Joseph Young, a former assistant conductor at the Atlanta Symphony and currently Director of Ensembles at the Peabody Institute, was called in as a last-minute substitute for a Berkeley Symphony program at the end of January, and the chemistry was — well, we know that story. Young will now replace Joana Carneiro in a post that was held for decades by Kent Nagano. – San Francisco Chronicle
Category: music
English National Opera Artistic Director Daniel Kramer Resigns
The American theatre director, now 42, had never run an organization when he took the helm at the then-troubled ENO in 2016. Things appear to have stabilized at the company financially and administratively, but the company’s productions are considered to have veered wildly between brilliant successes and painful disasters — so many are wondering if Kramer’s departure is voluntary. – The Guardian
Donald Trump Meeting Mao Zedong Could Be The Salvation Of Cantonese Opera
Wait, what? Yes, a new work in the traditional Cantonese opera format shows a young Donald Trump meeting the Chairman on a trip to China in 1972. The hope is that this piece, titled Trump on Show, could show younger Hong Kong audiences that their traditional music-theater isn’t just a historical curiosity. – Quartz
Outdoor Piano Concert Attracts Bats. The Ravel Made Them Furious!
Boris Giltburg: “Those critters just wouldn’t budge. They seemed to appear on the keyboard out of nowhere and then stayed there, lethargically, utterly unresponsive to any shooing movement I managed to produce while playing. I had a choice: to close my eyes and constantly risk my fingers landing on one, or keep my eyes open and observe a mass of insects all moving ever so slightly on the keyboard.” – The Guardian
Why We Love Music? A Battle Between Order And Disorder
Human beings have a conflicted relationship to this order-disorder nexus. We are alternately attracted from one to the other. We admire principles and laws and order. We embrace reasons and causes. We seek predictability. Some of the time. On other occasions, we value spontaneity, unpredictability, novelty, unconstrained personal freedom.
Why Is This Chicago Symphony Strike Different From All Other Chicago Symphony Strikes?
“The last strike, in 2012, was settled in two days, and the 1992 work action, in 15 days. Why is this one taking so long? Talks with Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association management, musicians, subscribers and donors reveal four factors making this strike unlike the others.” – Crain’s Chicago Business
Ellen Reid’s ‘p r i s m’ Wins Pulitzer Prize For Music
“The Pulitzer jury described the winning piece as a ‘bold new operatic work that uses sophisticated vocal writing and striking instrumental timbres to confront difficult subject matter: the effects of sexual and emotional abuse.'” Here, along with sound samples, is a Q&A with the composer and reporter Tom Huizenga. – NPR
The Singularity Is Complete: Tyshawn Sorey Glues Together Jazz And Classical (And Whatever Else Appeals To Him)
Sorey’s work eludes the pinging radar of genre and style. Is it jazz? New classical music? Composition? Improvisation? Tonal? Atonal? Minimal? Maximal? Each term captures a part of what Sorey does, but far from all of it. At the same time, he is not one of those crossover artists who indiscriminately mash genres together. – The New Yorker
Report: Amazon Said To Be Planning New Streaming Service
The world’s biggest e-retailer would market the free music service through its voice-activated Echo speakers, sources say, and would offer a limited catalog. It could become available as early as next week. – Billboard
Yo Yo Ma Brings His Cello To The US-Mexico Border
“As you all know, as you did and do and will do, in culture, we build bridges, not walls,” he said. After his performance, he gestured to the bridge to his right. “I’ve lived my life at the borders. Between cultures. Between disciplines. Between musics. Between generations.” – NPR