“The Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s ‘listening guides’ make use of symbols and Morse code-like notation to aid the experience of a live performance. We talked to their creator, Hannah Chan-Hartley, about how she is helping the TSO to visualise its repertoire.”
Category: music
How Muhammed Ali Influenced The Golden Age Of Rap
“He stood for much more than boxing success, and for reclaiming the title after suffering defeats. His pronouncements on race, his religious conversions and his refusal to go to war in Vietnam all meant as much within hip-hop as anything he did in the ring.”
Kansas City Symphony Gets New Contract With No Drama
“We were losing too many talented musicians to other orchestras, and while we will not be able to keep them from going to Chicago and Boston and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, maybe we could do more with salary and working conditions to keep them from going to Utah, Oregon, Nashville or even Cincinnati.”
The Years When Promoters Could Just Pluck Musicians From Anywhere And Pretend They Were A Famous Music Group
“The Zombies, unaware of their stateside success — this was possible in 1969 — had already moved on to new musical projects or day jobs. This vacuum meant anyone could tour the United States pretending to be the Zombies, even a four-piece blues band from Dallas.”
Does This Holograph Represent The End Of Pop Music?
“Japan’s Hatsune Miku, making her Canadian concert debut, incited the same unbridled glee among the sold-out crowd of 3,000 as a human would at the top of her game, despite the fact that Miku is a software program represented in concert by a hologram.”
New Research: Maybe Background Music In Stores Doesn’t Make You Buy More
Background music in shops – disparagingly referred to as “muzak” – has been shown to have an effect on our buying habits, but Marks and Spencer has decided to ditch it completely. The company is removing it from all its UK stores, following “extensive research and feedback” from staff and customers.
Houston Grand Opera’s Pretty Good Year
“The group also reported that it added 68 new patrons this season and sold out nine performances, bringing in a total of 75,925 patrons. During its 61st season HGO presented eight main-stage productions, as it did last season, for a total of 47 performances. Next season, it’s slated to host 42 main-stage performances and two free shows.”
Grand Rapids Symphony Gets A New Music Director
The Brazilian-born conductor, who has led the Grand Rapids Symphony twice in the past two seasons, becomes the 14th music director in the 86-year history of the orchestra.
Nine Things About Classical Concerts That Need To Change
Michael Vincent: “If classical music is ever going move beyond a reputation for stiff upper lips, it’s time to start to look carefully at the conventions that have formed around the concert ritual. Here are my picks for 10 [sic] things that should change about classical music. Feel free to contribute your own to the comments below.”
Carnegie Hall Names Its First African-American Chairman
“[The election of] Robert F. Smith, the private equity titan who was named the richest African-American man by Forbes last year after making a fortune in software, … brings to an end a low moment at the hall. The billionaire Ronald O. Perelman served as its chairman for less than a year before stepping down last fall after he alienated the board by clashing with the hall’s executive and artistic director, Clive Gillinson.”