Category: music

“Control is the key word in both opera and the ‘bad girls’ celebrity narrative. The contemporary nunnery is rehab, the house of penitent women, where lost girls reclaim their virtue and self-control.”

“Most major symphony orchestras in the United States regularly spend more money than they take in, and some dip so far into endowments that they risk their long-term survival, according to a new report.”

The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra has named conductor Edo de Waart is its latest “artistic partner,” under the revolving system of leaders the SPCO uses in place of a single music director. De Waart, who will also become music director of the Milwaukee Symphony in 2009, was music director of the nearby Minnesota Orchestra from 1986-95.

“Vancouver Symphony Orchestra conductor Bramwell Tovey has been selected as principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at its outdoor Hollywood Bowl.” The appointment won’t affect Tovey’s schedule in Vancouver, as the VSO doesn’t play a summer season.

“Musicians and board members of the financially strapped Columbus Symphony will meet this afternoon to begin discussions” on a management proposal to convert 23 full-time musicians to part-time freelancers, and shave 12 weeks off the orchestra’s season. Both sides will have lawyers present, and no one is saying publicly what they expect the result of the discussions to be.

A new Cleveland-based record label devoted to promoting the music of Native American composers has released its first CD, featuring the San Francisco Symphony performing music by composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate. The Chickasaw Nation, of which Tate is a member, footed the entire bill for the recording.

The trials and tribulations of being a young conductor are a special musical hell that few ever consider. For one young Austrian stick waver, what had looked like a promising career went head over heels when a legend told him he was worthless and destroyed his confidence. But then, that same legend helped rebuild his shattered technique and mold him into a pro.

“The ardor for Starbucks has gone the way of yesterday morning’s grounds. Critics in the music industry say the company squandered its cachet by mismanaging the effort to broaden its music mix. The choices that reflect its early taste for the offbeat – like an album from Lizz Wright, a torchy pop singer – are now squeezed in with offerings not unlike those at Wal-Mart, including the latest releases from Alicia Keys and James Blunt. The shift has not been lost on some customers.”

“In the United Kingdom, where the CD single is basically dead, there is such a resurgence in vinyl that retailers can’t keep up with capacity. In the U.S., figures as high as 22 per cent are being floated about the growth in vinyl record sales.”

“If you wanted to appreciate just how ductile, agile, expressive, and clear the English language can be on the operatic stage, you could do worse than study the pair of new one-act comedies commissioned and zestfully performed by the New York Festival of Song.”