Category: music

Ernst Ottensamer and his son Daniel are principal clarinets at the Vienna Philharmonic; baby brother Andreas is principal at the Berlin Philharmonic. Together, they’re the Clarinotts, and they’re commissioning new triple concertos and releasing an album.

The re-founded company’s plans for 2016-17 look more like what its team had been promising than did this year’s hastily assembled season. There will be only one warhorse, paired with a less-familiar title; the return of a star director (Harold Prince) to a landmark production from the ’80s; the long-delayed New York premiere of a well-known 21st-century opera; and two chamber works, one a Spanish Baroque rarity and the other a “CNN opera”. The new City Opera has even announced its first commission.

“Middletown Symphony Orchestra’s 75th anniversary next year will also mark its grand finale. Steve Ifcic, the symphony’s board chairman, said the board ‘has unanimously made the decision to close the curtain on the orchestra and end our musical programs in May of 2017 at the end of the 2016/2017 concert season.'”

“Is there a way forward for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in the aftermath of its current case of triple jeopardy? That’s the big question confronting its board of directors. For the third time in less than two decades, the TSO is in crisis mode with its future in jeopardy.”

“According to Pentagon data from fiscal 2015, the last time the Defense Department did a full inventory, the military spends at least $437 million a year on musicians, their instruments, special uniforms, travel and related costs. That marks a steady rise from previous years, even as the Pentagon insists the services have cut a sizable number of musical troupes. By some official estimates, it’s now spending $100 million more a year than in 2011.”

Participants were given 36 evaluative terms (including sad, happy, angry, intelligent, and sophisticated), and judged the extent to which each excerpt fit the description. Analyzing the results, the researchers determined the musical snippets could be effectively categorized on three basic scales: “arousal,” “valence,” and “depth.”

Mark Stryker on the new $100,000 M-Prize: “There were two major disappointments with the 15-member jury’s winner. The judges missed a golden opportunity to manifest the progressive DNA so earnestly built into M-Prize and best symbolized by the inclusiveness of the open division. More lamentable, the decision forfeited the chance to make a transformative investment in the future of the art form, a core value of the competition. Instead, the winner simply reinforces the status quo.”

“Choristers — who in British and American cathedral choirs usually range from eight to 13, with continental choirs retaining their singers until the age of 19—typically rehearse together daily, making their decision to team up in ensembles of their own making less risky. They form an immediate talent pool of skilled musicians who enjoy making music together, and know one another’s musical likes and personalities.”

Theodore Kuchar: “Fifteen [years] is a large number, but, hey, I wanted to stay in Fresno … [CEO Stephen Wilson] wants me out of town as quickly as possible so people forget.” Says Wilson, “It is fair to say that the relationship between music director and exec director in professional symphony orchestras is a complex one. … For an organization to be successful, it absolutely has to be a partnership.”

Minnesota Opera prop master Jenn Maatman: “One of the big things about the movie that was wrong, as far as King is concerned, is that Jack used an ax. In the book it was a croquet mallet. I think that’s really fabulous.”