Category: music

Vienna opens a museum dedicated to music. “Much to the surprise of locals, this newest addition to Vienna’s cultural scene has artfully blended the city’s classical past with musical experimentation of the future. A five-story, interactive musical adventure where you can do everything from conducting the Vienna Philharmonic to participating in an avant-garde ‘Brain Opera,’ the House of Music combines the classics with the future of music in a techno-modern setting.” – Chicago Tribune

Toronto’s Canadian Opera Company recently announced that an anonymous benefactor would give the company $20 million toward building a new home. But the champagne is still corked. The company has been down this road before, only to have the money yanked away at the last minute… – Toronto Star

Ugly, off-pitch, misguided and uninspired. That’s the new “Tristan” at Covent Garden. What should have been one of the crowning glories of the present Royal Opera House regime is instead its lowpoint. The boos are lusty. – The Sunday Times (UK)

New translation of Mozart’s letters restores the coarse grammar and broken spellings. “Some modern analysts have suggested that his verbal incontinence may have been a symptom of Tourette’s syndrome, but Mozart lived in an earthy, unbuttoned age and he shared what Spaethling politely calls his “bathroom” humor not only with his naughty cousin, but also with his parents and sister. In their letters they are always encouraging each other to ‘s— in your bed with all your might’.” – Chicago Sun-Times

Daniel Barenboim has been feuding with the Berlin government over funds for the Staatsoper, which he runs, and over plans to merge the opera company with the less prestigious Deutsche Oper, run by the rising 41-year-old star of German music, Christian Thielemann. “Enter Klaus Landowsky, a leading Berlin politician from the Christian Democratic party, to sum up the situation in these terms to the Berliner Morgenpost: ‘On the one hand, you have the young von Karajan in Thielemann, on the other you have the Jew Barenboim’.” – New York Times

Collecting recordings is becoming a dicey proposition. Mergers of recording companies, endangerment of long-favored labels, and the growth of downloadable music on the internet is a threat to the collector. Just why do people collect recordings? Can they adapt to the new world of music recording? – The Guardian

It’s been a few years since the movie of David Helfgott propelled the pianist to international stardom. Despite the lambasting of music critics, Helfgott is still a popular draw, and his concerts continue to sell well. “He’s the only pianist to have sold out the Sydney Opera House four nights running. People want to see Helfgott rock back and forth at the piano and sing along as his fingers fly over the keys. They want to see him because of who he is and what he’s overcome.” – The Scotsman

On the 100th anniversary of Aaron Copland’s birth, the man and his music are being reconsidered. “Copland’s avuncular image as a doyen of American music is avowed by the voluminous testimony of all who knew him as to his generosity, kindly nature and wry sense of humour. However, this image implies a certain blandness which characterised neither his life nor his music.”- The Economist

French conductor Emmanuel Villaume, age 36, has been named the new music director of the Spoleto Festival USA. – CNN

The Pittsburgh Symphony is alarmed that its music director Mariss Jansons has been mentioned often as a possible candidate to run the New York Philharmonic. So the orchestra has contacted orchestra supporters and asked them to write to Jansons and ask him to remain. “We believe the Pittsburgh community has to show Mariss its affection to balance the only reason he’d go to New York, which is prestige. Artistically, New York is no better than the PSO.” – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette