The Leeds is a major competition and has launched the careers of pianists such as Murray Perahia. Preliminary rounds will now be held in international cities and streamed. Winners will now also get career mentors who will help them adapt to international careers.
Category: music
Just What Tonight’s Debate Needed: A String Quartet Accompaniment!
The Late Show will have PUBLIQuartet improvising along with the debate on Facebook Live. According to the group’s website, PUBLIQuartet’s “innovative programs span arrangements from the classical canon, contemporary works, original compositions, and open-form improvisations that expand the techniques and aesthetic of the traditional string quartet.”
First Look: Dramatic New Orchestra Hall For Beijing
The concert hall was designed by MAD Architects in collaboration with acoustic expert Yasuhisa Toyota, who has worked on the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Philharmonie de Paris, and the Suntory Hall in Japan. Its main auditorium will seat 1,600 people on “vineyard style” terraces surrounding the stage area.
Philadelphia Orchestra Adopts *Some* Recommendations From The Michael Kaiser Report
“The Philadelphia Orchestra will program musicals. It will set up new philanthropic councils made up from donors with special interests and, starting in 2018, from outside the city. The orchestra is starting a series of master classes with guest artists. And it will develop more ways to lure and keep younger donors.”
The Double-Bass? For Weaklings. Check Out The Octobass
It’s almost 12 feet tall, weighs 289 pounds, sounds four octaves lower than a double-bass, and the player has to use levers for fingering because there’s just no hope of reaching the fingerboard. The octobass was invented in 1849, and the Montreal Symphony is now the first orchestra in the world to have one. (includes video)
Yuja Wang Named Musical America Artist Of The Year
Andrew Norman was named composer of the year; the bass-baritone Eric Owens, vocalist of the year; and Eighth Blackbird, the new-music sextet currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, ensemble of the year.
He Stumbled On Grandpa’s Old Reel-To-Reel Tapes – And Found A Motherlode Of His Country’s Endangered Folk Music
“When Daniel Lofredo Rota began clearing out the apartment of his dead grandfather here in April 2014, he found several tons of newspaper, stacks of letters, broken typewriters and about 300 magnetic reel-to-reel tapes, almost perfectly preserved after 45 years in a cool, dry place. … It was a cultural time capsule carrying a vital chapter of Ecuador’s musical history.”
Pittsburgh Symphony Cancels Yet More Concerts; No Negotiations With Striking Musicians Scheduled
“The Pittsburgh Symphony canceled all orchestra events through Nov. 18 in the wake of the musicians’ strike, the organization announced Monday. … As a result, at least four of the 20 core classical concert weekends and two of the orchestra’s seven pops programs scheduled for this season will not take place.”
Even The Philadelphia Orchestra Can’t Improve The Lot Of The Professional Choral Singer
“New, entirely professional, and a child of the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir would seem to be much-needed good news on the choral landscape. But so far in its formation, some Philadelphia vocal freelancers are experiencing consternation or even heartbreak at how it’s being handled.”
An Uber For Classical Music?
“Professional musicians and those studying in conservatories can upload samples to a Groupmuse profile, which an internal team approves. Next, the Groupmuse team pairs performers with hosts who volunteer to host strangers and musicians in their home: a soloist for 10 people, a quartet for a house that can fit 50 listeners. Around 20 Groupmuse shows happen across the country every week, mostly in Boston, New York, Seattle and the Bay Area. Groupmuse suggests each attendee pays $10 for the show; musicians go home with an average of $160.”