Category: music

Violinist Pekka Kuusisto may be “the best thing to happen to classical music in years… There’s something appealingly chaotic about a violinist who can play concertos in front of the LA Philharmonic, but is defeated by nail polish remover.”

“Outreach and accessibility sit cheek by jowl with the main stage performances, and its activities in fostering new talent and educational work make it clear that the ROH is supporting a living, changing art.”

Comparisons between Gustavo Dudamel (26) and Britain’s Simon Rattle have been frequently voiced, and Rattle has, indeed, been eloquent in praise of this remarkable newcomer. It’s not just the mop of curly hair, however; if you watch early Rattle DVDs… you see that same eagerness to put things across, that obsession almost to reach into the orchestra and pull things out into the light, that made everything in last week’s concert, wherever you sat in Disney Hall, more vivid, more thrilling. We need conductors like that; now we have one more.”

Austria’s year-long festival celebrating Mozart’s 250th birthday drew 1.2 million visitors – a record for an Austrian festival. “Because of the tremendous interest in classical music generated by the Mozart events, there are now plans to establish a composers’ alliance this summer to better promote contemporary European musical talents.”

Soprano Deborah Voigt’s much-publicized weight loss has not detracted from her voice, Mark Swed writes; rather, it’s added to her performance palette. “Until recently, she was a large woman with a lively personality who stood and belted. Now with less, she is much more.”

Faculty members of Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music decided to thank workers building a new concert hall for the school by going out to the construction site and playing music for them. “The 1,140-seat concert hall is set to open early next year. When the conservatory faculty heard about PCL’s thank-you lunch, members offered to provide a half hour of music.”

The Cleveland Orchestra heads to Miami for a three-week residency. Why? The orchestra is looking for new markets. “The Cleveland Orchestra is not alone in searching for new performing worlds to conquer. Indeed, out-of-town residencies are becoming the wave of the future for some of the world’s most forward-looking orchestras.”

“Despite budget cuts that have plagued all of Italy’s art institutions, the San Carlo [in Naples] has managed to stage innovative programs that lure longtime devotees as well as young newcomers–unlike its chief rival, Milan’s La Scala, which tends toward big, old-fashioned shows that are fed as much by tourists as by locals. More than half of La Scala’s ticket sales are by the day, while the San Carlo’s are primarily by season.”

Justin Davidson writes that Tan Dun’s “First Emperor” is trapped in opera’s current production system. “In a sense, there is no excuse for an opera that was commissioned a decade ago getting to opening night without its final coat of varnish. The Met is not the place for tryouts. But company, composer, audience and cast are all locked into a peculiar system that makes it difficult for new operas to mature.”

“The purchase and collection of CDs is getting a little harder — but while the future of music leans toward cyberspace, experts also feel the CD and the record store will remain a part of the music industry. The song will remahe same, but the shops’ roles will be different.”