“The roughly three-and-a-half hour show, broadcast on CBS, averaged 25.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings. It was the show’s lowest turnout since the 2009 telecast, which drew just 19 million viewers. Viewership was down about 11% from the 28.5 million people who tuned in to last year’s show. In the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic, this year’s show dropped about 14% from last year to a rating of 8.5.”
Category: music
America’s Orchestras And Music Schools Have A Diversity Problem
“Ethnic diversity remains a troublesome question for American orchestras. Just over four percent of their musicians are African-American and Latino, according to the League of American Orchestras, and when it comes to orchestra boards and CEOs, the numbers are even starker: only one percent. Ethnic diversity is also a rare sight among guest soloists and conductors.”
What Alan Gilbert Has (And Hasn’t) Achieved At The New York Philharmonic
“Make no mistake: Gilbert is a first-rate musician – you don’t get re-engaged by the Metropolitan Opera for nothing – and has a bright future ahead of him, part of which might well be in New York, owing to his presence on the faculty of Juilliard. But the musical bond between him and the players has been of a unique inconsistency.”
What Makes An Opera Last Forever?
“It’s comic and serious, entertaining and erudite, silly and thoughtful, emotional and mysterious, harrowing and uplifting, intimate and over-the-top — and the more times you see it, the more you’ll find in it and the more you’ll get out of it.”
Watching The Grammys, Or Watching Twitter? Here Are A Few Live-Blog Choices
Here are but a few of the many, many, many news organization live blogs of tonight’s GRAMMY Awards. Billboard, Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, NPR, The Washington Post, Vox. And finally, the one place online to watch all of the commentary and snark and happiness and anger and fashion analysis and discussion of air kisses: Twitter’s #GRAMMYs hashtag.
The Western Love Song Was Invented In Africa And The Middle East
“The qiyan, the singing female slaves of the Islamic world, invented the key elements of courtly love long before they were known in Europe. I have a whole shelf of books on troubadour love songs in front of me, and not one of them mentions these innovators.”
The Woman Who Runs The LA Phil
“Her key accomplishment has been to keep the Phil relevant — and prosperous — at a time when fewer people nationwide want to buy season tickets to the symphony, especially an on-demand young generation that prefers a la carte programming with a contemporary edge. Borda and Dudamel have kept the classics, but they have expanded the repertoire.” (This is the first in a week-long series of interactive stories about the Los Angeles Philharmonic.)
So, Who Won The Classical Grammys?
“The curiosity of the evening was a Best Classical Compendium Grammy for late American eccentric composer and inventor Harry Partch. Accepting the award for his recording of Partch’s Plectra & Percussion Dances, producer John Schneider noted that his musicians had to learn the composer’s daunting 43-note scale as part of their preparation.”
Advice For A Boomer Who Can No Longer Tolerate Rock But Only Listens To Classical
“Returning to ground well-tilled can be a fruitless endeavour, so the doctor offers no cure: you have no disease. Besides, you have already hit on the best medicine the world has to offer anyone, at any age: passion and enlightenment.”
Pandora Radio Squares Off Against BMI In (Potentially) Seismic Licensing Case
“The larger debate over music royalties online has galvanized musicians, and the Justice Department is reviewing the regulatory agreements that govern BMI and Ascap, its rival.”