Category: music

Last week critic Tom Manoff said that the composer’s Sidereus incorporated large chunks of music from Michael Ward-Bergeman’s score Barbeich; Ward-Bergeman says the borrowings were made with his cooperation. Now a Brazilian journalist says Golijov used, without attribution, a Brazilian pop sing for the second movement of his string quartet Kohelet.

Anne Midgette: “That people are getting outraged about this simply means that they are unfamiliar with Golijov’s modus operandi. Golijov works this way with other composers all the time, folding their work into his pieces with their approval.”

“Of the 105 members of Seoul Philharmonic, women account for 65 members, or 62 percent. The ratio is even higher for the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, where 63 of its 74 members are women, or 85 percent.” One Korean critic attributes the phenomenon to traditional Confucian gender roles.

“If approved, the sales would reduce the number of major players from four to three and give Universal and Sony substantial advantages over Warner. Battle lines have been drawn throughout the industry, with Warner and independent labels lobbying to block the deals and consumer groups expressing concern that the deals would stifle competition and innovation.”

In the West Coast premiere of Jake Heggie’s hit opera on Saturday, Heppner’ voice was reportedly in distress. Now he has withdrawn from Tuesday’s performance due to illness, with the two remaining dates up in the air.

“Mei-Ann Chen, whose growing stature as a conductor is earning increased notice around the country, has agreed to stay on as Music Director of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra for an additional three years.”

“The company said that ticket holders for [Britten’s] Albert Herring can bring along friends who have never been to the opera before for just $25 per seat.”

Tom Manoff says that Osvaldo Golijov’s “Sidereus” is just a little too much like Michael Ward-Bergeman’s “Barbeich.”

“Jewish groups have accused ENO of ‘giving a voice to terrorism’ and have threatened to mount protests after the company’s decision to stage the rarely-performed work, which the opera company itself says will ‘shock.'”

“America’s rich tradition of musical theatre means that audiences expect operas to be accessible. A good example is Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick, which was commissioned by the Dallas Opera and opened in Dallas in 2010. The opera turned a classic American novel into a spectacular stage show, featuring ladders, masts and winches and stormy screen projections.”