Category: music

“I was on my way to Gustavo Dudamel’s debut at L.A. Opera on Friday when I was laid off. I could have still gone and reviewed it here (for free) but as you will understand I didn’t feel up to it. … I was not fired for cause (as the lawyers say) or for the quality of my work. In fact, I was told the quality of my work had nothing to do with it. Just need to make that clear.”

“Stateside, she fundraised for eight years to acquire her current violin, while European countries loan instruments to their top artists. Being a self-employed artist in the United States means paying for your own health insurance or going without, not the case in Europe. But at the end of the day, she says, New York wins out on …” (audio)

“The new algorithm, developed by researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, can predict the precise acoustical qualities of a sound, and then simulate it in an extremely realistic way. When analyzing a silent video clip, such as an object being hit by a drumstick, the system can produce a sound for the hit that’s realistic enough to fool human listeners.”

Bernard Haitink will conduct a concert at Bologna’s Auditorium Manzoni [on] 6 January 2017… The ensemble, created in Bologna by Claudio Abbado in 2004, stopped playing in 2014 due to a combination of Abbado’s ill health and Italian government spending cuts.”

“The dragon of this production has a wingspan of 33 feet, and weighs in at 440 pounds. … The beast has three manipulators – one inside the body, one in the head, and it’s walking and flicking its ears and opening its mouth and has teeth. … Dubbed Firebird: Reimagined, the piece receives its live-orchestra world premiere at the Mann [Center in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park] on July 20, … [and] it will move on to Wolf Trap, Ravinia, the Hollywood Bowl, and other summer venues.”

“A first-of-its-kind study suggests that if stronger educational outcomes are your goal, music is the better choice. But playing sports also has its benefits — and participating in both appears to be even more academically advantageous.”

“Researchers at the Freiburg Institute for Musicians’ Medicine wanted to find out how much loudness effects enunciation when it comes to opera singers.”

“Portland-based Allegro Media Group, a distributor for small, independent music and video labels, appears to be leaving a swath of unhappy business partners in the wake of its financial problems.” (The comments include testimony from an exec (under his own name) at one of the client labels, as well as from an ex-employee and a former competitor.)

“New Music is inherently in a difficult ideological position: it is in conflict with the economic, educational, and political structures that contribute to its birth, but it must simultaneously reconcile itself to them in order to attempt to bypass the anticipated consequences that these very conditions cause.”

“Parents in less affluent districts may not be able to provide that extra support. Schools legally can’t charge students to participate in extracurricular activities such as band or sports, so everyone should have equal access. But more affluent parents can help pay for private lessons and additional coaches, giving their students an edge.”