Category: music

John von Rhen makes his choices of the year’s best…

As the New York Philharmonic begins looking for a successor to Lorin Maazel, the orchestra ought to be thinking about getting a leader who will participate more in its community. “The debate about the future of classical music and the role of the symphony orchestra goes on across the country, but the Philharmonic under Mr. Maazel is not part of the conversation. Despite the problems facing orchestras, there are real success stories and encouraging news to report. But is anyone looking to the Philharmonic for answers?”

“A German court on Thursday began considering a lawsuit seeking royalties from the heirs of German composer Richard Strauss for nine works, including opera favourites Der Rosenkavalier and Elektra. In the suit, five heirs of Austrian writer Hugo von Hofmannsthal claim they have a right to about a quarter of the royalties from the operas, for which Strauss wrote the music and his partner von Hofmannsthal the libretto, or words. The payments would amount to nearly $1-million a year.”

“Struggling to fill seats for some Holiday Pops concerts, the Boston Pops have cut the size of the orchestra in half for five of the performances, including the Pops’ pricey New Year’s Eve show. The move to a 40-person ensemble has angered Boston Symphony Orchestra players, who sent a petition to BSO management raising concerns about whether ticket buyers for the concerts… will feel misled when they show up at Symphony Hall.”

Still looking for the perfect Christmas gift for the music lover in your life? The music critics of the New York Times are here to help, with their annual roundup of the best classical CDs of 2006. On the list this year: Lorraine Hunt Lieberson’s last album, the London Symphony’s Beethoven cycle, plenty of Mozart (have you heard? It’s his 250th birthday!), and a new Concertgebouw recording of Stravinsky.

The Boston Symphony’s summer home at Tanglewood suffered an estimated $250,000 of damage last week when hurricane-force winds ripped through the area. “There were 300 trees down on the grounds, but the cleanup will be complete by the time Tanglewood opens in late June.”

The British government will boost its budget for combating music piracy by £5 million next year, and is prepared to launch an all-out crackdown on illegal file-trading. “A wide-ranging intellectual property review [also] recommended the existing 50-year copyright term for sound recordings be retained, much to the chagrin of a vocal lobby of major record labels and artists who wanted it increased.”

The Grammy nominations are out, and the London Symphony’s live-to-tape Beethoven symphony cycle will be going up against a much-lauded new recording of Mahler’s 7th Symphony by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony for best classical album. Other notable nominees include Osvaldo Golijov’s Fountain of Tears in the opera category, pianist Martha Argerich for a live recording from the Lugano Festival, and the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson for her solo album entitled “Rilke Songs.”

Two small L.A. opera companies have been forced to cancel productions this week. El Dorado Opera and Lyric Opera of Los Angeles are both facing financial difficulties, and not having the resources of larger companies, they’ve begun scrapping shows in the middle of the holiday concert season.

What is it about Wagner’s Ring cycle that has such a hold on so many people? “It’s absurd, lasts for ever, and has no sympathetic characters… [Furthermore, if it] does not appeal to women as much as men, it is perhaps because Wagner’s idea of love doesn’t extend much beyond sexual passion.” Still, there’s no denying the raw power of the music, as a first time Ringer found out in Cardiff this week.