It’s official. The Montreal Symphony announces that Kent Nagano will be its new music director. “It is an extraordinary catch for both the MSO’s musicians and the city. Nagano has been touted as a potential successor to Daniel Barenboim at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and even Lorin Maazel at the New York Philharmonic.”
Category: music
Prokofiev’s Grandson In The Nightclub
Sergei Prokofiev’s grandson is 29 and is “already one of Britain’s hottest producers of garage music.” His new project is a string quartet, and he’s hoping to attract the young hip crowd to a nightclub to hear it.
Warner Music To Lay Off 1000
The recording company Warner says it will cut 20 percent of its 5000 worldwide workforce. “These significant steps to streamline Warner Music Group’s operations are essential to the future success of the company and to the expanding, ongoing opportunities for its people.”
What Minimalism Hath Wrought
Twenty years ago Minimalism was everywhere. It’s not heard so often anymore. But it’s had a major influence on music of the recent past. “Ultimately, the question isn’t whether this kind of music is still viable in the 21st century, but if what we have to say now can be adequately expressed by it. You see parallels in every epoch.”
Berlin’s New Operatic Reality
Berlin can no longer afford three opera houses, funded in the manner they traditionally have been. But it couldn’t close any of them either. “The solution that has now been imposed by the Berlin Senate, amid squeals of dismay and sighs of resignation, was predictable. The three opera houses — the Deutsche Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the Deutsche Oper and the Komische Oper — will remain open, but they must cut costs, including 220 jobs, and learn to live on smaller subsidies. They are also to share workshops, and will shortly merge their three ballet companies into a single Staatsballett Berlin.”
Cleveland Orchestra Boss Steps Down After 17 Years
After 17 years as executive director, Thomas Morris leaves the Cleveland Orchestra. “Morris’ tenure in Cleveland strikingly reflects the paradoxes that surround world-class orchestras. Sublime artistic accomplishments are accompanied by endless financial challenges and sometimes heated relations between musicians, conductors and management.”
The ENO’s Coliseum – Nice To Look At, Hard To Hear
The English National Opera moves back into its home at the Coliseum, but the critics are kept away. Still, Peter Jessup gets a peek inside, and reports that the makeover of the theatre is quite handsome. But up in the higher balcony, it’s still difficult to hear what’s going on…
The ENO’s New Era Begins (Haltingly)
Friday night, the English National Opera finally got to play in its newly refurbished home, after a long delay. “The good news is that the performance finally went ahead, the first building block in the first ENO Ring for more than a quarter of a century. The bad news is that, at the last moment, ENO told opera critics to stay away, citing inadequate stage preparation time since the company reclaimed its home theatre this month after an eight-month refit.”
La Scala’s Grand Makeover
The fix-up of La Scala opera house should be completed by November 10. “The new architecture includes a striking elliptical extension rising from the classical building. The new stage tower is 2.4 metres taller than its predecessor, while the stage area will be twice the size at 1,600 square metres. The rebuild will allow La Scala to mount no less than three different productions simultaneously.”
Are Competitions Taking Advantage Of Composers?
Composers are anxious to get their music performed. And competitions can provide exposure for young composers. But some competitions charge large entry fees and “sometimes you get the feeling the money involved in these application fees is going to be the prize money, and what that’s doing is creating a prize off the back of the losing composers.”