“One hot-weather classical enterprise that remains impervious to change, justifiably so, is the Grant Park Music Festival.”
Category: music
What To Wear To Symphony Concerts: Actually Useful Advice For Newbies
Sure, administrators and musicians so often say to wear whatever you’re comfortable in, we don’t mind, we’re just happy you’re here. But plenty of people who hear that just keep asking, because they don’t want to stand out or get dirty looks and they honestly don’t know what other people do. So Holly Mulcahy offers some practical help for those folks (and those of us who talk with them).
Classical Music By The Numbers, 2014 Edition
In 2014, we listed over 25,000 events cementing our position as the No.1 site for classical events. This enables us to see trends in concert halls worldwide. Who are the most performed composers? The busiest orchestras? The most popular operas?”
Opera Australia Drops Two Critics From Press Tix List; Predictable Furor Ensues
“In early December, Sydney Morning Herald classical music critic Harriet Cunningham was removed from OA’s list after [artistic director Lyndon] Terracini was, according to an OA publicist, ‘very offended’ by a piece she wrote in Crikey‘s arts website … And on Friday, OA took another well-respected critic off its complimentary tickets list – Stage Noise and former Bulletin arts editor, Diana Simmonds.”
Giving Away Cheap Tickets Isn’t Easy – Just Ask The Met Opera
“In principle, it should not be so hard to make discounted seats available. In practice, devising a fair and easy way to offer inexpensive tickets is more complicated than you might think.”
Is The Ulster Orchestra Saved? (Not Yet)
“One of the Ulster Orchestra’s executives is optimistic that 2015 will see a deal reached to save it – but there is no sign yet of what it may be. Trevor Green, who has managed 13 orchestras during his career, arrived in November on a six-month contract to aid in its quest for survival.”
New Orleans At War With Itself Over All The Music (Hey, It’s Loud!)
A strange combination of old zoning laws and local tradition makes live musical performance in the birthplace of jazz a more complicated matter than you’d expect. As the city continues to recover from Katrina, the conflicting forces of gentrification, preservation, amplification and tourism are leading to some ferocious political battles.
This Organ Performance Will Last Longer Than You Will (Or Your Children Or Grandchildren)
A look in on the German project that’s taking John Cage’s piece As SLow aS Possible very, very seriously.
What A Musician Thinks Might Improve Classical Concerts
“People are becoming more creative about using visual effects, such as lighting and sometimes images, in order to bring a certain aspect of the music to life.”
Science Says It’s True That Most Popular Music Sounds (Almost Exactly) Alike
“The success of a song or album has little to do with its complexity or quality, and more to do with social influence, or what other people seem to enjoy listening to.”