Category: music

Opera Foundation Australia staged its competition recently, but participants are crying foul. “Earlier this week, finalists received a letter from the Opera Foundation informing them that the $40,000 prize had been awarded to another singer who had not taken part in the competition.” – Sydney Morning Herald

In an odd marketing move, Universal (which controls the Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, and Philips labels) will release classical CDs in England and Germany at rock-bottom prices. “Those neon-lit shops where you exchange a week’s wages for 10 litres of unleaded and a bunch of stale flowers are going to be swamped with classical CDs at an irresistible price.” – The Telegraph (UK)

A rare interview with Simon Keenlyside, one of the world’s leading baritones, and the most internationally successful British classical singer of his generation. – The Telegraph (UK)

At a time when mega-music and bookstores seem to be taking over the market, a small music shop in Baltimore proves that personal attention still counts. – The Idler

The succession battles at Germany’s Bayreuth Festival are killing it. Eighty-one-year-old Wolfgang Wagner has run out of ideas. “The selection of artists seems haphazard and patchy, and it is a long time since any Bayreuth production has made waves in the opera world.” And yet, the “director-for-life” refuses to step aside unless the festival’s board chooses his hand-picked successor. – Chicago Tribune

Accompanists are the music world’s unsung artists. “Twice the work, half the pay, and people invariably forget your name. What self-respecting pianist would choose such a career?” – The Times (UK)

Five members of one family are piano students at the Juilliard School. – New York Times

Egypt’s lavish annual production of “Aida,” performed each autumn under Cairo’s pyramids, was abruptly cancelled by officials Monday. One possible cause? This year’s production coincided with Egypt’s general elections, and the opera has been criticized as an extravagant waste of public funds. – Yahoo! News (Reuters)

Berlioz’s excellent memoir is a model of the genre, as entertaining and eventful as any novel. Now a new biography attempts to fill in some of the holes. – The New Republic

After two weeks, the National Symphony’s tour through Mahler’s reinterpretations of the Beethoven symphonies concludes. It was revealing that “Mahler’s intent was not so much to alter Beethoven as to bring to light what is buried within his music. In Mahler’s hands, the modern orchestra can ‘restore’ lines that are lost, thoughts that get buried, details that are implicit but suppressed.” – Washington Post