From my own teaching of introductory music classes, I can report that today’s students still listen to classical music—but they don’t single it out as anything special or elite. Armed with laptops, tablets, smartphones, and iPods, and assisted by iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, and other online resources, they consume vast amounts of music on a daily basis. And they have astonishingly cosmopolitan palates, happily taking in reggae, heavy metal, gamelan, hip hop, grunge, salsa, jazz, classical, klezmer—and much more, in equal measure. It’s all one playlist, it’s all music, and it’s all “classic.”
Category: music
How John Coltrane’s Music Is An Expression Of Mathematical Principles
“Thelonious Monk once said ‘All musicians are subconsciously mathematicians.’ Musicians like John Coltrane though have been very much aware of the mathematics of music and consciously applied it to his works.”
A Star-Is-Born Moment? Young Conductor Jumps In For Yannick In Philly On Three Hours’ Notice
Kensho Watanabe, the 29-year-old assistant conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra, stepped in at the last minute on Saturday evening for suddenly-ill music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin – and reportedly brought the house down. With a Q&A, David Patrick Stearns introduces readers to Watanabe and gets the story of the fateful night.
‘Akhnaten’ And Mark Wigglesworth Win Opera Prizes At Olivier Awards
Phelim McDermott’s English National Opera production – starring a naked nude Anthony Roth Costanzo – of the Philip Glass opera about the iconoclastic pharaoh won for best new opera production, while conductor Mark Wigglesworth – who stormed away from the ENO’s music directorship in March of last year to protest funding cuts – was honored for outstanding achievement in opera for his conducting of Don Giovanni and Lulu at the company.
Listen To The Piece That Won This Year’s Pulitzer Prize For Music
Du Yun’s “Angel’s Bone” wins. The Pulitzer jury described it as “a bold operatic work that integrates vocal and instrumental elements and a wide range of styles into a harrowing allegory for human trafficking in the modern world.”
Music Streaming Up 39 Percent From A Year Ago
“Consumers initiated 133.9 billion streams in the first quarter, up from 99.1 billion during the same period last year, continuing the growth of 39% overall in 2016 compared to 2015. Translated as album sales, using a formula that assigns one sale for every 1,500 song streams, the music industry also experienced continued growth, but at a more modest rate of 5.9%. Unit sales of track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA) increased from 137.4 million last year to 145.5 million so far in 2017.”
Anatomy Of A Jazz Breakup – Ethan Iverson Is Leaving The Bad Plus
An audacious power trio that also functions as a postbop combo, The Bad Plus first made its mark by reforging songs from the pop-culture consciousness. (“Smells Like Teen Spirit,” by Nirvana, was an early calling card.) But the band has also been a tireless engine for original music. Each member contributes compositions, writing for the band while preserving a distinctive signature: vaulting and sonorous for Anderson, dissonant yet often delicate for Iverson, wily and kinetic for King.
Contentious Expansion Of Minnesota Orchestra’s Concert Hall Has Become A Big Hit
“The atrium is the highest-profile new toy to come out of the remodeling project. Chamber groups perform there, and soloists with the orchestra do pre- and post-concert work. For Sommerfest, the atrium provides the orchestra three distinct venues (including Peavey Plaza) for programming. It also serves as something of a town hall — political and corporate groups routinely hold meetings there. Weddings and other private social events generate income, too.”
The Classical Musician Who Wants Her Dress To Be As Beautiful As The Music She Plays
Yuja Wang: “If the music is beautiful and sensual, why not dress to fit? It’s about power and persuasion. Perhaps it’s a little sadomasochistic of me. But if I’m going to get naked with my music, I may as well be comfortable while I’m at it.”
The Typewriter Orchestra Is A Real Thing, Making Real Music
The Boston Typewriter orchestra doesn’t travel, but (ironically?) its music is all too available online.