“In 1945 you would have paid ten grand in dollars for a top Strad; today it can make 30 times as much, depending on pedigree and condition.” So, does a top Italian violin even qualify as a good investment for a musician anymore?
Category: music
The Changing Face Of Classical Guitar
The next big star in classical guitar is Chinese. And female. “A rare woman on a macho instrument, she speaks no word of Spanish and comes from a culture untouched by the quixotic, unmoved by romantic plaints on nylon strings. Everything she has done from infancy on has been a first.”
Conductor Pulls Serious Double Duty In Pittsburgh
“Desperate times led to a remarkable solution in Verdi’s ‘Aida’ at [Pittsburgh’s] Benedum Center last night: The conductor stepped in to sing for an ailing tenor.” Not only that, Pittsburgh Opera music director Antony Walker kept conducting the performance, while singing the male lead!
School Of Rock And Bach?
Most classical musicians no longer adhere to the idea that their genre is somehow superior to all other forms of music. But there’s still a stigma attached to non-classical music in conservatories around the world. Things do seem to be changing, though…
Protesters March To Demand CBC Radio Orchestra Be Saved
“The orchestra was formed in 1938 when radio orchestras were popular and is the last of its kind in North America. The decision to disband it was a matter of economics, Jennifer McGuire, executive director of CBC English Radio, said in an interview last week.”
U2 Concert Deal – An Indicator Of Where The Music Business Is Heading
“U2 have signed a 12-year deal with the world’s biggest concert promoter, Live Nation, to handle the band’s merchandising, digital and branding rights. The contracts indicate the direction in which the music industry is heading. As income from CD sales declines and pirate downloads eat up profits, artists are starting to realise that the money lies in touring and merchandising.”
Crowds Flock To Monster Piano Show
“Onstage, eight nine-foot pianos with lids removed sat nose to nose, pointed toward the center, where a conductor would stand. A big screen hung above the stage to capture the faculty, students and guests who performed, two at each piano, in images from the roving video cameramen.”
Solving Prodigy Syndrome
“Why expose young musical phenoms to the marketplace just as they enter the more vulnerable adolescent years? Of course, the prodigy label is fraught with complications. It attracts media attention and audiences, enhancing the appeal of exceptionally talented youngsters to concert presenters.”
Opera On The Movie Screen?
Uh, no, thought Terry Teachout, when he first heard about the Metropolitan Opera’s plan. He now writes that he was wrong. Really wrong. “Cheaper tickets for a better show — that’s my kind of deal.”
Slatkin Wastes No Time Running Detroit
Leonard Slatkin, “who conducts his first Detroit Symphony subscription concerts this week since being appointed music director last fall, doesn’t officially begin his tenure until fall. But he is already putting his stamp on the orchestra’s daily life.”