Category: music

“With the economy in the state it’s in, it comes as no surprise that the Metropolitan Opera will not be returning to its former practice of touring complete opera performances out to the five boroughs and New Jersey this summer.” Instead of last summer’s Gheorghiu-Alagna one-off, the Met will present six vocal recitals in city parks and pre-Labor Day outdoor screenings of past “Live in HD” simulcasts.

“Covent Garden productions [of both opera and ballet] will be available across many different digital platforms including radio, television, CDs, DVDs, online and outdoor screens. For the first time, the Royal Opera programmes broadcast on the BBC will also be available on the BBC iPlayer. The two-season commitment with the BBC brings eight operas and/or ballets from the RHO to be broadcast on BBC TWO and BBC FOUR.”

“With a reputation for expensive ticket prices and high production costs, the Royal Opera House is braced for a tough season in 2009/10. But despite planning the repertoire before the global financial crisis struck, it stuck to the original program. … Royal Opera House chief executive Tony Hall said the company’s reputation could suffer if audiences felt it was taking less risks and resorting to tried and tested hits.”

“Billed as ‘the most fun opera nerds can have in 140 characters,’ the game involves creating a witty, brilliant, and accurate precis of an opera plot. And this time [following a surprisingly popular first round last month] there are prizes – lovely tickets from a dazzling galaxy of opera houses in the US and Britain.” There’s even a celebrity judge: soprano Danielle de Niese.

“In an ironic twist of history, more than half a century later grand and baby grand pianos from the same factory in a Tallinn suburb have become a huge success on the US market and are catching on in Asia too.”

“‘Tusch‘ – pronounced ‘toosh’ – is the German word for a brass fanfare, or any flourish. It is bestowed by musicians on fellow musicians or a conductor, the highest musical honor they can give each other.” The L.A. Phil’s brass players improvised one for Salonen as he took his last bow as the orchestra’s music director.

“Piracy may be the bane of the music industry but according to a new study, it may also be its engine. A report from the BI Norwegian School of Management has found that those who download music illegally are also 10 times more likely to pay for songs than those who don’t.”

“Composer Steve Reich won the Pulitzer Prize for music Monday, taking the award for his ‘Double Sextet.’ In honor of Reich’s career, here’s a look at another of his most celebrated works.” (With audio.)

“Steve Reich has been awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Music for Double Sextet. The award, for distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the previous calendar year, comes with a $10,000 cash prize.” (With video and audio.)

“Salonen’s 17-year tenure as music director was the longest in the Philharmonic’s nine-decade history and included, among other milestones, the inauguration of Frank Gehry’s soaring and acoustically acclaimed Grand Avenue concert hall and the orchestra’s emergence as what many regard as the city’s most vital and forward-looking arts institution.”