The Met is still reeling from the accusations against James Levine, so the quiet deals could be very good for the opera company. “If the deal is ratified, it will remove the threat of a work stoppage as the company prepares for its first season with the conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin as its music director.”
Category: music
Has This Scholar Figured Out How To Perform Ancient Greek Music?
Despite the wealth of information we have about ancient Greek musical theory, actually transcribing the musical notation that has survived, let alone working out practical performance issues, has been a problem unsolved for centuries. Oxford classicist Armand D’Angour writes about the recent advances and discoveries that have led to his five-years-long-and-counting project to find, transcribe, and perform the surviving repertoire of ancient Hellenic song.
The Lost Yiddish Songs Of World War II
Many of these lyrics – unperformed since 1947 and rediscovered six decades later in the National Library of Ukraine – “seethe with resentment but emphasize triumph. ‘Victory Song,’ recorded in 1947, encourages listeners to drink heartily and rejoice; soon ‘those German murderers will be out of our lives forever.’ Others mock their invaders, scoffing at their incompetence. … Some songs are plainly heartbreaking.”
Washington Bach Consort Names Dana Marsh Artistic Director
One of the standard-bearers for period-instrument performance in DC, the Consort chose Marsh, currently director of Indiana University’s historical performance program, to succeed founding director J. Reilly Lewis, who died suddenly in June of 2016.
Music Piracy Falls – It’s Now Easier To Stream It
One in 10 people in the UK use illegal downloads, down from 18% in 2013, according to YouGov’s Music Report. The trend looks set to continue – with 22% of those who get their music illegitimately saying they do not expect to be doing so in five years.
After Outcry, Philadelphia Orchestra Adds Two Women Composers To Upcoming Season
“Partially in response to national criticism for assembling a 2018-19 season without a single work by a female composer, the orchestra Wednesday issued a revised season schedule … In November, the orchestra will give the U.S. premiere of Perspectives by Canadian composer Stacey Brown, and then in June perform the overture-like Masquerade by London-born Anna Clyne.”
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Fires Conductor Daniele Gatti
In a statement announcing the dismissal, the orchestra’s management said, “Since the publication of the article in The Washington Post, a number of female colleagues of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra reported experiences with Gatti, which are inappropriate considering his position as chief conductor … [The accusations have] irreparably damaged the relationship of trust between the orchestra and the chief conductor.”
Stage Director Leaves Opera Field After Harassment Claims
Bernard Uzan was one of three men alleged to have sexual harassed women in the story, which posted online Thursday and ran in print Sunday. Since it appeared, there have been a number of consequences. William Preucil, the concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, accused of assaulting a young violinist in his hotel room during a teaching stint at the New World Symphony in Miami, has been placed on paid leave by the orchestra and has resigned his position at the Cleveland Institute of Music, as well as being removed from the programs of several scheduled concerts.
Orchestras And Opera Companies Try Young Professionals’ Clubs To Attract Millennials
“Symphonies are attempting to lure these 22-to-37-year-olds with drastically increased social media presences, discounted tickets, and exclusive backstage access. Opera companies are capitalizing on the socializing aspect of their milieu and setting snares of free hors d’oeuvres and drinks during intermissions.” Jeremy Reynolds looks at the programs of the San Francisco and Atlanta Symphonies, the Cleveland Orchestra, and Houston Grand Opera.
Academy Of Ancient Music Director Richard Egarr To Step Down
When Egarr departs after the 2021-22 season, he will have been in the post – he succeeded founder Christopher Hogwood – for 15 years. The AAM, London’s oldest Baroque orchestra, has made more than 300 recordings: among its many landmarks were the first period-instrument discs of Handel’s Messiah and the complete Mozart symphonies.