Category: music

Composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies is 70 this year and being feted in a style befitting a man who has transformed the Scottish music world. “When he announced a few years ago that he had written his final symphony, and that his focus would now be centred on the intimate world of chamber music and a cycle of ten string quartets, many wondered if this was a euphemism for early retirement. In fact, as the quartets roll off the Maxwell Davies production line with remarkable ease and efficiency, a phenomenal rejuvenation process is taking place.”

Scottish conductor Donald Runnicles, who had speculated that he might choose to leave the U.S. if President Bush were reelected, has apparently decided to remain stateside after all, agreeing to a 3-year extension of his contract as music director of the San Francisco Opera. The new contract will keep Runnicles in San Francisco through the 2008-09 season, which will end several months after President Bush leaves office.

There are thousands of choruses in America. But “I often wonder why so many of us have such a poor image of choral singing. Is it because almost anyone who can sing can be a member? Do we think only those who play instruments are “real” musicians? Did we have a poor experience in school? Did we suffer through ill-prepared programs sung by poor voices? Or is it that we only support “big-name” groups under world-famous conductors?”

“Sage Gateshead, a £70m music centre designed by Foster and Partners, could completely reorient Britain’s artistic map when it opens on December 17. It won the biggest lottery grant in the country outside London – £47m – and is the latest and most ambitious of Gateshead’s confident wedge of new landmarks, alongside the Baltic art gallery and the blinking-eye bridge.”

How much should physical appearance count for opera singers? “Vocal endowment is obviously the most important factor in casting a role, but is it everything? Shouldn’t the element of drama in opera demand that singers look reasonably like the characters they portray? And what about the new generation? Do younger singers who have grown up in a visually oriented age believe that looking good and staying in shape are prerequisites for a career?”

The world of concert pianists has traditionally been male. “But things have begun to change, especially in the past decade or so. Although it’s impossible to make precise comparisons, more top-drawer female pianists are probably touring internationally today than ever before.”

The reopening of Venice’s La Fenice, one of Europe’s historic opera houses, was a grand civic occasion. “With le tout Venice and more on hand, the operatic reopening was as much a political and social occasion as a musical moment. Special guests included King Albert and Queen Paola of Belgium; Romano Prodi, the outgoing president of the European Commission who is busily planning his return to Italian politics; and a host of ministers and officials. Venetians who simply wanted to be there paid the equivalent of $1,290 each for the privilege.”

The UK’s music world seems to have accepted that Scottish Opera will be going dark for at least a year next fall, under a bizarre bailout plan proposed by the Scottish Executive. Andrew Clark insists that the supposed rescue plan should not simply be accepted by the public, especially since the Executive’s real aim may be to dismantle the company completely. “The axe has already fallen on the chorus. What about the orchestra and ancillary staff? Are they going to hang around for a year to see if there is a company worth reviving when the trickle of subsidy resumes in mid-2006?”

“Conductor Seiji Ozawa, artistic director of the Vienna State Opera, will open a music academy overlooking Lake Geneva. The daily Tribune de Geneve said Friday the academy will offer students the opportunity to perform chamber music with world-class professors. Ozawa, who spent 29 years with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, hopes to attract the best young talent in Europe to the school in the village of Blonay, above Montreux… Tuition will be free, [and] Ozawa hopes to admit 20 to the inaugural class next summer.”

The Houston Symphony is trying out a new dress code for its female musicians, allowing the players to back away from the traditional all-black garb which was conceived as a way to be sure that no one player stood out from the pack. After complaints from musicians about the code, and some backstage discussions about potential changes, “management OK’d the idea and helped write guidelines so that no one showed up in ‘an Elizabeth Hurley outfit.'”