Category: music

Yes, it’s replicable, and yes, we need it. “So pervasive is El Sistema in this society that if you were to ask the average Venezuelan whether he or she thought classical music is dying, you might be questioned about what planet you are on. So strong is the Sistema lockbox that this program is equally supported by rich and poor, the political left and right.”

Even audiences intimidated by classical music can figure out what’s important in a piece, says a neurologist. “Just as a baby’s cry or an alarm elicits an emotional response, music causes reactions, Outwater says, adding, ‘It’s beyond emotion, it’s really hormones and chemicals.'”

“English National Opera is to launch a global online talent search for new composers, writers and filmmakers in an initiative seeking to ‘create the future of opera’.”

“Following Broadway’s record-breaking success with flexible ticket pricing, the Metropolitan Opera will adopt a new pricing system next season, boosting the cost of the most sought-after seats and lowering the cheapest ticket price to $20 from $25.”

Says the leader of Radiohead, “I was trying hard not to be intimidated or overly starstruck … I kind of wish he had been more foreboding, but he’s just very friendly.” Says the venerable avant-garde composer, “I didn’t expect to meet somebody from pop music who was really quite a normal person. He dresses very normal, he has dignity and very good manners.”

“The report, which is being vigorously disputed by the defendants, represents millions of dollars in claimed revenue from digital downloads. It also shows the other ways that record labels supposedly withhold too much income from artists, from overstating the costs of advertising on TV to not sharing the proceeds of litigation winnings.”

“Oramo managed the impossible task of filling, with notable success, the enormous gap left by Simon Rattle when he took over from him at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Quietly, and with immense charm, confidence and support for a wide range of repertoire – not just from his Finnish homeland but in a variety of British music too – Oramo made his mark, and developed the sound of the CBSO even beyond Rattle’s extraordinary achievements.”

“Rap presents an immediate test. If you get up on the stage and your are whack, you are going to get booed off. You have to present yourself in the moment and you have to move the crowd. I think there is a lesson there in leadership because it’s about creating pathways of connection.”

Jon Pareles: “Blues singing is part oratory, and after a faltering start on Tuesday, Mr. Obama declaimed his lines with adequate warmth and gusto. … But performing in public – especially in the YouTube era – means that an amateur faces comparison to professionals, while the choice of repertory also gets scrutinized. And should the head of state be taking time away from the job to practice?”

We remember the “old, scrappy, ambitious days of City Opera, when there was nowhere else in New York to hear standard-repertory operas with young American singers at low prices. Now, American singers work in houses all over the U.S. and Europe, and you can hear a better cast at a Met HD transmission for $25. As for staging new and unusual work, if it’s “Prima Donna,” then why bother? City Opera will have to come up with a more compelling artistic profile if it is going to survive.”