Category: music

At least three of America’s top orchestras have decided to keep a new nationwide agreement governing self-produced recordings at arm’s length, in the belief that it doesn’t go far enough towards addressing problems with the current American system of orchestral recording. The new agreement, which allows some orchestras to reduce upfront payments to musicians, is optional (any project undertaken must be approved by the orchestra’s musicians) and restricted to recordings made from live concert tapes. Some in the industry believe that a wholesale overhaul of recording agreements is needed.

Poet and lyricist Simon Armitage discusses the surprisingly rewarding experience of writing an opera libretto. “It was Craig Raine who said that librettists are to opera what toilets are to theatres. So when someone from the Edinburgh festival asked if I’d be interested in writing the words for a newly commissioned opera, I hesitated. I’ve never thought of what I do as a mere functional necessity and, despite having the surname Armitage, I don’t take kindly to being pissed on. But in the end I couldn’t say no.”

As the phenomenon of downloadable media continues to entrance the classical music world, marathons have become the hottest promotions going. “Blockbusters, bonkbusters, eat as much as you can for £5, sit through the whole of the Ring with a nasal feeding tube and a catheter… Hogarthian feasting is in vogue, with total immersion in composers, artists, playwrights and film directors sold to us as ultimate experiences. But is this an aesthetically rewarding endeavour or a marketing ploy?”

A new contract between the American musicians union and 48 orchestras redefines recording rules. “The new agreement will provide a greater opportunity for symphony orchestras to record. It ultimately will enable a symphony to get its product into the marketplace and maintain a presence that may otherwise be lacking.”

There was a time when composer Steve Reich was derided for the “simplicity” of his music. But “more than any living composer, Steve Reich transformed the image of contemporary classical music from painfully abstruse to potentially cool. Vinyl remixes of his early works can be heard at many dance clubs (there’s a new set out next month from Warner).”

So how much value is the average critic’s take on music? “The more I think about the process of listening to music, the more I realize that any listener’s reactions to a piece are his or her own and have little to do with the music they are listening to, at least in so far as how that music will relate to any other listener. They also vary over time. Each time you listen to something, what you are listening to is clouded both by what you’ve heard before and what you haven’t heard before. A repeated listen to a specific piece of music will never be the same as a first listen, but neither will multiple experiences to similar musical ideas in any piece be the same as that initial encounter with such an idea.”

During the days of the Soviet Union, playing the piano was officially encouraged as a path to excellence and cultural superiority. But now Russians are dumping the instruments. “Pianos are being forced out by Ikea furniture and Japanese stereo systems as young professionals turn their back on their parents’ dreams of having a classical pianist in the family. The scramble to get rid of the instruments is seen as the latest blow to Russian cultural prestige in the wake of high-profile artists opting to ply their trade abroad and even taking foreign citizenship.”

“There are signs that the festival organisers, and its audiences, are becoming entirely cut off from the concerns of ordinary concert-goers and Wagner-lovers. Amazingly, the festival is still run by Wolfgang Wagner, Richard’s grandson, who is 86, and a stubbornly efficient administrator rather than a great artist (unlike his brother, Wieland, who died in 1966). Wolfgang’s productions have been, on the whole, unremarkable.”

When Tim Mangan’s old roommate sent a review copy of his CD to Fanfare magazine, he got a curious response. “The editor of Fanfare, Joel Flegler, had sent him a letter quoting ad rates. If my roommate bought an ad, it said, his recording would be reviewed. If he bought a bigger ad or placed ads in consecutive issues, the editor would arrange for my roommate to be interviewed. The ad rates ranged from $706-$1,853. If he didn’t buy an ad, a review might be forthcoming but there was no guarantee, and his CD would not ‘be given top priority.’ My roommate asked me if he should consider the deal.”