Category: music

Great pianos are like sports cars: They have passionate adherents, their owners are often fiercely loyal to one brand, and at the top of the line, the differences between one and another come down in part to personal preference. Here’s a rundown of some of the top names in the field.

“Borrowing the idea from the digital currency bitcoin, Ethereum records information on a public database in a chronological way that prevents copying, tampering, fraud or deletion. It’s a new anonymous, decentralised, uncensored internet, and a new way of controlling and storing digital information. It’s not designed for music – it’s designed for whatever people want to use it for. One key aim is to create purer, more efficient markets. But it just so happens to be perfect for what Heap is planning.”

“A six-hour drive east from Mount Rushmore, the galleries teem with masterpieces: precious early Italian strings; one of only two surviving bass saxophones made by their inventor, Adolphe Saxe; a portable 17th-century organ with hand-operated bellows; a Gibson Les Paul guitar with a shimmering gold finish; a radiant Javanese gamelan. Surrounded by such treasures, a visitor finds it apt that the museum was, from its founding in 1973 until 2002, called the Shrine to Music.”

“The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has apologised to its former Chief Conductor, healing a rift that has existed for the last couple of years. Announcing the return of its Honorary Conductor, the RCO admitted that ‘strains in the relationship between the management of the RCO and [Haitink]’ had led to the conductor’s absence during the past 18 months.”

After a horrendous year that saw the orchestra openely rebel against an abusive but politically connected CEO, who resigned with obvious reluctance and then had Chung investigated for embezzlement, the maestro announced he was stepping down as music director. Then the musicians held a press conference pleading for the city government to convince Chung not to quit.

“[Alain] Altinoglu will take on his new role at La Monnaie, one of Europe’s most innovative opera companies, as the theater has been grappling with budget cuts and musical upheaval.”

What prompted the change of plan is not clear, though a statement issued by the orchestra implies it didn’t want him to leave. The city’s mayor Burkhard Jung is quoted as saying he ‘has conceded’ to Chailly’s desire to leave ‘in recognition of the exceptional accomplishments of Riccardo Chailly in furthering the artistic and international reputation of the Gewandhausorchester.’

Five of the world’s greatest orchestras, as collectively ranked, are German….

James Jorden: “It’s not easy to pin down exactly what makes LoftOpera so unlike the myriad other small opera companies that dot New York, but whatever that disparity might be, it makes all the difference.”