Category: music

“Questions abound: Will a classic from the past, especially one full of timebound pop-culture references, look dated today? Will its eccentricities of pacing and form seem more or less convincing than they once were? And for those of us who loved the work in its previous incarnations, to what extent will these recast Brooklyn performances test the strength of our nostalgia?”

Anne Midgette: “In fact, Cage was anything but a clown, though like many profound thinkers who are profoundly misunderstood, he did nothing to counteract people’s misimpressions. … So why was he so important? The short answer is that Cage was in the vanguard of a way of thinking about art that became central to many artists after him, testing its mores and meanings and definitions. Where does the ‘real world’ end and ‘art’ begin; what makes one object ‘art’ and not another; what defines a performance?”

“European regulators will vote next week on Universal Music Group’s $1.9 billion bid for EMI’s recorded music arm, which could set the stage for a final EU decision on the deal later in September.”

For five years, Gustavo Dudamel has led the Gothenburg Symphony as its principal conductor. With his term set to expire this year, the orchestra said … it has named Kent Nagano as principal guest conductor and artistic advisor”, effective immediately and for a three-year term.

How did Naxos get so big? All is revealed in this Q&A with its founder, Klaus Heymann.

Seriously: “Summer music can be top-notch. If that happened all the time, imagine the possibilities. Audiences would leave happier. The orchestra would be more happily challenged.”

“Classical music reviews will now carry two star ratings – one for musical content and one for the attractiveness (or otherwise) of the players.”

“The Indiana State Symphony Society, the body that runs the orchestra, is now asking the musicians to agree to a 38-week annual schedule that would result in the loss of one or two pops concerts, four to six classical concerts, and approximately half of the summer performances at Conner Prairie annually.”

“The demand for this service is insufficient to justify the cost, time and resources involved in launching the certification,” says Westjet spokesman Robert Palmer. “We fly roughly 16 million guests each year, and receive at most a handful of telephone calls from guests asking if they may purchase a seat for their cello.”