Category: music

“He will begin the role starting with the 2018-19 season – the post had previously been held by Jiří Bělohlávek until his death in June this year.”

“Plenty of technological advancements have followed the modern LP record, which debuted in 1948: audio cassettes, compact discs, MP3 files, and now streaming services. Yet vinyl sales skyrocketed by nearly 4,000 percent between 1993 and 2016. And while CDs still vastly outpace vinyl in total units sold—99.4 million to 17.2 million in 2016—CD sales have plummeted some 91 percent since their peak in 2000. Lest you think the vinyl phenomenon is contained to this side of the Atlantic, vinyl surpassed digital music in sales in England (about $3 million to $2.7 million) at one point last year.”

Rhiannon Giddens, who was a founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, is writing a musical based on a series of events in 1898 in Wilmington, North Carolina, and centering it around the music of the time. She says, “for me, the heart of American music is in this moment of white and black sort of coming together. Maybe that’s simplistic, but to me it is a symbol of the best of what we do culturally.”

Well, that’s happening in Canada, anyway: “Books on music are hardly new, but the recent flurry of new titles is part of a broader cultural shift – a nascent one, with kinks to work out. New authors are working with small, scrappy publishers to get these stories into the world. With hope, this won’t all be a blip and we’ll be treated to long treatises on Canadian pop for years to come. There should be time for growing pains.”

“It’s time for the opera world to also look at its own epidemic of sexual harassment and assault. As much as there is to say about what women go through, I’m starting from the gay perspective because it’s what I know.”

Many composer in residence posts involve a behind-the-scenes presence, helping read through submitted scores, writing new work, and emerging to do some community events. Bates, however, has become a key part of the Kennedy Center’s programming team. His KC Jukebox is one of the center’s marquee new series, spotlighting contemporary music and a wide range of performers, from Chanticleer to the Thievery Corporation, in always-unexpected combinations.

“With his goatee, dark sunglasses and exotic hats, Thelonious Monk was the quintessential hepcat. He patted his feet in mad rhythm while he was playing – and when his sidemen soloed, he got up and danced in circles. Monk, who was born 100 years ago today, was also one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. The late pianist wrote about 70 songs during his career – many of which have became standards, including the most recorded jazz composition of all time, ‘Round Midnight’.” (includes video and audio)

“Overhead, the new glass ‘acoustical clouds’ reflect sound back to the stage and into the hall, a distinct visual upgrade from old shell’s look. The stage is lower to the ground, coming only to the knees of front row attendees, and musicians behind the string sections are elevated on a set of terraced risers which should’ve been implemented years ago. Perhaps most importantly, the acoustics—which many voiced as the primary concern about the venue’s reconfiguration—are not only maintained, but improved. Simply put, the results of the renovation banished any skepticism I harbored and exceed even my wildest expectations; it is a masterpiece, a triumph. It’s so good to be home.”

Well, as he explains, his arthritis won’t let him conduct, so what’s he going to do? With Renée Fleming about to premiere his new song cycle, and with a monodrama written for her in the works, Previn talks to David Patrick Stearns on his career as he heads toward 90.

Only a week before departure, Nicolás Maduro’s regime has called off the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra’s tour to Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Taipei under conductor Gustavo Dudamel. This is the second time an overseas tour by Dudamel and a Venezuelan ensemble has been cancelled since the conductor, one of the country’s biggest international celebrities, began criticizing the Maduro government’s violent crackdowns on protesters earlier this year.