Category: music

Last week a critic claimed the Oregon Symphony was “broken” despite playing better than ever. The orchestra’s president responds: “We need a lively conversation about the role of a symphony orchestra in the 21st century, in a city with as vibrant and varied a cultural life as Portland.”

“Today, thanks to the Internet and a red-hot CD, Paul Potts is one of the most famous names in music and on Tuesday, he’ll become even more celebrated, courtesy of his debut appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Maria Archetto had planned to be a high school music teacher until she got involved with the early-music movement. Then she discovered the story of Francesco Portinaro and an obsession began.

What in classical music interests jazz people, and what in jazz or pop interests classical people? Alex Ross and Ben Ratliff talk about it.

String bands might not be featured on mainstream American radio, “but the ‘old-time’ music they play now outperforms many more mainstream forms in the US.”

Samuel Barber’s opera “Vanessa” was a huge hit at its premiere. It even won the 1958 Pulitzer Prize for music. “For a moment, it looked as if the Great American Opera had materialized at last. But no. The critical backlash came quickly, and it began in Salzburg.”

“Is prior knowledge a kind of cheating, or does a look at the score or a visit to the rehearsal hall create a cushion of experience, something that makes new music more understandable?”

The St. Petersburg Philharmonic. It has presented “the world premiere of Beethoven’s mighty ‘Missa Solemnis’ in 1824. The orchestra also premiered works by such iconic 19th century Russian composers as Borodin, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov. And the tradition continued into the 20th century.”

The Oregon Symphony sounds better in recent years. But “swimming in debt, hemorrhaging audiences and supporters, and lacking any innovative programming ideas, the Oregon Symphony could be at one of the lowest points in recent history. Last fiscal year, the Symphony ended $2 million in the red, on an annual budget of about $14 million.”

Elisha Abas was a child prodigy who made his Carnegie Hall debut to great aclaim at the age of 11. But by 14 he was burned out and quit the piano. Now, 21 years later, he’s picked up his piano career again. “But Mr. Abas’s chances are uncertain. Waves of piano talent have emerged since he left the stage. The concert scene is highly competitive, and he has no management or name recognition. Whether his playing has significantly developed is an open question.”