“Alexander Kinmonth’s appointment also puts an exclamation point on the rapid transformation of the DSO under music director Leonard Slatkin, who has been rebuilding the ensemble following the epic six-month musicians strike in 2010-11 that threatened to push the orchestra into bankruptcy. Since the start of Slatkin’s tenure in 2008, he has appointed 10 current principal players and 27 total musicians, about a third of the ensemble.”
Category: music
“Indie” Bands? What The Hell Does That Mean?
These never really were artists you could lump together easily, but for years they seemed to get by with “indie” or “indie rock” as an umbrella. Many people still use these terms, but what do they mean today?
Pianist Who Was To Replace Lisitsa With Toronto Symphony Says Her Fans Bullied Him Into Withdrawing
Stewart Goodyear: “Words of bile and hatred were hurled in my direction from all sides. Suddenly I was accused of supporting censorship, and bullied into declining this engagement. What started out as one of the happiest moments of my life turned into a shattering display of mob hysteria.”
The Tricky Feat Of Making Opera Out Of Current Events
“Creating operas out of real events, whether in the recent or more distant past, is almost as old as the art form itself. It began in 1643 when Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, set in Rome in AD 64, was staged in Venice, though in the baroque and early classical operas that followed over the next century and a half, hard historical fact and more distancing fantasy were frequently inextricably merged.”
Toronto Symphony CEO Breaks Silence Over Buying Out Valentina Lisitsa’s Contract
Jeff Melanson: “We did not go public with this story because we were trying to protect Valentina and her reputation. We are now going public because she basically forced the issue on us and now we are speaking to you.”
Pianist Says Toronto Symphony Donor Threatened To Cut Funds If She Performed
“Valentina Lisitsa, whose appearances were cancelled this week by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra because of tweets she posted about the Ukrainian crisis, says the TSO told her agent a donor threatened to withhold funds if she performed as scheduled.”
The Hell With It: Toronto Symphony Pulls Concerto From Program Altogether
When the TSO bought out Valentina Lisitsa’s contract because of controversial statements she tweeted about the situation in Ukraine, they engaged Stewart Goodyear as her replacement – whereupon he became the target of abuse and threats on social media from Lisitsa fans and/or Putin partisans. So the TSO threw up its hands. (includes astonished, heartfelt statement from Goodyear)
Don McLean’s “American Pie” Manuscript Sells For $1.2 Million
“The manuscript and McLean’s supporting notes “achieved the 3rd highest auction price for an American literary manuscript, a fitting tribute to one the foremost singer-songwriters of his generation,” said Tom Lecky, head of the books and manuscripts department at Christie’s auction house in New York.”
We’re Entering The Next Phase Of Music Streaming
“When artists lament Spotify’s meager payouts, the real culprit isn’t the streaming service, which pays out 70 percent of its revenue to labels and musicians—it’s the fact that streaming doesn’t make a whole lot of revenue to begin with. The most likely way for that to change is for there to be more paying users in the system. So if the golden age of simplicity for streaming’s early adopters is coming to an end, the health of the music industry might be worth it.”
More Genuinely Useful Advice For Classical Newbies: When To Clap At Concerts
As with advice on what to wear, just telling uncertain newcomers to clap when it feels right and don’t worry about shushers isn’t necessarily helpful. Holly Mulcahy offers “some general guidelines I’ve observed both from the stage and as an audience member.”