Category: music

Concert Companion Taking Off

The much-hyped “Concert Companion,” a PDA-sized device which allows concertgoers to follow a written commentary to symphonic works live in the concert hall, is becoming the gotta-have-it item for major American orchestras. With successful trials in New York and Pittsburgh now complete, other orchestras are lining up for the chance to try out the device on their audiences. In fact, it may be hard for the supplier to keep up with demand, not so much for the hardware, but for the specialized commentary (written, up to this point, by ArtsJournal blogger Greg Sandow) which must be composed for each featured work.

KC Music Director Candidate Withdraws

Conductor David Lockington has withdrawn his name from consideration in the three-man race to become the new music director of the Kansas City Symphony, saying that he wishes to keep his focus on the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Symphony, which is preparing for its 75th anniversary next season. The Kansas City job would have been a considerable jump in prestige for Lockington, but no further reasons for his withdrawal have been given. The job will now likely go to either Stefan Sanderling or Michael Stern.

Asian Musicians Abused, Assaulted in NZ

Several Asian members of New Zealand’s Wellington Sinfonia were taunted with racial slurs this week while on tour in the town of Masterton this week, and one Asian violinist was physically assaulted on the street in an apparently racially-motivated incident. The woman “was approached by a girl described by witnesses as wearing ‘Gothic-style clothing’ and who said ‘why don’t you just go back to where you came from’ and then hit her in the face.”

ENO Tries Another Unconventional Show

The English National Opera is attempting to mount a major outdoor production of La Boheme in London’s Trafalgar Square, covering the whole area with fake grass in an effort to recreate the look and feel of Glyndebourne’s opera on the lawn. But on the heels of ENO’s wild and unconventional success at the Glastonbury Festival, this event may be a bust: “heavy rain and winds are forecast and picnics, bottles and outdoor furniture banned.” Still, all 7,000 free tickets to the event are already spoken for.

Make-Your-Own CDs (Legally)

A new music kiosk allows customers to mix their own CDs, choosing from 200,000 songs. “At $10 for the first seven songs and $1 per song after that, it’s not as cheap as free, but it is legal. And the service addresses a fundamental problem with how the music industry sells its product: People don’t like paying $15 for a 10-song album when they want only two of the tracks. The company hopes to expand the concept to digital movies, games and software.”

The £6 Million Pirate

A prolific music pirate lands in court. Prosecution says he made £6 million in ten years selling copies of bootlegged music. “He commissioned, manufactured and sold, here and elsewhere, unavailable or illicit recordings of musical works performed by virtually every well-known artist in the world. Members of the audience at concerts made illegal recordings which were used as master copies for the CDs. TV and radio performances were also illicitly taped, and tracks from existing records were duplicated, the court heard.”

The Longest Concert – Two Notes Down, 636 Years To Go

“In the abandoned Burchardi church in the German town of Halberstadt, the world’s longest concert moved two notes closer to its end Monday: Three years down, 636 to go. The addition of an E and E-sharp complement the G-sharp, B and G-sharp that have been playing since February 2003 in composer John Cage’s ‘Organ2/ASLSP’ — or ‘Organ squared/As slow as possible’.”

Pulitzer Music Changes And The Comfort Zone

What’s wrong with changes in eligibility for the Pulitzer Prize in music? “On the face of it, the changes instituted are small. The Prize will no longer be for a musical work of “significant dimension,” as the Board seems to feel that such language has tended to prevent composers of shorter pieces from submitting their work. The press release also states that the changes are intended to broaden the types of works available for review to include jazz, musical theater, movie scores “and other forms of musical excellence.” Never mind that such works have actually been eligible since the last overhaul of the Music Prize’s rules, the real problem that I have is how this restated emphasis on broadening the scope of musical works under consideration bespeaks the essential discomfort that the Pulitzer Prize Board has with art music.”

Mexico’s Music Piracy Standoff

“Entertainment bootlegging is sweeping the globe, but nowhere has the landscape changed more quickly than in Mexico. An estimated six out of every 10 CDs sold are believed to be bootlegs, vaulting Mexico to the No. 3 spot worldwide, behind China and Russia. But unlike those nations, Mexico has a long-established commercial industry that is getting pummeled in the process.”