It was the first symphony orchestra in the entire Far East, founded in 1879. (That’s only 37 years after the New York Philharmonic, the United States’ oldest orchestra.) Says music director Long Yu, “You can find all the programs through the First (World) War, Second (World) War, Cultural Revolution and till today – they have not stopped playing concerts. … They did function in the Cultural Revolution – Chinese folk songs, but they still played. It is amazing.” – Chicago Tribune
Category: music
Woodstock May Have Been An Amazing Event, But It Derailed American Rock Festivals For Decades
“In almost all the ways that concert promoters measure the success and smooth operation of their events, Woodstock was a failure.” Crowd control. Sanitation. Traffic. Profit. (The producers ended up more than $1 million in debt.) What’s more, “what young fans saw as groovy gatherings, with clothing optional, were viewed by local governments around the country as dangerous and disruptive events that they did not want in their backyards, and they passed laws accordingly.” – The New York Times
James Levine And Metropolitan Opera Settle Their Lawsuits Against Each Other
“The settlement brought the court battle to a close just as it threatened to air more dirty laundry about both Mr. Levine … and the Met” — which would be why settlement terms weren’t disclosed and neither side will comment. Even so, Michael Cooper’s story has a few eyebrow-raising details as well as a good summary of the progress of the ugly suit-countersuit. – The New York Times
Scientists: Bach Had An Anatomical Advantage For Music
In a study published in a German scientific journal, anatomist and musician Andreas Otte deduced that Bach—a gifted organist and harpsichordist—had an exceptional reach at the keyboard. – National Geographic
Leonard Slatkin On The Role Of A Music Director During An Orchestra Strike
“In virtually every case, there lurks a question that each musical leader must ask themselves: Should I get involved or stay on the sidelines? It is a valid query, but one that is filled with potential peril, no matter which path the conductor chooses. Disputes over the past decade have shown both sides of this decision and its aftermath.” – Tim Smith Blog
You Probably Haven’t Heard *Of* This Tune, But You’ve Almost Certainly Heard It. Is It History’s Most Enduring Melody?
“La Folia” seems to have appeared first as a folk-dance tune in late medieval Portugal. Over the next century, it spread to Spain and Italy and composers started adapting it; in the 17th and 18th centuries, “La Folia” and variations on it were all over the place (even colonial Latin America). Today some of those old pieces are being heard in concert again, while the melody turns up in pop songs and The Addams Family‘s theme, often without contemporary musicians knowing where it came from. – BBC
Inquirer: Curtis Institute Response To Sexual Harassment Charges Shows It Needs Outside Help
“A credible and qualified professional from outside Curtis and the cultural community of which it is a part ought to take an unsparing look at what if anything happened, and why, and how any new allegations of this type ought to be handled, and prevented from happening again. The findings of such a review ought to be made public.” – Philadelphia Inquirer
Orange County’s Crystal Cathedral Reborn – But Music Still Doesn’t Work
Tim Mangan: “To put it briefly, these were cathedral acoustics: echoey, murky, swimmy, with a decay time of several seconds. Aurally, it was like playing in a high school gymnasium or Carlsbad Caverns. It’s no place for a couple of hundred musicians to perform an intricate piece of classical music.” – Voice of Orange County
Fifty Years On, The Ideals And The Reality Of Woodstock
On stage, musicians – the most famous of the era, the ones who would become even more famous from Woodstock – were flown in; extensive set changes occurred around frantic, angry, urgent housekeeping messages from the stage; and a young generation liked free stuff – and became a generation that could be targeted by marketers. – The New York Times
Renée Fleming To Redesign And Co-Lead Aspen
Fleming and conductor Patrick Summers of the Houston Grand Opera will be co-artistic directors of the Aspen Music Festival and School’s opera program, redesigning it. “Fleming, who will continue to perform, said she was drawn to the opportunity to reimagine the program to better prepare young singers for today’s intensely competitive, rapidly changing opera environment.” – The New York Times