Category: music

Fifteen pianos appeared out on the streets, with invitations for passers by to play them. “The pianos have been installed in public places allowing anyone to sit down and play: some were already in enthusiastic use yesterday, others barely noticed. They will remain in situ until after Easter – if they survive that long – those outliving the experiment given a permanent home.”

“Musical director Robert Spano’s contract will be extended through the 2013-14 season and principal guest conductor Donald Runnicles’ contract, at Runnicles’ request, through the 2010-11 season. Runnicles will continue with the orchestra after 2010-11 through guest-conducting appearances.”

“The theory that musicians’ liking a conductor personally or musically will foreshadow a distinguished partnership is false. Some of the conductors most admired today were, in fact, hated by their musicians.”

“Yet South by Southwest is more than a marathon audition. It’s a chance for social networking in real time and space. The exhilaration of so many performances in such a short time is a morale booster for both business people and fans, and an annual reminder that the fortunes and misfortunes of the recording business don’t stop the music.”

“Perhaps the most amazing thing about eMusic, iTunes and other digital sites, though, is cross-genre buying. Nearly a third of eMusic’s classical sales go to customers who’ve never downloaded a classical piece. Similarly, iTunes sells as much hip-hop to classical buyers as jazz.”

A UK artist has placed pianos in public spaces across the city of Birmingham, inviting members of the public to sit down and play as the fancy strikes them. “Some were already in enthusiastic use yesterday, others barely noticed. They will remain in situ until after Easter – if they survive that long – those outliving the experiment given a permanent home.”

Seattle hosted a national classical music summit last month, and the results were, well, predictable. Those engaged in the performance of classical music cited burgeoning subscriber rolls and a long-term increase in the quantity and quality of available product. Certain journalists claimed the opposite. And everyone agreed that better music education is key to the future.

Musicians of the Alabama Symphony have agreed to a one-year contract for the 2008-09 season with a 3% salary increase, while the ASO attempts to chart a future course following the loss of funding from the orchestra’s home county. Base salary will rise to $35,500 for a 41-week season.

The record industry (or, at least, the huge corporate end of it) may be in trouble, but at the South by Southwest music festival that just wrapped up in Austin, it’s clear that music – good music – is as popular as ever, and maybe more so. “In an era of plummeting CD sales and short shelf lives even for current hit makers, the festival is full of people seeking ways to route their careers around what’s left of the major recording companies.”

South By Southwest is truly two separate festivals this year – one for the music fans, and one for the lawyers and accountants. “Music lovers have never had more choices, or easier access, to great music,” but everyone is scrambling to fill the hole where the dollars used to be. “This year legal panels comprise a full eighth of the seminar discussions.”