“The TSO have announced Gary Hanson, former Executive Director of the Cleveland Orchestra, as the incoming Interim CEO effective September 26, 2016. A native of Toronto and trained as a double bass player, Hanson is a bit of welcome news for the TSO, who have been struggling to regain their stride after a surprisingly salacious year to date.”
Category: music
When LA Glitz Met Europe’s Most Rigorous Intellectual Composers
“Here, Californian naiveté and blatant commercialism butted heads with European rigor and elitism. This was a collision of worlds which never fully resolved or came to an agreeable integration, reflecting some of the fundamental fragmentation of Los Angeles. In this way, the peculiar contours of LA culture have made an indelible mark upon new music as a whole.”
Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchestra Says Lionel Bringuier Won’t Be Staying On As Chief Conductor
The young French conductor, who turns 30 next month and who assisted both Esa-Pekka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, succeeded David Zinman in Zurich in 2014. The decision not to renew Bringuier’s contract, which expires in 2018, was widely expected in the city. (in German; Google Translate version here)
Philadelphia’s Academy Of Music Gets A (Barely Visible) Facelift
“It’s easy to spot the splashier renovations to the Academy of Music from the past couple of decades – the meticulously restored ballroom, or the enormous crystal chandelier in the main auditorium that now closely resembles the original. Less obvious is some of the work being done this summer on the building, which has been, since 1857, the city’s prime gathering place with a sense of occasion.”
Chautauqua Symphony Musicians Vote To Strike
“Musicians of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra last month overwhelmingly approved a strike authorization for the first time in the symphony’s 87-year history. That raises the possibility that a strike could be approved between Dec. 31, when the contract expires, and the start of the 2017 season in June.”
Chamber Opera On The Buenos Aires Subway
In Opera Periferica’s adaptation of Pergolesi’s La serva padrona, “Serpina, the ‘servant turned mistress,’ launches her plan to seduce her master, the aging millionaire bachelor Uberto, first on one end of the H Line – which runs north and south through the capital connecting the richest area with the poorest – and then on the other.”
Google’s Computers Wrote A Song. Can Human Musicians Make It Good Music?
“The Star asked Canadian musicians to try adapting the melody to a style of their choosing. How does a robo-composed tune sound in human hands?”
Swed: How Did America Misjudge A Talent Like Riccardo Chailly?
Mark Swed: “These pages have chronicled L.A.’s history of women in classical music for more than a century. We’re on top of that. But our history with Chailly is another matter. We were too quick to write him off.”
Marie-Helene Bernard’s Big Plans For The St. Louis Symphony
“The Symphony saw significant increases in both attendance and ticket revenue during its just-ended 2015-2016 season, with total ticket sales for all performances reaching $6.87 million, up 3.8 percent compared with last season.”
A New Opera Company Run By And For Mid-Career Singers
“The Victory Hall Opera, in Charlottesville, which will open this month with three performances of a new chamber production of a stripped-down Rosenkavalier, was conceived and set up – and is run – by a group of mid-career singers who found themselves, after some years of high-level professional experience, wondering whether opera might offer them more artistic freedom than they were finding on the standard professional circuit.”