Category: music

Gustavo Dudamel Has Led The LA Phil For Ten Years: What He’s Done And Will He Stay

“It may now seem inevitable that the world’s most glamorous conductor ended up leading what may be the world’s most admired orchestra, that a young Latin American hero would settle in a Latino-majority city that likes to tell itself it will never grow old. But it could have just as easily not happened at all.” – Los Angeles Magazine

‘For Centuries, Black Music, Forged In Bondage, Has Been The Sound Of Complete Artistic Freedom. No Wonder Everybody Is Always Stealing It.’

“Americans have made a political investment in a myth of racial separateness, the idea that art forms can be either ‘white’ or ‘black’ in character … This country’s music is an advertisement for 400 years of the opposite: centuries of ‘amalgamation’ and ‘miscegenation’ as they long ago called it, of all manner of interracial collaboration conducted with dismaying ranges of consent.” An essay for The 1619 Project by Wesley Morris. – The New York Times Magazine

What The Allegations Against Placido Domingo Could Mean For Opera

Mark Swed: “The ramifications are considerable. If proved true, the allegations would be a tragic ending to one of the great careers in the history of opera, a tenor and now baritone who has sung more roles than any other, as well as a conductor, opera administrator and celebrity. It would also be a sad revelation about the catalyst and voice of opera in Los Angeles.” – Los Angeles Times

How Music Festivals Got To Be A Mega-Business

This year there will be roughly 100 large, multi-day events—attended by more than 10,000 people each—around the United States. Live Nation, the concert and festival promoter, is now arguably the most important firm in the music industry, with more revenues than most traditional record labels. It owns four of the five largest festivals. AEG, the sports and entertainment company, owns two others. – CityLab

Even New Operas Are Still Treating Women As Sacrificial Lambs. When The Hell Will It Stop?

Joshua Kosman: “Here’s my request for today to creators of contemporary opera: How would it be if we had a new work that did not turn on a female character sacrificing herself to redeem a man? … The Bay Area’s operatic stages this month have been weirdly rife with women eager to throw themselves overboard for a man’s sake, and honestly my patience is starting to wear a little thin.” – San Francisco Chronicle

Los Angeles Opera To Investigate Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against Plácido Domingo, Who Has Been Its General Director For 21 Years

The company, which will “retain outside counsel” to look into the accusations, said in a statement that Domingo “has been a dynamic creative force in the life of LA Opera and the artistic culture of Los Angeles for more than three decades. Nevertheless, we are committed to doing everything we can to foster a professional and collaborative environment where all our employees and artists feel equally comfortable, valued and respected.” – Los Angeles Times