Category: music

Faced with virulent opposition from its fans, the Grateful Dead is reconsidering its decision to disallow free downloading of its concerts…

“At the make it now or never age of 33, Simone Dinnerstein is among the numerous talented classical concert artists who are learning the realities of creating a career without the cachet of being a child prodigy or major competition winner. That means raising funds herself for recordings and concerts. Having begun a successful series of concerts playing J.S. Bach’s 80-minute keyboard Everest, the Goldberg Variations, in Philadelphia in December 2002, she financed her own recording of the piece in February to circulate among the music industry (it has been featured on XM satellite radio).” She followed that up with a recital at Carnegie Hall…”

The trouble with being a solo musician is that your career is frequently at the mercy of other people’s priorities, whether they be agents, orchestra managers, or whomever. Rarely does a promising young soloist have the time (or the will) to fully manage her/his own career, and the result is a descent into an exhausting and unfriendly world of bookings, recording gigs, and an endless search for more recognition. But as 26-year-old British violinist Jack Liebeck is showing, there is a way to skirt the “usual” process and emerge with both a healthy career and an intact psyche – just do everything yourself.

Mstislav Rostropovich has pulled out of the Bolshoi Opera’s world premiere production of the Prokofiev opera, War & Peace, after becoming frustrated with the lack of professionalism at the company. The cellist and conductor had reportedly clashed with Bolshoi management, and was further upset by singers he found to be unprepared, and by an orchestra that featured a continually revolving roster of musicians. The production was to have marked Rostropovich’s return to Moscow’s musical fold, seven years after his last performance there met with unfavorable reviews.

Bootleg recordings are a mainstay of the jam band genre, with bands regularly encouraging fans to tape their concerts and trade the resulting recordings amongst themselves. But now, the very band that led the jam band explosion, is angering its fans by cracking down on a website that offered such bootlegs for free download. The Grateful Dead, which exists these days primarily as a business in charge of marketing old product, wants the bootlegs to be available only for online listening, rather than downloading. Already, the international Deadhead community has roared into action, circulating a petition protesting the action and threatening a boycott.

After a rocky two years, Sean Doran is out as director of the English National Opera. “His inexperience was flagrantly exposed as big operas were slotted in with small, causing chaos in the schedules and disgruntlement in the orchestra.”

Sean Doran’s abrupt departure from the English National Opera, follows a tumultuous tenure. “His resignation, which is to take effect immediately, followed rumours of clashes with the ENO’s vice-chairman Vernon Ellis. According to a source at the ENO, following a board meeting three weeks ago Ellis, chairman of consultancy group Accenture, has been taking a “close interest” in the management of the company and has been at the Coliseum most days.”

The Vancouver Symphony had a great year at the box office last year. “Subscriptions jumped 11 per cent and single-ticket sales edged up 5 per cent, putting a shine on a year that also saw a 7 per cent increase in gifts from major donors.”

“The Virtual Air Guitar project, developed at the Helsinki University of Technology, adds genuine electric guitar sounds to the passionately played air guitar. Using a computer to monitor the hand movements of a “player”, the system adds riffs and licks to match frantic mid-air finger work. By responding instantly to a wide variety of gestures it promises to turn even the least musically gifted air guitarist to a virtual fret board virtuoso.”

“It’s clearly time to move on. Think about it: No more nails-on-chalkboard-style skipping. No more secret tracks that scare the stuffing out of you 15 minutes after you think an album has stopped playing. No more fumbling around with those impossible-to-unwrap jewel cases. It was fun while it lasted. The music industry has declared war on its customers. Now it’s time to fight back.”