Category: music

The appointment of Deborah Card as new president of the Chicago Symphony is notable. But then again, it’s not notable that she’s a woman taking the job. “Women may still be scarce on conductors’ podiums, and gains still have to be made among the ranks of orchestral players, in brass sections especially. But more and more women are emerging in the top administrative ranks of America’s most important orchestras and opera companies.”

“In a field where jealousies and rivalries abound, it’s rare to find an orchestra manager as widely admired as the savvy, experienced executive director of the Seattle Symphony (since 1992). Technically speaking, Deborah Card isn’t the first woman ever to manage the CSO. That honor falls to the long-forgotten Anna Millar, who served in that capacity from 1895 to 1899 during founder Theodore Thomas’ tenure. And there are numerous women running smaller U.S. orchestras.”

Are kids on talent shows really the “most talented?” “The success of ‘American Idol’ last year has spawned imitators like ‘America’s Most Talented Kid,’ but the exploitation of child performers as a form of mass entertainment has existed as long as mass entertainment has. Most childhood careers are the product of adult fantasies; they are as much about the parents as they are about the child. A parent appears with each performer on ‘America’s Most Talented Kid’; the idea may be to deflect criticism about exploitation, but instead it reinforces it.”

Is Apple CEO Steve Jobs about to become the most powerful man in the recording business? “Apple Computer Inc. is in talks with Vivendi Universal to buy Universal Music Group, the world’s largest record company, for as much as $6 billion, sources said. Such a seemingly unlikely combination would instantly make technology guru Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and chief executive, the most powerful player in the record industry.”

The Australian recording industry has decided to initiate a ratings system that will restrict sales of some recordings to adults. “The industry’s ruling body, ARIA, last week announced that its new system will prohibit the sale of CDs and tapes containing potentially offensive lyrics or themes to under-18s. Calls for stricter classification have followed complaints about US death-metal outfit Cannibal Corpse. Over the top to the point of absurdity, their lyrics are all but indecipherable, the vocals sounding like the Cookie Monster in a sink.”

“A standard PC file-compression program can tell the difference between classical music, jazz and rock, all without playing a single note. This new-found ability could help scholars identify the composers of music that until now has remained anonymous.”

While execs at major recording labels “wail about the industry’s imminent collapse, indie labels and artists are singing a much happier tune. Profits are up – in some cases by 50 to 100 percent. That’s in contrast to overall album sales, which dropped about 11 percent in 2002. You won’t hear many of these labels’ artists on pop radio – and ironically, that’s one of the secrets to their success. By avoiding the major expenses associated with getting a tune on the air – which can cost upwards of $400,000 or $500,000 per song – independent labels are able to turn a profit far more quickly, and share more of those profits with their artists.”

A year after the Dutoit debacle, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra would like to move on, and look to a future it insists is still quite bright. But Arthur Kaptainis isn’t ready to forget the man who gave the MSO its reputation and distinctive sound: “There are many subscribers and musicians who prefer a disposable past. By suspending its former practice of listing in its concert programs its first and most recent performances of works, the MSO administration itself has attempted to toss Dutoit into the memory hole. But it has not succeeded. The evidence of what he achieved is inextinguishable, for it is there every week.”

An official music sales tracker plans to begin monitoring music downloading on the internet.”A new top 40 of tracks downloaded from official sites is planned to be in place in time for the Christmas number one race. And downloaded songs could count towards the main top 40 chart within 18 months.”

This fall Carnegie Hall will open a new hall underneath its main auditorium. “What this new underground hall should mean for Carnegie is clear enough, assuming good acoustics and proper insulation from subway rumbles. But what will its impact be on other New York performing institutions, especially those at Lincoln Center?”