John Luther Adams On What Makes His Music Tick

“Musically, I came of age in a time when there was this ongoing war between smart music and pretty music. And one of the things that I discovered was that it’s a false dichotomy. … The construction of the music, the intellectual care, the mathematical rigor, the algorithmic detail — all that is essential, even if you don’t hear it or you choose not to listen to it. … Music can be intellectually airtight and still sock you in the belly or grab you by the ears or seduce you, ravish you.” – The Nation

How Can Choirs Can Sing Together Again COVID-Safely? In Cars, Drive-In Movie-Style

“It started with David Newman, a baritone on the voice faculty of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. In May, after a widely discussed web conference on the dangers of singing, Mr. Newman set up a sound system with four wireless microphones, an old-school analog mixer and an amplifier. Several singers gathered in their cars on his street, and he conducted them from his driveway. It worked.” – The New York Times

As Late As 2019, Curtis Institute Failed To Respond To Lara St. John’s Allegations Of Rape And Sexual Abuse

“The damning, detailed 54-page report by the law firm Cozen O’Connor … shows that … time and again, the elite music conservatory on Rittenhouse Square failed to respond to St. John in a meaningful way to her accounts of rape and repeated abuse by violin professor Jascha Brodsky.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer

How Whitney Balliett Created A Blueprint For Writing About Jazz

He retained the enthusiasm of a fan, but it was married to the expressive virtuosity of a master writer who could extract from his typewriter something akin to what others drew from their saxophones and trumpets. It was almost as if he were a jazz musician himself, but one who wrote essays for The New Yorker instead of soloing over “I Got Rhythm” chords. – City Journal

Canadian Opera Company Shuts Down For 20/21 Season

“Earlier this summer, our team made a promise to ourselves — and to our audiences — to explore every possible option for going ahead with our season. Since then, however, the changing local health situation has made it clear that cancelling our original winter and spring programming is the only safe decision for our staff, artists, and audience members.” – Ludwig Van

Gramophone’s Record Of The Year Is Mirga’s Weinberg Symphonies Disc; Igor Levit Is Artist Of The Year

The English-speaking world’s most prestigious classical recording prize goes to DG’s release of Mieczysław Weinberg’s Symphonies No. 2 and No. 21, with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla conducting the City of Birmingham SO and Kremerata Baltica and Gidon Kremer playing the violin solos. Notable among the other awards is the rehabilitation of the Philadelphia Orchestra: 12 years after being pointedly left off the magazine’s list of the world’s 20 greatest symphonic ensembles, the band has been named Orchestra of the Year. (As David Patrick Stearns puts it in the accompanying essay, “Like all heavenly bodies, the Philadelphia Orchestra moves in and out of eclipse.”) – Gramophone