Category: music

Metropolitan Opera general manager Joseph Volpe announces he’ll leave the company after 40 years. “He said he had been preparing to step down for some time. The workload and the demands of attending at least four performances a week had become taxing, he said.”

Sales figures in the UK of record singles show a one-third decline, from “52.5m in 2002 to 35.9m last year. The drop is mirrored by a ‘disturbing’ increase in illegal in ternet downloads. But albums continue to rise in popularity, which means the total value of record sales remained steady.”

Reversing a decision aimed at saving money, “the Opera Company of Brooklyn will no longer use a computer that replicates an orchestra in place of live musicians. A deal reached with the musicians’ union explicitly bans the use of the computer, known as a virtual orchestra machine, or any other type of synthetic music, the union and opera announced Monday.”

Tower Records has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday morning. “The Chapter 11 filing caps a long period of financial distress for Tower, a chain of nearly 100 stores that sells music and video entertainment in various formats. Sources had said money-losing Tower was unable to find a suitable buyer.”

Here’s a list of classical music recordings that won at this year’s Grammys.

Since Apple released GarageBand, its digital music creation application, the internet has become jammed with amateur musicians posting their musical creations. “The amount of creative energy that GarageBand is creating is staggering. Apple has created a monster…. As a pro musician/producer, I love this app. It puts the fun back into creating. I’m amazed.”

Peter G. Davis is ready to declare 31-year-old tenor Juan Diego Flórez a star, after his New York debut. “There has been no shortage of agile tenors recently to handle the florid bel canto repertory, but none I’ve encountered offers this kind of total package. Flórez’s accurate articulation of coloratura and the sheer fizz of his passagework, without loss of tonal quality or definition, take the breath away.”

A new study measures the economic impact of Seattle’s music business. Figures show that the music business generates “more than $650 million in annual revenue and 8,700 jobs for the local economy, according to an economic impact study released last night by Mayor Greg Nickels. When combined with revenue generated by businesses that support the core music industry, the figure tops $1.3 billion.”

Rap has clearly established itself as a major cultural force. “What’s less clear – but no less true – is that rap’s cultural ascendence happens to coincide with the music’s creative bankruptcy.”

Beyonce and Hiphop rule at the 47th Grammy Awards. “For best classical album, two recordings of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 were competing. The version conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas won over Mr. Boulez’s, though the Boulez album took the honor for best orchestral performance. Winning three awards was Yo-Yo Ma’s Obrigado Brazil.”