Category: music

“They are already accustomed to being insulted by the closed-door decisions of jurors. They may crack under the strain of massive repertoire requirements. Some will quietly withdraw and go into insurance. But probably the most wrenching strain on a competition pianist today is the public battering they are exposed to by critics amateur and professional, now spreading their instant opinions by social media to a global audience.”

“Officials of the union representing the musicians at the Nashville Symphony Association said negotiations over a new contract are set to begin this week even as the symphony’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center is facing a June 28 foreclosure auction.”

Ticket revenue is up 15%; attendance is up 4.6%; the company exceeded its fundraising goals. “But the gain that’s really cheering company officials is the more than 27,000 new customers – people attending Lyric events for the first time.”

“Turkish police have reportedly confiscated a piano that was being used to serenade Istanbul’s protesters. Davide Martello claims that officials seized his grand piano as part of Saturday’s raid on Gezi Park.”

“Just keeping it in the US, if we assume that 50 million people upgrade, and listen to 10 hours of iTunes Radio per month (about 200 tracks), that’s $96.9m per month going to the labels. Pure gravy! Order some fresh flowers!”

“This is the ghost of Cherubini – we have resurrected his pen strokes.”

“It’s entirely possible – I’ve tried it – to make this technology think you’re playing a beautiful scale but by using a piece of fruit to play your cello instead of a finger. I used an orange.”

The campaign isn’t deeply bad news: Things have dramatically improved since last fall when the board of the CSO resigned en masse, but that left a few financial holes.

“In this burbling stew of toil, trouble and occasional triumph, does the passing of the Big Five represent loss or gain?”

“When Alexander Pereira was appointed last week as general manager of Teatro alla Scala, starting in 2015, the presumption was that he would remain in his current post, artistic director of the Salzburg Festival, until his contract ended in 2016. But the notion of a one-year overlap did not sit well with the festival’s board, which has decided to let him go at the end of September 2014.”