Category: music

The “I Want” song is a classic way to reveal character early on in a musical – and almost every great Disney character has “an ode, operetta or full-blown ballad where the main character bursts into song revealing their innermost desires.”

“These small grammatical rebellions strike some as poetic and others as pretentious — at least when the titles are given as their composers intended. (They are rendered inconsistently in many publications, including the one you are reading, that strive to follow standard grammar rules.)”

Very possibly. Musicologist Laurie Stras writes about a carefully but anonymously published collection of motets, all for treble voices, from 16th-century Italy; about the life of Sister Leonora d’Este, born four years before her notorious mother died; and about why she thinks that Leonora wrote this music but would have to keep her name off of it. (includes video and audio)

In assembling this list, critic Alexandra Coghlan made it a point to avoid the names that always come up (Hildegard of Bingen, Clara Schumann, Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre), but ranged from 9th-century Byzantium to 17th-century Milan (a nun, no less) to the Depression-era U.S. (includes sound clips)

“So far, this has affected numerous musicians who planned to perform at the festival, with some of their experiences shedding a very unflattering light on the U.S. immigration system. Below are the stories of every band that has, so far, been unable to make it to SXSW due to visa issues.”

“For the past decade, Seattle Opera has spent $2 million to $3 million more a year than it earns, and its financial reserves are drying up. In an attempt to stabilize, the company will cut six full-time jobs and close its Renton scene shop.”

“Halfway through the dinner, Jaap reached out, took her hand, and said, ‘What will it take to get you?'”

“Maybe a more entrepreneurial classical world would be of benefit to everyone and help to attract more people to concerts?”

“On the surface, this is a startling coup for New York. In her 17 years as head of the L.A. Phil, Borda has made it the most successful and glamorous orchestra in America and the most progressive major symphony in the world, premiering an unprecedented amount of new music, staging operas and rethinking every aspect of the symphony orchestra for the 21^st century.”