Category: music

The mother of a former student at the Boys Choir of Harlem is suing the organization, claiming one of the choir’s counselors “had an improper relationship with her teenage son and at least one other student.” She says the school did nothing to stop it.

What’s the fastest growing segment of the US recording market? Contemporary Christian music, “or in the land of acronyms, CCM. It generates $800 million a year in album sales, more than jazz and classical combined.” The most successful bands sell out arenas and sell millions of recordings…

Since Chicago’s Orchestra Hall was retooled in 1997 there have been compaints, lots of them about the sound. Now the orchestra has hired another acoustics expert to see about fixing the sound. Chicago Tribune critics weigh in with their concerns. “In the discussions here, which also include CSO officials, sound consultants and performers, we tried to find out why the sound at Orchestra Hall has gotten worse since the 1997 renovation. Exactly how bad and why was at the core of our conversations.”

There are those who think that one Andrea Bocelli is one to many. And then there is the music industry. “While the Tuscan tenor has inspired a following so devoted that it borders on being monotheistic, his success has sired a new musical genre and a host of fresh faces.” They’re known as “pop tenors, PBS tenors or Baby Bocellis,” and they’re selling millions and millions of recordings. “Bocelli and his brood have awakened the sleeping giant of the recording industry: devoted adult fans.”

“Consumers who swear by LPs and their warm, analog sound have to search harder to find them, but thanks to the efforts of a small community of music lovers, even smaller record stores, and a handful of specialized record labels, the LP is still breathing. In fact, the cottage industry is thriving. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, manufacturers sold 177,000 (non-deejay) turntables to dealers, totaling $28 million in sales in 2001 alone.”

Music store giant Tower Records is struggling to get out of bankruptcy. “As 2002’s countdown to Christmas began, the family-held chain of 113 stores in 21 states – known for its steep prices, deep selection, and store band appearances – is in the hands of a corporate restructurer. The company recently cut 90 jobs and sold 51 profitable stores in Japan. More closings are imminent.”

Pamela Rosenberg’s first season as director San Francisco Opera has been marked by two things. “One is the theatrical style she has imported from her previous job at the Stuttgart Opera, marked by elaborately intellectual and sometimes baffling directorial conceits, as well as an unprecedented degree of theatrical commitment. The other is her ability to bring in gifted young singers to share the company’s roster with the big-name stars.”

Is it necessary that we know a composer’s sexual orientation to really appreciate his music? “The public sexualization of Benjamin Britten by scholars represents a nightmare come true for those who have spent decades grooming the composer’s image as an Everyman sort of genius. It has also shredded the genteel tissue of euphemism that allowed even the frankly homoerotic lust of Death in Venice to be described in asexual (“Dionysian”) terms only.”

What are classical musicians supposed to do now that recording companies no longer want to record them? They can start their own labels, of course – but despite some admirable attempts, for the most part it’s almost impossible to get your recordings in front of consumers. “As the industry contracts, music is steadily reverting to its natural state of ephemerality: hear it live, or it’s gone forever.”