“The spirit of Beethoven has come back to life in first-person shooter games. Over-the-top Romanticism, in all its most extravagant manifestations, is now the preferred musical accompaniment to virtual killing.”
Category: music
John Luther Adams: Making Music In A Time Of Crisis
“Today a growing number of geologists believe we have left the Holocene and entered a new period—the Anthropocene—in which the dominant geologic force is humanity itself. What does this mean for music? What does it mean for my work as a composer, or for any artist working in any medium today?”
So London Needs A New Concert Hall For Simon Rattle? Is This The Real Priority?
“Is this more than a vanity project? Is Simon Rattle’s musicianship really worth it? Would such a “world-class hall” be sustainable after his departure? At 63 he would be, even by the gerontocratic standards of classical music, not a young man when his Berlin contract runs out in 2018.”
Big Improvements Ahead For Sydney Opera House?
“The proposed upgrades include a permanent function centre at the Opera House overlooking the harbour and a new waterfront public square at Walsh Bay. About $202 million would be spent on the opera house, which was completed in 1973 and attracts 8 million tourists a year.”
Early Music Leader Philip Pickett Gets 11 Years’ Prison For Rape
The founder and director of the New London Consort and Musicians of the Globe (the resident ensemble at Shakespeare’s Globe), with a discography of 48 titles, Pickett was convicted of assaulting several of his students at the Guildhall School.
The Young Composer Forging Her Own Path In The ‘Archaic’ Worlds Of Classical Music And Opera
Gabrielle Herbst: “People go to the opera to step out of their ordinary lives, and I was interested in the symbols and archetypes that opera’s stories have, and how people come to terms with their own lives in terms of these very intense emotions and gestures.”
Can Pandora Soothe The Extremely Ruffled Feelings Of The Music World?
“To repair its relationships in the music world, Pandora has created a division to work with labels and artist managers, opened its vast databanks, and begun experimenting with artist promotions.”
A New Conducting Award Honors Julius Rudel, Former Music Director Of The New York City Opera
“The program, which is being financed through a bequest from the Rudel estate, will give some Mannes conducting students residencies with the Buffalo Philharmonic, which Mr. Rudel once led.”
The Tug Of War Over A 1711 Stradivarius That May Leave A Soloist Without His Instrument
“Zimmermann doesn’t own the violin. He rents it through an arrangement, struck with a now-defunct German bank, WestLB AG. That contract is set to expire Sunday night.”
How Do You Write A Film Score That Helps Dramatize (But Not Too Much) An Artist In His Studio?
“We’d been very meticulous in the look and the detail of the film in its period accuracy, but the music, the score, should somehow be a voice that comes from a different place. It should somehow be an expression of the essence of Turner’s painting in some way.”