Category: music

Could President Obama give the original American music form a major boost by inviting it back into the White House? “Obama’s mixed-race heritage reflects the genome of jazz, which first blossomed when multiple cultures and classes converged in New Orleans at the turn of the previous century.”

“The Minnesota Opera will commit $5.5 million over seven years to contemporary repertoire under a new program just announced. Minnesota OperaWorks envisions three commissions, three revivals of American works and an international co-production.”

Violinist/showman Andre Rieu “insists that musical categorisation is meaningless; that there is no difference between classical and non-classical music, or high art and low art… He depicts his critics as members of a stuffy musical elite with narrow aesthetic tastes, yet regularly demeans in interviews music that is not to his taste and classical musicians who choose not to perform in his manner.” But then, Rieu isn’t as much a musician as a profit-driven industry.

The Vancouver-based CBC Radio Orchestra plays its final concert this weekend, and fans of the ensemble are expected to protest the CBC’s decision to scrap it. And while the orchestra is expected to continue performing, at least for now, under a new name, the sting of the CBC’s slap is still fresh.

“The study found 44 per cent of people polled claimed to have consumed more music this year than in 2007. As well as the swelling market for live music, this surge may have something to do with commercial harnessing of music through means other than record sales, since 69 per cent of “the most passionate music fans” agreed that brand affiliations provide a valuable new revenue stream for artists.”

“Junichi Hirokami, a native of Japan, took over the baton in June 2006 and had one year remaining on his contract. He was openly critical of the symphony board during labor negotiations with musicians in the last year. The contract dispute led the symphony to suspend operations for almost five months before reaching an agreement in September.”

From “High School Night” in San Francisco to the city-wide Ring festival in L.A. to the Met’s HD moviecasts to the fact that “Nearly every opera company in the country has a new work somewhere in its schedule” (per the chairman of Opera America), the art form is in good health, despite the financial crisis.

Peter Maxwell Davies has written a new piece dedicated to Paul McCartney: a 20-minute choral ode called Liber Pulsationis Fabulatoris. No, that’s not “the book of fabulous vibrations” – it’s a text by Hildegard von Bingen with the typically not-quite-sensical title “The Book of Pulsations of the Creator of Legends.” (By the way, PMax says that “Paul is as great as Schubert and still has not received the full recognition that his talent deserves.”)

“The Guarneri String Quartet has postponed its Portland concerts on Feb. 14 and 15. John Dalley, the group’s second violinist, has cancer and needs to undergo treatment , according to Linda Magee of Chamber Music Northwest.”

“For the last three years, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian has been mounting one of the more adventurous concert series in town, showcasing new classical music by Native American composers. Admit it — you didn’t know there was such stuff.”