhappy musicians joining rival groups? It would certainly stop stale bands chugging along with the same lineups and the same sound. It might even provoke more creativity! What’s more, it would be worth it for the rumour mill alone.”

“The investment banker Gary W. Parr has been a player in mopping up some of the biggest financial messes of the last year. Among his assignments, count Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae and Bernard L. Madoff. His next task takes place in a more artistic, if also financially challenged, realm.”

“The first installment, set for Monday [June 15], will feature members of the Marsalis family (father Ellis and two of his sons, Wynton and Branford), who will play jazz for about 150 students. The White House also said that country and classical events will be scheduled.”

“Seattle is seeking to make its venerable ‘Ring’ sparkle for younger generations with its reality-style video project ‘Confessions of a First-Time Opera Goer,’ which will chronicle 19-year-old Cassidy Quinn Brettler’s first experience attending the ‘Ring.’ … Brettler, a double major in acting and broadcasting at Boston’s Emerson College, will post her updates on the action on her personal Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as tweeting on Seattle Opera’s Twitter account.”

“Walking past a new-model vehicle with its showroom sticker affixed to the windshield to get into concert halls and opera houses is a common international phenomenon. Last time I was at the tony Salzburg Festival, a flashy Audi, if I remember correctly, was parked in front of the Grosses Festspielhaus. And now the pristine, white new Opera House in Oslo, a year-old and already a landmark, has a pristine, white Mercedes messing up the building’s sculptural minimalism.”

“Which top-selling artist purportedly had a new single yanked from some radio stations[‘] playlists in retaliation for supporting royalties for musicians? No one involved will name the recording artist, but the no-play treatment by several radio stations is alleged in a complaint filed with the Federal Communications Commission and obtained by the Associated Press. The complaint claims recording artists are being threatened and intimidated.”