Some good things have happened since the near total shutdown in December: “The musicians have a contract that extends through August, and interim executive director Karina Bharne is in place. In addition, the original board, known as the Symphony Society of San Antonio is back at the helm with a new chairwoman, Kathleen Weir Vale. Still unknown is what will happen next. Musicians will begin negotiating their next contract soon, and it’s unclear who the next generation of leadership will be for the symphony and what will be different next season to finally get this troubled organization back on track financially.”
Category: music
Chipping At Classical Music’s Glass Ceiling
Conductor Susanna Mälkki: “Women have been conducting for decades. … They just haven’t been welcome. It’s as simple as that.”
Violin Shred Videos Make The Internet Wonder If Classical Musicians Can Take A Joke
First there were the parody videos of violinist Daniel Hope. Then there was his annoyance, and then there were the takedown letters from his lawyers. And now one of the parody video creators, “a Berlin-based concert programmer, dramaturge and journalist named Arno Lücker, was then told that a series he has long presented at the prestigious Berlin Konzerthaus, where Mr. Hope frequently plays and programs a series of his own, would not be renewed.”
Can’t Take A Joke? Violinist Sues Over Satire
“Over the last few days, the classical music media has become aware of a small but telling scandal. A Berlin-based concert curator, dramaturg, and VAN contributor named Arno Lücker published a shred on his blog. The video, part of a mashup genre in which new audio tracks are added to videos so that musicians appear to be playing embarrassingly badly, features the violinist Daniel Hope, accompanied by the pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi. Hope now wants to haul Lücker into court.”
Norman Lebrecht: Classical Music’s Secrecy Abets Abuse
“Classical music conducts its business behind a screen of secrets, lies and euphemisms. A maestro is never absent without leave, only ‘indisposed’. No maestro ever gets fired. He becomes Emeritus. Truth gets buried beneath a dungheap of flummery. The real reason for the recent departure of at least one classical performer in this country will not be publicly explained, even though it is well known backstage. The code of silence in classical music is as tight as Sicilian omertà. Speak out, and you’re dead meat.”
What Made Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts Such A Hit?
“On January 18, 1958, the first Leonard Bernstein ‘Young People’s Concert’ was broadcast live on television. Through the 1960s, the programs took off and were seen in 40 countries, alongside American exports The Flintstones and Bonanza. WNYC’s Sara Fishko considers Bernstein’s TV-friendly presence, in this episode of Fishko Files.” (audio)
Piece Of ‘Turandot’ Set Falls On Chorus; Two Hospitalized
“A piece of scenography fell during a performance of Turandot [at the Teatro Regio] in Turin last night, hitting two chorus members who were rushed to hospital. The incident occurred at the end of the second act as the curtain closed and a loud crash was heard in the auditorium.”
Can A Gay French Countertenor Help Fix Classical Music’s Diversity Problem?
A reporter visits Philippe Jaroussky’s music academy in the banlieues of Paris, where children from working-class and immigrant families get free music instruction.
Minnesota Orchestra To Be First Major American Orchestra To Go To South Africa
The orchestra will perform five concerts in the course of an 11-day tour (Aug. 8-19) with its music director, Osmo Vanksa, that also includes master classes and other community activities.
The Protest Song Is Back! Pop Music Is More Political Than At Any Time Since The ’60s
And you can guess why. Dorian Lynskey, author of 33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, talks with Spencer Kornhaber about the current revival of political pop and its pitfalls.