Category: music

“The Utica Symphony Orchestra could be back in the swing by the end of the year – at least for one concert. The financially strapped orchestra is staggering back on its feet after paying approximately $60,000 worth of debt … The symphony was forced to end its 2011 fall season early because of debts totaling near $100,000.”

“The strings play in helicopters, the trumpeter’s on a trapeze, and a camel dances around while defecating planets.” Rock critic Alexis Petridis visits Birmingham to watch director Graham Vick grapple with Mittwoch aus Licht, the last of Stockhausen’s operas to get a complete performance.

“The DSO is launching a massive restructuring to preserve the century-old institution’s long-term health. It involves a scaled-down 2012-2013 season, a new board chair, a new general manager and a leaner board of directors and administrative team.”

The Thomanerchor had already clocked up 475 years, when Johann Sebastian Bach joined it way back in 1723 – and it is still going strong today.

“Though many Americans first learned of the white supremacist music scene via news about Page’s shooting spree, hate rock has been around since the 1980s, providing a rallying point for white supremacy and serving as a significant vehicle to advance the neo-Nazi movement.”

“It became clear over the last year that Seattle’s financial situation, which had worsened since 2008, was serious, and that the company would end the 2011-12 season with a rare shortfall: approximately $1 million in a budget of about $20 million. In the language of the news release that the company issued on June 26, it is ‘reshaping for a leaner economy.’ Translated into English, it is desperate.”

“The goal was to make music creation accessible to people who don’t have the ability to take music lessons. Our belief is that every human is musical.”

“The existence of this music subculture surprised many Americans, but law enforcement agencies and civil rights organizations that monitor hate groups have been paying attention to these groups and their followers since the genre began to emerge in the United States in the early 1980s.”

“A government program” – modeled after Venezuela’s now-famous Sistema – “has set up youth orchestras and choirs in underprivileged areas throughout the country. The instructors and conductors say the students have surpassed their expectations in the orchestra, and their teachers at school say they even notice positive results in the classroom thanks to their participation in the music program.”

Piotr Beczala, who had gotten terrific reviews for his opening night performance as Rodolfo, lost his voice just before Saturday night’s performance – and Salzburg generally doesn’t hire understudies. So Kaufmann, in town to sing Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos the following afternoon, was rushed into the pit (with his supper) to sing the role as Beczala mimed it onstage.