Category: music

The controversy at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival (aka Banglewood) in Massachusetts broke out over the use of didgeridoos in the 1990 work Thousand Year Dreaming by 80-year-old New Zealand-American composer Annea Lockwood. Several of the festival’s young Fellows raised concerns about Lockwood’s deployment of the indigenous Australian instrument, including, in this performance, its being played by women (traditionally taboo). But those concerns were not shared by everyone there. – New Sounds (WNYC)

The claim: The event takes up an incredible amount of time and money, and the symphony says “our understanding of our role in the community has begun to change.” Therefore, “the staff is evaluating [Free Music Day] and a lot of other programs to determine if they are the best offerings for listeners and performers.” – The Tennessean

Singer/songwriter Lucy Dacus: “Music is magic, yes, and many people use it as an outlet for their animal emotions, but I just wish people would let loose their feelings while still keeping their behavior under control.” (Examples of said behavior include a man chasing a musician down the street, screaming, “I would never chase you!”) – Nylon

No, really, go watch the crews move the wall – moved so more musicians could eventually fit on the stage-to-be – and enjoy: “It took about six hours for construction crews to move a seven-story 625-ton wall 35 feet that will eventually be part of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s new home.” – WTMJ-TV (Milwaukee)

The 9-year-old girl’s parents sued the State and Cathedral Choir of Berlin after her application was rejected, but the court ruled that “the acoustic pattern of a choir is part of its artistic freedom” and that a boys’ choir had a distinct sound. – Deutsche Welle

The music, to be released in September, was the Coltrane Quartet’s soundtrack to the French Canadian film Le chat dans le sac (The Cat in the Bag), which is available online now. “Coltrane hadn’t seen a cut of the film when he recorded the soundtrack, which — probably due in equal part to Groulx’s taste and the onus of licensing — consists of new versions of prior material.” – NPR

Beethoven’s political engagement is indisputable, but whether it finds direct expression in his work – aside from dedications and commissions – is a sticky topic. – New Statesman

The project reached its crescendo, transitioning from theoretical to actual, last month when the Port of San Diego agreed to lease a 3.68-acre site on Embarcadero Marina Park to the symphony for up to 50 years. The agreement was the last regulatory action needed for the symphony’s long-planned outdoor facility, which will serve as the permanent home of the Bayside Summer Nights concert series. – San Diego Union-Tribune

A big part of the 1969 festival’s legend is that no one involved had any idea how big it was going to get and how many people would show up, and the organizers were utterly unprepared. “Woodstock was saved at every step of the way by decidedly non-groovy regular people” — from Max Yasgur, the law-and-order Republican who rented his farm to the festival at the last minute, to the citizens of Bethel, NY who hard-boiled hundreds of thousands of eggs and sent canned goods when organizers ran out of food on the second day. – The Washington Post