Consider the BBC Proms: “The Proms run for eight weeks, with two or three concerts a day, but you’ll have to listen carefully for music composed by anyone other than a white male – in total there will be less than four hours of it, and less than 20 minutes from black and minority ethnic composers, throughout the whole season.” That can be fixed next year and in the future – but where’s the will to do it? – The Guardian (UK)
Category: music
Why Are The ‘Harry Potter In Concert’ Programs So Popular?
Sometimes, you have to let a SyFy reviewer explain: “The Harry Potter in Concert series not only provides an opportunity to visually watch each individual instrumental sound take shape on the stage in front of you, but allows the viewer to line it up with the film as you watch it. This offers a whole new appreciation for productions in the arts. You might even be inspired to pick up a flute or learn to play the harp yourself.”- SyFy Wire
Why The Baltimore Symphony Is In Trouble
Carol Bogash: “One thing is clear to me: The root cause of the financial problems that the BSO has faced over these past five years is directly related to decisions made by the management and board. Budgets have been approved that were built on wishful thinking. Huge amounts of money were spent on guest artists and guest conductors with the hope of being recouped through ticket sales and donations. Major projects were undertaken without sufficient underwriting. They were artistically worthwhile but financially went into the red. These are the business practices that lead to serious systemic problems and debt.” – Washington Post
How Do We Measure What’s Popular In Music?
We used to be able to look to Billboard charts. But there are so many ways people are accessing music it’s become almost impossible to tell what the “top” music is by how many are listening. – The New York Times
How To Address Gender/Race Imbalances In Classical Music?
“From art to science and beyond, the work of historically marginalised groups is being gloriously shared. Except within classical music, that is. And to compound matters, the errors of the past are being repeated today.” – The Guardian
“World” Music? What Is That? (Time To Retire The Label)
Founders of the term provided vague justifications for lumping together anything that wasn’t deemed to be from a European or American tradition – “looking at what artists do rather than what they sound like”, as editor of fRoots magazine Ian Anderson said. The World of Music, Arts and Dance Festival, AKA Womad, which was founded seven years before the term gained prominence, similarly used it as a catch-all for its roster of international artists. – The Guardian
Woodstock 50 Is Saved! (But It Won’t Be Anywhere Near Woodstock)
“The troubled anniversary festival … will now be at the Merriweather Post Pavilion, an outdoor amphitheater in Columbia, Md., the producers confirmed on Thursday. It will be held from Aug. 16 to 18, almost exactly 50 years after the first Woodstock. But it was unclear what artists would be performing.” – The New York Times
London Philharmonic Names Edward Gardner Its Next Principal Conductor
“At 44, he’s also making a triumphant return to London after the rollercoaster ride of being music director of English National Opera from 2007 to 2015 — one of the most troubled periods of that company’s turbulent history.” Gardner succeeds Vladimir Jurowski in the fall of 2021. – The Times (UK)
Montreal Symphony Signs Deal To Create Virtual Immersive Content
For the next three years, the team from la Société des arts technologiques will spend a week each year recording OSM rehearsals and concerts to create immersive acoustic projects. “For sure we want to use these recordings for an augmented reality smartphone app that we will be launching in the upcoming months and years,” said Simon Ouellette, head of special projects for the OSM. – Montreal Gazette
Violinist Lara St. John Says Teacher At Curtis Institute Sexually Abused And Raped Her, And Dean Waved It Off
“St. John says she was repeatedly sexually abused by the man trusted to hone her talent, renowned violinist and teacher Jascha Brodsky. Then, she says, she was disregarded when she reported what had happened to an administrator at Philadelphia’s elite Curtis Institute of Music.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer