The festival, planned for the site of the original, was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the iconic music festival. But Monday, the financial backer pulled out. “I don’t know whether it’s money, insurance, water, safety. I think it would be a great bill if it could have happened. But if it can’t happen, it can’t happen.” – Washington Post
Category: music
Spotify Passes 100 Million Subscriber Mark
“The number of users willing to pay for the [music streaming] service soared 32% in the first three months of 2019 compared with a year earlier, Spotify said on Monday.” – The Guardian
Who’ll Play The Polonium? New Opera Coming About Death Of Alexander Litvinenko
The Life & Death of Alexander Litvinenko, a work about the poisoning of the former FSB agent and dissident Russian émigré in London in 2008, with music by Anthony Bolton and text by Kit Hesketh-Harvey, will premiere in summer 2020 at England’s Grange Park Opera. – The Times (UK)
Neuroscience Tries To Figure Out Why Music Gets Hold Of Us
“We’re starting to comprehend how melodies affect our feelings, why certain music makes us want to get up and dance and why some harmonies trigger fear. Some studies have already had direct applications in the field of music therapy, which uses music to treat neurological, emotional and physical disorders.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Head Of Met Opera’s National Council Auditions Talks About How Jurors Choose The Winners
New York Times classical critic Anthony Tommasini found he didn’t entirely agree with the choice of winners at this year’s finals. So he called National Council Auditions executive director executive director about what the jury looks and listens for. – The New York Times
After Newspaper Feature About Young Cellist With Troubled Past, $141,000 In Donations Pour In
“Eddie Adams didn’t have the money to buy college textbooks this semester, so he had to rely on his classmates at George Mason University to loan him theirs. He is the principal cellist in the school orchestra, but he couldn’t afford to buy or even rent a cello. That, too, he had to borrow. That was two weeks ago.” – The Washington Post
Counting Costs Of The Chicago Symphony Strike
The relationship between musicians and management stands foremost in need of repair, with pointed words having been exchanged in both directions. Is there any positive feeling left? – Chicago Tribune
Despite Controversy, Edinburgh’s New Concert Hall Gets Final Go-Ahead
The Dunard Centre, with a 1,000-seat main auditorium and a 200-seat chamber hall/recording studio, will be the home venue for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and an additional performance space for the Edinburgh International Festival. – Edinburgh Evening News
How To Make It Big In Music
What will happen to classical in this world where labels have to get the algorithms on an artist’s side side – and appeal to a bunch of people making the playlists on Spotify. “Last year the money made by record labels from streaming surpassed income from the sale of traditional formats.” – The Observer (UK)
Why Does Hollywood Hate Pop Music, And Pop Stars?
The hated pop stars are, of course, almost all women. And, by the way, “isn’t there an inherent irony in cinema offering a ‘serious’ take on mass culture while seeking commercial gain? Few of these tales manage to communicate what still makes pop music so appealing and popular.” – The Guardian (UK)