Category: music

“It was less than a year ago that it emerged from bankruptcy under new management after a bitter court fight and began staging operas again. Now it must woo back audiences and skeptical donors, and navigate a cultural landscape that has changed dramatically since the heyday of the old company.”

Many of us grew up with an Enlightenment Bach, a nondenominational divinity of mathematical radiance. Glenn Gould’s commentary on the “Goldberg Variations” spoke of a “fundamental coordinating intelligence.” One German scholar went so far as to question the sincerity of Bach’s religious convictions. But the historically informed performance movement, in trying to replicate the conditions in which Bach’s works were first played, helped to restore awareness of his firm theological grounding.

She was traveling from Philadelphia to the Russian capital via London when someone took $12,000 worth of money and property from her suitcase.

Streaming music services such as Apple Music, Spotify and Tidal are shifting not just how music is consumed, but increasingly how it is funded, created and marketed. The talk of the industry is increasingly about playlists and how labels and artists can seed their music into high-rotation mixes on streaming services to blend their new offerings with old favourites.

“With streaming rather than downloads, access replaces ownership and the commitment is of time, not money. That’s still significant, but it doesn’t feel so irrevocable. Where downloads and playlists favored the lone song, streaming gives the artist and the album a fighting chance again. Anyone interested in a particular artist, from die-hard fans to novelty seekers, can listen to a whole album repeatedly — not just song samples, not just YouTube choices — and let subtler material sink in.”

Demetrius Cunningham, an inmate at an Illinois correctional facility, wanted to learn to play so he could accompany the prison’s chapel choir. But he had access to a piano for only an hour a week. So he mocked up a model keyboard and got busy.

Chattanooga Symphony concertmaster Holly Mulcahy writes about what she has performed for prisoners, how she gets them to talk about what they heard, and what they said.

Mehta, the musical director of the Israel Philharmonic for nearly half a century, said that he’ll step down in 2019.

“Collaborating with choral group Cappella Romana, [scientists at Stanford] digitally recreated the former holy building’s acoustics … in the university’s Bing Concert Hall.” (includes video)