“When Johnny played me the ‘Jaws’ score on the piano, I thought he was pulling my leg,” Spielberg said. “And he played it again. And then he played it until I stopped laughing.”
Category: music
Hey NY Phil, Did You Know We Have Living Composers – And Could You Please Program Some?
NY Philharmonic music director Alan Gilbert might be winning awards for programming contemporary composers – but is that accurate? Zachary Woolfe: “A sustained, all-out dedication to new music is a necessity to keep the Philharmonic from becoming an exercise in nostalgia. It should be the central part of the orchestra’s mission, but it is an area conspicuously underserved.”
Gustavo Dudamel’s Monumental ‘Mahler Project’ – Crazy? P.R. Stunt? Even Possible?
Maybe.
Indiana Legislator Proposes Fines For Those Who Change National Anthem
“A bill by Indiana Sen. Vaneta Becker would impose a $25 fine on anyone who fails to follow the standards while performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at events sponsored by public schools and universities.”
Oregon Symphony Quits League Of American Orchestras
The Oregon Symphony has dropped its membership in the League of American Orchestras, said Elaine Calder, the orchestra’s president. At an annual cost of $17,000, the benefits of membership were not worth the expense, she said.
The Everything-Was-Better-When-I-Was-A-Teenager Problem In Pop Music
These naysayers among us demonstrate a kind of generational bias that can blunt a promising musician’s career. It can be summarized thus: “The only valid music is what I liked when I was in my teens.”
Woman Destroys Violin Because Paypal Asks Her To Do It
“Ben Karl, of Access Communications in San Francisco, representing PayPal, confirmed a violin was destroyed by a customer but would not divulge the buyer’s name or city because of the company’s privacy policy.”
An Opera Where A Conservative Mayor Is Antihero And Margaret Atwood Is God
The librettist of Rob Ford: The Opera “refused to divulge many plot details. He allowed that there is a fantasy sequence in which the mayor goes to heaven and meets God, ‘who may or may not be Margaret Atwood,’ and that there is a trial sequence in which ‘he is judged by a jury of Toronto librarians’.”
Lost Generation: Music And Composers Of The Nazi Era
“Given the fact that both the music industry and the musical public generally turned a blind eye to the actions and allegiances of former Nazis and Nazi sympathizers, surely we have an obligation to audition the works of those who had the backbone to resist the regime’s temptations, not to mention the legacy of those who were obliged to flee Europe. We owe them this at least.”
Small Opera Companies Step In To Fill NY City Opera Void
“With City Opera’s decline it has fallen to a range of even smaller companies to provide variety and intimacy.”