Category: music

The Wichita Symphony will cut its season after four years of declining attendance. “The orchestra will offer eight concerts in its classical season rather than the traditional 10. It would be the first time in about 50 years that the symphony would offer fewer than 10 classical concerts a season. The decision was made in the face of declining season ticket sales, flat revenue from its endowment and an uncertain local economy.”

“A rare 18th-Century cello, by Italian cello maker Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, has sold for a record price of £341,250 at Christie’s in London. Made in the northern Italian city of Parma in 1760, it is one of only five Guadagnini cellos which have come to auction in the last 20 years.”

“Yoko Ono has topped the US dance charts with a record backing gay marriage. The 71-year-old widow of John Lennon recorded Every Man Has A Man Who Loves Him to voice her support for the controversial issue. It is a new version of Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him, which she recorded nearly 25 years ago. Ono has also recorded a lesbian version of the song.”

Studio recording of opera is almost exactly a century old. A new recording of Tristan now underway is “almost certain to prove the last commercial audio recording of an opera to be made in a studio. With the market shrinking and media formats changing, the figures just can’t be made to add up. In a broader cultural perspective, how much does this matter?”

“When James Salamanca joined the Portland Youth Philharmonic five years ago, he had no idea what music would mean to him today. A standout musician, he’s 19 now, and a U.S. Marine fighting in Iraq. But music, he says, helps keep him going.”

Independent European recording companies are challenging the EU’s decision to allow a merger of Sony and Bertelsman. “Impala, the body representing 2,500 indie labels, is appealing to prevent what is calls a ‘market imbalance’. Permission for them to merge meant that 80% of the world’s music is owned by just four records companies.”

“Tours like the San Francisco Symphony’s current two-week stint through Italy, Greece and Spain require large investments of money, time and operational resources, all for the sake of keeping the orchestra in the consciousness of the larger musical world.” The symphony’s executive director, Brent Assink, says touring isn’t just necessary. It’s fundamental.

Starbucks is getting into the music business in a big way, producing and selling CD’s and even making it possible for customers to make their own compilations. The coffee retailer figures to be a player in the recording industry, even cracking the top music charts.

Musical ringtones are outselling CDs, according to the new Billboard charts. “The inaugural top ringy-dingy choice goes to … drumroll … “My Boo” by Usher and Alicia Keys. It inspired 97,000 purchases last week. By contrast, the No. 1 legal song download of the week – U2’s “Vertigo” – drew 25,000 buyers.”

Mstislav Rostropovich has had a brilliant career. Now he says it’s time to give something back. So he started a foundation to identify and support seven promising young musicians. Each month , he pays living and teaching money. He also helps them get concert engagements, buy instruments and pay for masterclasses.