Category: music

The Iraqi National Symphony, celebrated in the days after the US-led invasion as a hallmark of Iraqi culture, and later as a symbol of bravery in the face of the insurgency, is continuing to play. But their concerts are like nothing any other professional orchestra could possibly conceive of. “Before the U.S.-led invasion, the INSO would advertise concerts in the media, especially on television. Now this happens by word of mouth, with organizers phoning a list of supporters or putting up posters in music colleges… No time is given for the event because both the musicians and the guests have to navigate police and army checkpoints and blocked roads.”

Composing music is no easy business, and yet, a professional orchestra in Florida is giving fifth graders a crack at it. Composer Gregory Smith is working with four schools’ worth of students to develop a jointly composed piece that will be played by the Brevard Symphony next February.

In 1997, Gil Rose founded the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) in the hope that America’s most aristocratic music scene might be ready for a different type of ensemble that embraced new music and placed more value on innovation than virtuosity. “Ten years and 42 world premieres later, BMOP is emerging as the national leader among orchestras of its ilk… Its performances draw the city’s youngest concert crowds by far, with their combination of Rose’s savvy programming, the orchestra’s incisive and stylish playing, and a general vibe that somehow weds a breezy coolness with a healthy dose of chaos.”

New Yorker music critic Alex Ross’s new book is getting plenty of attention for its accessible style and innovative ideas about the state of classical music. He also delves into what happened to concert music in the 20th century: “Ultimately, all music acts on its audience through the same physics of sound, shaking the air and arousing curious sensations. In the 20th century, however, musical life disintegrated into a teeming mass of cultures and subcultures, each with its own canon and jargon.”

“Anne Midgette, free-lance classical music critic, feature writer and reporter for The New York Times, is to step in for Tim Page as chief classical music critic at The Washington Post, starting in January. Page is taking a leave of absence to be a visiting professor at the University of Southern California.”

Terry Teachout finds it unconscionable that the New York Philharmonic would even consider playing a concert in North Korea. “What would you have thought if Franklin Roosevelt had encouraged the Philharmonic to accept an official invitation to play in Berlin in the spring of 1939? Do you think such a concert would have softened the hearts of the Nazis, any more than Jesse Owens’s victories in the 1936 Olympics changed their minds about racial equality? Or inspired the German people to rise up and revolt against Adolf Hilter? Or saved a single Jewish life?”

The debate is on in Denver over a proposed $550m bonding package funding various cultural and infrastructure projects that will come before voters in November. $60m of the money would go towards an overhaul of the city’s aging concert hall. Kyle MacMillan says that the importance of a great hall should not be taken lightly. “There has been much talk in recent years of trying to transform [Denver] into a world-class city. By definition, such cities have world-class cultural amenities, and Boettcher Concert Hall does not come close to making that grade.”

China’s avant-garde music scene is a small one, encompassing “only a few dozen musicians around the country,” but its impact is beginning to be felt internationally. Still, “though China may be in the beginnings of a new love affair with consumerism, rigid cultural controls are still in place, and discovery and transgression are values not widely held by the Communist government.”

“The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association not only balanced its books for the first time in four years, as it had projected, but also ended the 2007 fiscal year with a surplus of $113,000 on a $58 million operating budget. [The CSO] also reported a 4 percent increase in donations to its annual fund for a total of $18.6 million, and an increase in ticket sales as well, exceeding 85 percent paid capacity in Orchestra Hall for the second consecutive season.”

“Andrew Davis is cutting out early. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has agreed to let its artistic adviser out of the final season of his three-year contract, leaving five weekends of the current season on the table… Davis said in a statement that he has enjoyed his time here and hopes to find other dates to return as a guest conductor.”