Category: music

“Nobody could deny that the Western tradition is by far the most multifarious and sophisticated of all – we have notation to thank for that – but, one message which came through loud and clear in the book was that Europe had absolutely no monopoly on sophistication.”

“I recognized the Green Party leader, Espen Rotevatn, as the conductor in white gloves. Part of his political mission is to end coal mining on Svalbard forever; yet in his spare time he dons a miner’s outfit and leads his group to harmony.”

“Pierre-Laurent Aimard did it quietly. Evgeny Kissin did it in a casual remark to a presenter. Piotr Anderszewski, evidently, has done it in an interview with the website Humans of New York … What’s ‘it?’ Time off. Stepping off the treadmill.”

“The Philadelphia Orchestra has seen many firsts, but few could have imagined this one. In June 2017, the well-traveled ensemble will touch down at Genghis Khan International Airport in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar for concerts that may well be attended by nomads on horseback.”

“A spokesman for ENO said he could not comment on individual pay levels, but told The Stage that a target had been set internally to cut the overall pay of ENO’s 11 senior managers by 20%.”

“Conservative though Hoffmann’s set designs are in their realistic evocation of mountain landscapes and a quaint notion of ‘primitive’ architecture, it’s hard not to see the Morgan show … as a rebuke to the antics that have lately turned this landmark of musical theater into an international freak show.”

At a Sunday afternoon concert of Baroque and (more or less) contemporary music in Cologne by harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani and the orchestra Concerto Köln, some listeners were evidently not ready for Steve Reich’s Piano Phase (1967). First, as Esfahani gave a spoken introduction in English, some audience members demanded aloud that he speak German; then Reich’s music was greeted with enough whistling, slow clapping, and laughter that Esfahani abandoned the piece halfway through. (in German; Google Translate version here)

The finding promises to divide musicians, and could require instrument-makers, sellers and renters — who now offer sets of tuned taxi horns specifically for “An American in Paris” — to consider investing in new sets tuned to the new notes.

Early last month, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande “parted ways” with general director Henk Swinnen. Now conductor Jonathan Nott, who’s due to take over as the OSR’s music director this fall, won’t return a signed contract. Here’s what’s going on over there. (in French; Google Translate version here)

“Manchester Camerata orchestra’s Music in Mind (MIM) projects, which involved 7,200 people in care homes and community projects across Greater Manchester last year, have had such dramatic effects on participants that academics at Manchester and Lancaster universities are backing a research student to create the world’s first in-the-moment, multi-sensory assessment tool to quantify that effect.”