Category: music

The Boston Symphony could have almost any conductor it wanted as its next music director. Or could it? Handicapping the contenders – for now, at the top of the list is Levine. – Boston Globe

A documentary on violinist Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg raises questions about the relationship between manic depression and artists. “I think that people who suffer from depression may be able to use their creativity to help themselves out of it,” says one doctor. – St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Ireland’s National Symphony Orchestra choice of Gerhard Markson as principal conductor is about as conservative as could have been made in the circumstances. – Irish Times

A new serious magazine about music has debuted. The International Record Review has “an impressive list of contributors and includes many authoritative names familiar from The Gramophone and even its long-lamented American counterpart High Fidelity. In fact the new magazine looks a lot like an issue of The Gramophone from 20 years ago and clearly represents disaffection with the direction that venerable magazine has taken in the last two years.” – Boston Globe

– to leave the orchestra as debts reach £2.5 million. – BBC

Sounds like the intro to a joke, but it’s actually the lineup for the upcoming Great Jubilee Concert for a Debt-Free World at the Rome University. – Times of India (Variety)

It’s not just practice, unfortunately. “A good education helps, but it comes with no guarantees. Winning a contest or two is useful, but doing so demands nerves of steel, bravado and more than a little bit of luck. The biggest problem for a would-be Rubinstein or Horowitz or Cliburn or Yo-Yo Ma involves identifying and achieving the breakthrough.” – MSNBC

“From now on, it will be easy for people outside the country to taste Zambian music through the advances in information technology by simply coming to the Zambia Online website (www.zambia.co.zm).” Zambians with access to the Internet shall also be able to buy the music from the website, though the music will be available in local shops. – The Post of Zambia

“In Korea, artists make contracts with record companies for the sale of their albums for a specified period of time. If the contract is not renewed, all recordings for sale must be destroyed within three months of contract expiry.” The internet has changed all that. – Korea Herald

What is it about music and water that makes singing in the shower so compelling? The curative powers of music and water are both well-known. Together? – Scientific American