“Peter Dobrin: The Baroque cello, with its sheep and cow gut strings, is a pretty quiet instrument. Did it come across for you? And was this your first non-vegan cello experience?
Samantha Melamed: It was my first, ahem, visceral cello experience.”
Category: music
Can A Roman Deus Ex Machina Save The Arena Di Verona’s Opera Festival?
The foundation that operates the festival – whose visitors make a huge contribution to Verona’s economy – went into bankruptcy liquidation earlier this month. So Italy’s culture minister has sent in Carlo Fuortes, the man he hired to save Rome’s desperately dysfunctional opera house from collapse.
Classical Music Is Thriving In Beijing And Shanghai; In China’s Smaller Cities, Not So Much
“Many second- and third-tier cities, like Wuhan and Xi’an, are struggling to fill their gleaming new theaters and concert halls with quality musicians and audiences. Most of these cities lack regular concert seasons and the funding to bring in distinguished foreign orchestras. In some, once-grand halls are falling apart because of poor upkeep.”
Met Opera’s Credit Rating Stabilizes
“The Metropolitan Opera, which has been cutting costs in recent years to address its serious fiscal challenges, got a measure of good news on Wednesday when Standard & Poor’s affirmed the company’s ‘A’ credit rating and revised its outlook to stable from negative.”
Turns Out That How Our Brains Process Music Is Complicated. Thus The Seating Chart For Orchestras
“The seating arrangement of modern orchestras mirrors the listening bias of human ears. The ears project to the opposite brain hemisphere’s auditory cortex, which is where the listening bias originates.”
When All Music Is Just Music You Get… Big Ears
“Many attendees had the happily disoriented look of people who are accustomed to being considered freaks and suddenly find themselves part of the gang. None were more blissed-out than the contemporary-composition types, who endure scornful dismissal within the classical field and outside it. At Big Ears, composers serve as a center of gravity, a point of reference.”
Violinist Breaks Her Foot, Plays Concerto Anyway – Standing Up
“‘It happened at like two o’clock,” she said. ‘I had a soundcheck at four.’ There wasn’t time to go to the doctor, and besides, she was pretty sure what a doctor would say: ‘You need to ice it, and elevate, and medicate: three things I couldn’t do at that moment.'”
Mirga Doesn’t Quite Get The Fuss About Her Being A Woman Conductor
“But I accept I must still be a cheerleader. Mothers come up to me and thank me for setting an example to their daughters. And I am happy to take that responsibility. I grew up without imagining any problems.” (In the Baltics, after all, maestras aren’t all that unusual.) “I hope those who come after me will think it quite normal.”
Classical Raves Aren’t Good For Classical Or Dance Music, And They Need To Stop (Says Nightclub Critic)
John Thorp: “The current trend for high-concept classical ‘raves’ in prestigious venues feels at odds with dance music’s forward-thinking worldview. … Getting an orchestra to play dance anthems may come off as a gilded seal of prestige or legacy but it drains them of their naive simplicity and euphoria.”
YouTube And Musicians – Marriage From Hell?
“We should think of YouTube and the music industry as being locked in a marriage that is equal parts mutual dependency and mutual hatred. It’s less angels and devils, more George and Mildred.”