“A few decades ago, I would not have put money on the survival of the concerto, except as an antiquarian curiosity. Celebrity soloists continued milking the classics, but the rest of the music world seemed to have moved on from all that gladiatorial bravura.” Justin Davidson looks at four new concertos – by Sofia Gubaidulina, Lera Auerbach, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Timo Andres.
Category: music
Former Chief Of English National Opera Forms New Company
“[John] Berry quit as artistic director of ENO in 2015 after 20 years with the company. He has now launched Opera Ventures, a charitable organisation that will produce opera and mixed-media performances in addition to providing workshops, classes and training.”
So Now An Album Is A “Playlist”? (Is This Further Corruption Of The Art Form In The Age Of Streaming?)
“As streaming becomes our dominant mode of listening, Billboard has begun measuring success song by song, stream by stream. In turn, pop albums are expanding. The more tracks an album contains, the more coin it can generate, the better the album can perform on the charts. As the container changes shape, so does the stuff that goes inside. And not necessarily for the better.”
Henry VIII’s Last Wife Turned One Of Thomas Tallis’s Best Pieces Into Wartime Propaganda
Musicologist and conductor David Skinner writes about how the discovery of fragments of music manuscript behind some plasterwork at an Oxford College led him to a text written by Queen Katherine Parr for the nation to, as it were, pray the king into battle.
‘Suffocating’ Stench Drives Audience From Opera House
A performance of Borodin’s Prince Igor at Bulgaria’s national opera house was interrupted, and then cancelled after the building was evacuated, due to an overpowering smell.
Italy’s Rossini Opera Festival Loses Its Orchestra And Chorus After 30-Year Relationship
“Starting with a Petite Messe Solennelle in 1987, [the Teatro Comunale di] Bologna has provided the orchestra and chorus for the main productions each year, resulting in almost 50 video and audio recordings.” But the opera house has now broken off relations with the Pesaro-based festival – and “it’s not an amicable split.”
Conductor Berates Audience In Dance Club For Not Listening Attentively To Classical Music
Having gone to all the trouble of putting an orchestra (largely made up of New York-based music students and freelancers) in a club, and assembling a trendy-looking audience (largely, it seemed, people with some connection or other to the various presenting organizations), he didn’t actually want a rave atmosphere. The conductor kept berating the audience for talking, took them to task for their cellphones (“we’re here to dance, not to take pictures”) and, at one point, actually stopped the music to try to force people to be quiet.
Pulling Back The Veil On Streaming Music’s Payment Systems For ‘Exclusives’
What’s it worth to Apple to have a two-week exclusive with a young, famous musician? Well, about half a million dollars. Chance the Rapper, who revealed that info about his “Coloring Book,” wrote, “I think artist can gain a lot from the streaming wars as long as they remain in control of their own product.”
The All-African-American Classical Orchestra That’s Now Appearing In Rap Videos
The idea for Orchestra Noir came about at date night for founder Jason Ikeem Rodgers. “The group’s website emphasizes they aren’t striving to be a traditional orchestra. Instead Orchestra Noir strives to raise ‘the invisible curtain and [bring] classical music to diverse, younger audiences that is relevant and respectful of their community.'”
When Wagner Feuded With Brahms
The older composer essentially told Brahms that the younger composer would be nowhere without him. And, despite the many issues, “Wagner is so ingrained into our classical musical landscape … that it’s impossible to listen to him and not feel a deep sense of familiarity. For all of his snark towards Brahms for ‘making him what he was,’ be it direct or indirect, Wagner did kind of shape classical music in a world beyond Beethoven.”