The violin soloist and the hip-hop trailblazer, as well as the peace-through-music nonprofit Playing for Change, will each receive an award of one million Swedish kronor (more than $108,000) from the fund created by ABBA’s late manager and publisher, Stig Anderson. – Billboard
Category: music
New Concert Hall Designed By Frank Gehry Proposed For Wimbledon
Former Hollywood film director Anthony Wilkinson – now director of Wimbledon International Music Festival – is looking to raise around £100 million for the concert hall. Wilkinson told the AJ the facility could host ‘the finest music of all genres featuring significant musicians from around the world’. – Architects’ Journal
How Music Gives You The Chills
“Neuroscientists have some ideas of about where these [physical responses] come from — essentially neurological reactions to being pleasantly surprised … Music’s ability to trigger moods, emotions, and memories make it a tool that could help treat patients struggling with anxiety or depression, especially when these conditions are related to other physical ailments, and even types of dementia.” – Quartz
The Bluegrass Song About Atonal Music That’s Gone Viral On YouTube
“(Gimme some of that) Ol’ Atonal Music,” by the singer Merle Hazard, details in sunny and endearing tones a love of atonality, while explaining to newbies what that is (music that isn’t in one clear key), and includes the best atonal banjo solo you’ve ever heard (probably the only atonal banjo solo you’ve ever heard). That the solo, and the production values, are so good, is no surprise: The soloist and the recording’s producer is Alison Brown, one of the leading five-string banjo players in the country. Combine that with a crack backup band, Hazard’s sweetly earnest delivery and a John Cage spoof that’s actually funny, and you have a lot of people laughing at their desks. – Washington Post
You’re Not Wrong: Pop Music Today Sounds Different – How Science Killed Sonic Nuance
Our ears perceive loudness in an environment by reflexively noting the dynamic range — the difference between the softest and loudest sounds (in this case, the environment is the recording itself, not the room you are playing it in). A blaring television commercial may make us turn down the volume of our sets, but its sonic peaks are no higher than the regular programming preceding it. The commercial just hits those peaks more often. A radio station playing classical music may be broadcasting a signal with the same maximum strength as one playing hip-hop, but the classical station broadcast will hit that peak perhaps once every few minutes, while the hip-hop station’s signal may peak several times per second. – The New York Times
Country Music, Politics, And The Problem When You Don’t Fit In
A few years ago there was an expectation that stars such as Sturgill Simpson and Margo Price might bring a new sound and sensibility to country music. Instead, they became their own subgenre and today are often classified as “Americana” artists, a subset of roots music aimed largely at liberals. – Washington Post
Criminalizing Drill Rappers For Performing Their Work Is Dangerous
“As a letter signed this week by human rights organisations, lawyers, academics and musicians argues, criminalising artists in this way is both unjust and ineffective. It is unjust because it denies the basic freedoms of those who are attempting to creatively, if distastefully, expose their experiences of subsistent life in the bleakest urban pockets of British society. And it will be ineffective at achieving any reduction in violence because it simply does nothing to address its root causes.” – The Guardian
The Boston Symphony Orchestra Wins Its Third Grammy In Four Years
It’s a Shostakovich three-peat for the orchestra and its conductor, Andris Nelsons. Nelsons: “I don’t even know what to say. … I’m very happy, and honored, but mostly I’m proud of the Boston Symphony for very deeply playing and understanding these great symphonies.” – The Boston Globe
Tuba Players Can Get Awfully Lonely In Their School Bands, Which Is Why Youth Symphonies Are So Important
Well, that’s one reason, anyway. “Having a buddy relieves some of the solo tuba pressure. Plus, it’s fun to have someone to learn from and decompress with.” – Chicago Tribune
The Grammys Had A Surprise Special Guest
Surprise! “Those expecting a ho-hum Grammys night were surely jolted awake on Sunday when, just minutes into the show, Michelle Obama walked onto the stage hand-in-hand with Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith and Jennifer Lopez. They were joined by the host Alicia Keys.” And by the way, here’s the complete list of winners. – The New York Times