Category: music

“In hearing the texts we focused on the words, their meanings and — importantly — their ideas on their own. We listened attentively during these spoken passages and then, with the texts fresh in our minds, we listened more actively to the music that both singer and pianist produced. And, as Blythe wanted, we were looking at her and she at us.”

“It is hard to see how enough players can be swayed from Thielemann to Nelsons or vice versa in order for the orchestra to bury its differences and rally around a new music director. That leaves three options, none of them easy.”

According to his legal papers, “By operating a subsidiary that massively pirates Nina Simone recordings, at price points generally lower than those at which Sony sells her RCA recordings, [this] has the natural tendency to displace Sony’s sales, thereby depriving Claimants of the full royalties they would otherwise earn under the New Artist Agreement.”

“It has so far taken more than £600,000 at the UK box office, from a single screening on May 19, with around 400,000 people watching it. The previous record for an opera was the Metropolitan Opera’s broadcast of Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow earlier this year, which took £504,000 in total.”

“The group chose Jean Davidson after a national search because of her work with top artists such as Yo-Yo Ma and Laurie Anderson as well as her track record at New York Live Arts since 2011. Davidson was instrumental in the creation of the group, formed through a merger of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the Dance Theater Workshop.”

“The orchestra has increased the number of performances next season from 11 to 19, presenting some programs over two days rather than one evening (including Sunday matinees).”

They must “build innovation into the core product so that eventually innovation becomes part of your incremental track. It’s a 10-year window and requires a real investment in innovation.”

“The deal includes an average 3.5 percent increase in base salary in each of the next three seasons for the musicians, who endured $3.8 million in salary cuts over the past seven years as the orchestra weathered a nationwide economic downturn and its aftermath.”

Michael Nowak had led the orchestra for 31 years when the orchestra’s board fired him. “We asked for a reason, and we were told that no reason was required according to the terms of the contract, and we would not have a reason.”

“In cities such as Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, a growing number of concerts are popping up that are either free or dirt-cheap for fans. The catch? They’re sponsored by the likes of Mountain Dew, Red Bull or Converse. Corporate sponsorship has infiltrated almost every corner of music culture, from mega-sized festivals such as South by Southwest and venues such as the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre to the Polaris Music Prize. Riding this success, companies are increasingly seizing the chance to run shows of their own.”