Category: music

“We’ve had immersive theatre, now here’s the immersive concert experience, the latest attempt to stir concert-goers out of their stupor and reignite classical music for new audiences.”

“Not one lead black act has topped the Hot 100 all year. That’s never happened before in the chart’s 55-year history. It’s a huge pendulum swing in less than a decade.”

“Playing Mozart and Beethoven to young children improves their listening skills, concentration and self-discipline, according to a study this week by the Institute of Education.”

But – and this is key – it’s part of the Beats empire (those headphones that can cost $450).

“Laura Kaminsky increased the space’s new music programming significantly, helping to make it competitive with the Miller Theater at Columbia University, which had a long tradition of new-music presentation, as well as with relative upstarts like Le Poisson Rouge, which opened in 2008 and has become an important space for independent classical music, rock and jazz.”

They Might Be Giants aren’t outliers anymore. There’s Arcade Fire, Mumford and Sons — heck, there’s now an accordionist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (And by the way, Hallie Golden reminds us, a hundred years ago the accordion was positively glamorous.)

“We simply do not have the financial resources to continue. We had hoped a large donation from an individual would arrive in time, but regrettably it did not materialize, and in the absence of any other funding, the board had no choice but to cancel the rest of the season and cease operations.”

“With most lyric theatres in Italy unable to pay bills or wages, the financial crisis afflicting the birth place of the art form appears more serious than ever – and is prompting those involved in opera to call for a rethink on how its theatres are funded and operated.”

Anthony Tommasini suggests that the lessons from the demise of New York City Opera and the ongoing Bleeding of the Minnesota Orchestra can be boiled down to a single five-word warning.

The hardy musicians of the American Hollywood Film Orchestra “schlep by bus, train and plane to more than a dozen [Chinese] cities from late December to mid-January, offering up crowd-pleasing medleys from movies such as Titanic, Dances With Wolves, The Incredibles and The Godfather.”