Category: music

Director Alexander Pereira is convinced that artistic innovation is as attractive to corporate sponsors as it is essential to ensuring that Salzburg retains its position at the tip of what he refers to as the “iceberg of the operatic and musical world”. Companies that have a strong research and development ethos are keen to be part of what Mr Pereira calls the “cutting edge of international culture”.

“The Dutch composer Michel van der Aa, 42, has won the University of Louisville’s 2013 Grawemeyer Award for music composition in recognition of his work “Up-close” for cello, string ensemble, electronic soundtrack and film.”

Love? Profits? Or is the whole idea pure marketing hogwash?

“The board chose to cover operating deficits in 2009 and 2010 with major withdrawals from its investments. Then, in 2011 – on the cusp of labor negotiations with musicians – it “drew down” less money and declared a $2.9 million deficit.”

Christopher Plummer: “Julie, of course, had been, you know, trained since day one as a – I mean, she was tone perfect since she was in her cradle, which is an exasperating thing to admit. And it was awfully hard to match her and her sustained long notes.”

“Female composers of electronic and computer music have long been overlooked outside circles of scholars and record scavengers. But because of the efforts of a handful of small, independent record labels, that situation has begun to change.”

“Significantly, as troubling financial news emanates from once vaunted concert halls in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Minneapolis, the contrasting fortunes of the Kansas City Symphony, a medium-sized orchestra in our humble, medium-sized city, have been nothing short of remarkable.”

“It is one of the central ironies of the Grateful Dead that this group of virtual anarchists, playing their ragged, improvisational amalgam of old-timey American music, fronted what may have been the most technically sophisticated sound operation in the music business.”

The ten-day August event, which features jazz, folk, classical and world music at numerous venues, has an accumulated deficit of more than $150,000. The financial troubles are attributed to insufficient ticket income, corporate and government support.

Film industry figures say that the big studios are pulling their film score work out of L.A., recording instead with orchestras in London or with cheaper Czech or Slovak musicians – and these figures argue that restrictive US musicians’ union rules are to blame. Union officials not only dismiss the charge; they claim that the alleged exodus of film score work from L.A. is exaggerated.