Category: music

Conductor Charles Hazlewood writes about The British Paraorchestra, the ensemble of 18 disabled musicians he founded and is set to lead in its debut.

“The sound of the 86 musicians plus chorus will be piped into the theatre via 97 speakers. The cast will sing without amplification on stage, but will wear microphones so that the conductor, Christian Badea, can hear them.”

“The [company] announced Tuesday night that it expects a shortfall of $1 million for the 2011-12 season, and cuts are on the way for staff, salaries and future programming.” The 2012-13 season and the summer 2013 Ring cycle won’t be affected, but one mainstage production will be cut from each of the following two seasons.

“The graying but still spry grandfather of new-music groups, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, said on Friday that the composer and conductor Matthias Pintscher would become its next music director, starting in 2013.” The Paris-group was founded by Pierre Boulez in 1976.

“IRS records show the DSO’s total revenue increased by nearly 5 percent to $2.46 million from fiscal 2008 to 2010. Still, the symphony lost about one-fourth of its subscribers over the last four seasons, totaling 521 subscribers in the last season. New executive director Lee Williamson, who began in March, blamed the uncertain economic climate.”

“The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the American Federation of Musicians, Local 2-197, have agreed on a new four-year labor contract, 14 months before the expiration of the current one. … That means that the SLSO, which suffered a rancorous, damaging work stoppage in 2005, is heading into five years of labor peace.”

The Perth Symphony Orchestra, Australia’s newest professional symphonic ensemble, was created by conductor Jessica Gethin to take advantage of extra performance opportunities (including non-traditional formats and non-classical music) that the long-established West Australian Symphony may not be able to cover in Australia’s vastest state.

Richard Dare suggests the rituals suppress creativity and audience enjoyment. Others aren’t so sure… (a discussion)

“Rumors have been swirling around the musician’s network in the Twinks about both orchestras for months now and the question has to be asked: How in the world could both of these organizations be in such bad shape simultaneously? This is certainly NOT what the Twin Cities are known for.”

“The point is: no music, no communication, no possibility of connection with our alien brethren. But is this all just the workings of Hollywood’s febrile imagination? Not a bit of it. Nasa has recorded the ‘sounds’ the planets make as they orbit; or at least it has turned the radiowaves they emit into an audible format – thus giving us a physical representation of ‘the music of the spheres,’ the celestial harmonies of proportion and geometry that the ancients believed held the universe together.”