Category: music

“Saxophonist Lou Donaldson, pianist-songwriter Mose Allison and Latin jazz bandleader Eddie Palmieri join the owner of New York City’s Village Vanguard, Lorraine Gordon, as recipients of the honor, which includes a $25,000 prize.”

“The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has appointed another executive from an American orchestra as its managing director to succeed Matthew VanBesien, who has taken up the plum role as chief executive at the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. André Gremillet, a Canadian, has been CEO of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra since 2007 and, like VanBesien, has a great fund-raising record.”

“Programming is a telling thing, and given free reign [sic], what a pianist chooses to play is often as revealing as the way he/she plays it. … But let us dispense with this traditional notion of the ‘well-rounded’ pianist. … Having a world filled with pianists who can all play the range of repertoire considered ‘standard’ in an inoffensive fashion does nothing to further the musical industry or the art form.”

“Four new youth orchestras are being launched across England as part of the In Harmony programme, inspired by Venezuela’s world-famous El Sistema. New projects in Gateshead, Leeds, Nottingham and Telford and Wrekin will all receive funding until 2015. … Existing orchestras in Liverpool and Lambeth, London will also benefit.”

“The accordion, with its distinctive reedy sound produced by bellows, has not been widely popular in this country since the 1950s and ’60s. But the American Accordionists’ Association, founded in 1938, has been trying to reverse that, putting emphasis on attracting young players. It’s not easy.”

“Looking into buying #virginrecords”, he Tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. “Great opportunity to recreate a dynamic independent label”.

Anne Midgette: “This morning, I Tweeted … the question, … and a couple of artists promptly responded, unequivocally, Yes. … As someone who’s written my share of tough reviews, I thought a lot about this response. My basic stance on what the Web has done to music criticism is very positive: it’s allowed a lot more discussion and a lot more response.”

“This a cappella quintet has had Bach on the brain since they met singing at St Thomas’ Church Leipzig. … The ensemble’s name, Amarcord, is drawn from Fellini’s Oscar-winning 1973 film of the same name. … The word means ‘I remember’ in the Romagnolo dialect.”