Category: music

The musicians of the North Carolina-based Charlotte Symphony have agreed to “give up two weeks of work, and forgo most of a pair of raises called for in their contract” in order to help the organization cope with an ongoing deficit problem. “The base salary will fall to $34,770 from this season’s $36,000.”

London’s Sunday Times is being sued by the Jimi Hendrix estate over the newspaper’s free distribution of CDs containing guitar tracks by the late guitarist. “The two companies say in the claim that they attempted to stop the distribution of the CDs but that the Sunday Times ignored their warnings.”

Norman Lebrecht is classical music’s most controversial journalist. A prolific author, columnist and essayist, he joins the world of blogging this week with his new blog “Slipped Disc”. Agree or disagree with him, he’s always a provocative force, so check him out on ArtsJournal.

Frank Oteri is confused about the Best Of lists of music he sees. “We’ve all got war stories about the snobbery of classical music, particularly those of us who cavort in things contemporary. But the snobbery seems to go both ways. In the circle of folks who claim to be broadminded, why has music now become a catch-all phrase for every genre except classical? Maybe, once and for all, it’s time to earnestly knock down this wall, or burst this bubble. (Choose whatever metaphor you like.) But how?”

“Anyone who has tried to learn Chinese can attest to how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand it. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges. Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese” because “both skills draw on parts of the brain that help people detect changes in pitch.”

Paul Jacobs, chairman of the organ department at the Juilliard School, says he wants “to draw attention to an instrument that is sorely misunderstood and neglected by the mainstream of classical music.” He scoffs at organists who demand historically correct playing at the expense of artistic interpretation. “‘Part of me thinks: “Who ordained you?'” he says. “We need musicians who can promote their work with fire and conviction.”

CBC’s Radio Two is cutting back on classical music. “The non-classical music that the network had relegated to late nights and weekends is now being given a prominent home in the evening hours, all part of Radio Two’s new programming lineup.”

“‘We are challenging the situation by trying to not be too far from the public. We are trying to put on a concert every month, but circumstances are very difficult. So the performances that the orchestra do put on are private and rarefied, little events for a small audience who do not have to travel very far or have their own security, and put on mainly at the city’s two subscription – only ‘country clubs’. Other events are by invitation only, for government officials and diplomats from the Green Zone. Even Iraq’s music has become gated.”

An economist figures out the cost of “free: music.” “He said that $50 per year from every person who listens to music would “meet or exceed the current over the counter sales of the music industry at a far lower cost,” but that because of deeply-entrenched flaws in the outmoded business models used by the labels that have evolved over the years, we’re unlikely ever to see such a system put in place — despite the fact that it would increase profits while allowing people far greater access to music.”

Composers who were prisoners during World War II generally never saw their work performed or receive the attention it might have had in other times. “Italian researchers hope thousands of nearly forgotten works will find new life as they assemble a library of music composed or played in those dark places between 1933 and 1945. ‘We are trying to right a great wrong: These musicians were hoping for a musical life for themselves, and they would have had it if their destiny had been different’.”