Category: music

“We did five performances and right from the first one you could actually see what was happening with the public,” he says. “And as we say in the theater, ‘What the public demands, you give.'”

Because it’s tough out there. “Each concert we produce is a battle on our own frontline with our own increasing expectations and with an ever more discerning audience that will likely be anticipating a CD-level performance. Every piece we write is a wrestling match with the achievements of our predecessors, our heroes, and our own internal struggles. “

“The Met, despite its perpetual financial struggles, shows no signs of capsizing. Though dozens of competitors have come and gone, it lumbers on, embattled but essential. What it offers—and what no pocket-sized company, however edgy, can match—is an acoustical environment commensurate with the grandeur of the form. To hear an unamplified voice surmounting a full orchestra and pinging across a large space is an elemental thrill that lies somewhere between high culture and extreme sports.”

Elizabeth von Trapp “listened as Vermont musician Christopher Peterman led ‘The Sound of Music’ not with the sweeping orchestral music fans of that movie are used to, but with a wistful saxophone that tapped into something deeper. That was just what she was looking for.”

“They know they’re doing their jobs when there is clapping between movements: They got someone who has never experienced classical music into a seat at E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall in Akron. And they’ve enticed another person away from his or her smartphone, laptop, iPad or other device for live music.”

“Some of the station’s 45,000 listeners grew alarmed over the past six weeks when the station ceased live broadcasts — and played nothing but canned programming.”

“Simply getting hold of so many stage-ready sheep was an exceptionally difficult bit of opera casting, even in an era in which great Verdi singers are rare and true Wagnerian heldentenors are almost nonexistent. You cannot simply call the usual power-agents in New York or London.”

“People like to dress up. My grandfather started that off because he thought the audience ought to show respect for the artists on the stage, and that’s a nice reason to do it. People like to dress up, they like to make an effort and they don’t have to do it very often these days.”

“The results revealed an identical performance of the music evoked stronger impact when presented in the acoustics of shoebox type concert halls, such as Vienna Musikverein or Berlin Konzerthaus.”