Category: music

Philadelphia-based recording engineer Ward Marston has made it his life’s work to recreate the magic of opera’s “golden age” of vocals. Enthralled by turn-of-the-century singers like Adelina Patti and Enrico Caruso, “the first generation of performers to be able to record their voice, or their art, for history,” Marston has transferred more than 400 historic recordings, including 23 on his own label, from their original wax cylinders and 78s to CD. – The Age (Melbourne)

For the first time in ten years, an orchestra from border-conscious North Korea will perform in Seoul next month. “We hope that the concert will help promote peace between the two Koreas,” said the head of the entertainment company promoting the cross cultural duet. – The Times of India

Yusuf Islam, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens, has returned to the studio to record his first children’s album, a spoken-word recording using the Arabic alphabet to “spell out the fundamentals of his Islamic faith.” – BBC

– to collect some royalties for their music being streamed on the internet. – Wired

Legendary French composer/conductor Pierre Boulez, still vital and idealistic at 75, is throwing his musical and fundraising weight behind the London Symphony Orchestra’s ongoing residency in New York. “The American connection is an important and logical one, since the LSO was the first British orchestra to tour the United States–that 1912 visit nearly didn’t happen, as the band had originally been booked to sail on the Titanic–and has maintained a link through close collaboration with Bernstein, Copland, Previn and, more recently, Michael Tilson Thomas.” – London Times

March is when many orchestras announce their lineup for the following season. Traditionally, music directors of major American orchestras concentrated on the three B’s, conducted a lot of M and dabbled in a couple of H’s. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler and Handel and Haydn were the core of the orchestral literature. “But in an average Tilson Thomas season, one of the B’s may be Bernstein or Berlioz rather than Brahms, the M is more likely to be Mahler than Mozart; the H will probably be Lou Harrison, rather than Haydn or Handel.” – San Francisco Examiner

Musicians of  Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra have suffered an unprecedented number of injuries this season. So the orchestra will cut down on the performances it gives next year, in hope of reducing repetitive stress ailments. – CBC

When the Province of Ontario withdrew funding support to build a new opera house, it thwarted Canadian Opera Company plans that have been brewing for decades. – CBC

Gustav Holst had four years to add a Pluto movement to his suite “The Planets” before he died. He didn’t do it, of course, and the suite has never suffered in popularity for it. Now the Halle Orchestra will premiere a “Pluto” movement, newly composed by Collin Matthews, and some are asking if it’s just a publicity stunt. In fact, a bit of a mini-trend is brewing in finishing dead composers’ works. – The Scotsman

• Composer dedicates “Pluto” to Holst’s daughter: “I suspect she would have been both amused and dismayed by this venture,” says Matthews. – BBC 03/17/00

The “most famous record store in the world” is closing. HMV’s Oxford Street store, for almost 80 years at the center of the retail recording business, is calling it quits – and with it a lot of history fades away. – London Times