“The reputation of the orchestra lifts the reputation of the whole region,” says the orchestra’s CEO, and several business figures say that that reputation has led overseas companies and workers to locate in and around Pittsburgh. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Category: music
When Classical Music Mattered
“As a common language of celebration or eulogy, as a means of expressing collective joy or sorrow, classical music is indeed a dying tongue. Would 2,500 people cram into the nave and transept of the National Cathedral today to hear Haydn’s Mass in the Time of War, as they did in January 1973, when Leonard Bernstein conducted a concert in protest of President Nixon’s second inaugural?” – American Scholar
10,000 Hours Of Practice Won’t Make You An Expert Musician (Not By Itself, Anyway)
“Expert players vary a lot in the number of practice hours they put in, and on average amount of practice can only account for about 30% of variation in performance quality, meaning that 70% of the story about musical expertise remains untold. Here we turn to the real topic of interest: quality of practice. What makes good quality practice? … Emma Allingham, a music psychology researcher at the University of Hamburg, shares her insight.” – The Strad
Don’t Mess With Opera Fans, Episode 396
Matthew Feargrieve was found guilty in London of punching Ulrich Engler at least once while attending a performance of Wagner at the Royal Opera House on 7 October last year. Feargrieve, 43, attacked Ulrich Engler, who had climbed into an empty seat next to him and moved Feargrieve’s partner’s coat at the Royal Opera House in central London. – The Guardian
Homecoming: Simone Young Is Next Chief Conductor Of Sydney Symphony
“She will take up the position at the start of 2022 when the orchestra returns to its home at the Sydney Opera House following the two-year closure of the Concert Hall for a major upgrade, including an acoustic refurbishment. In 2021, she will be the orchestra’s Chief Conductor Designate as she puts the 2022 program in place.” – Limelight (Australia)
Class, control, and classical music
“Something that has increasingly bothered me over 20 years as a practitioner and educator, is that “music education” as we conceive it (right down to state/county/national syllabi/standards) is not really for everyone, even if it’s supposed to be. … [Anna] Bull’s Class, Control, and Classical Music is a book for our time, especially for those of us who went through classical music training (even just school-age instrumental lessons or choir/chorus rehearsals), loved or loathed it, and would like to point a critical lens to that part of our lives.” – James Humberstone
How this nomadic music group is bridging cultural divides
“The band Tinariwen hails from the deserts of Mali in North Africa. Its sound blends ancient Saharan instruments with electric guitars, and has earned the band devoted fans around the world. During a recent U.S. tour,however, band members experienced a darker side of America. Before a North Carolina show, they received a barrage of Islamophobic comments on social media. But as producer Ali Rogin reports, the city of Winston-Salem banded together to give them a warm welcome.” – PBS NewsHour
The Culture Story In Los Angeles This Year? The LA Philharmonic
Mark Swed: “The biggest story of all has been the stellar rise of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, becoming surely the most successful arts organization of the century so far through an insurmountable belief in the value of music to the betterment of humanity. The vision has been if you build a better concert hall, make new music widely available, and view the world through the lens of music and give it to kids who wouldn’t otherwise have it, good things happen.” – Los Angeles Times
After Years Of Upheaval, The American Jazz Museum Hires A Director
The Jazz Museum in Kansas City has had financial and leadership struggles during the past couple of years, but it’s clearly hoping that Rashida Phillips (a performer herself) will right the ship. – Kansas City Business Journal
Is An Organ Coming To Geffen Hall?
Organists are not happy not to have seen pipes in the renderings of the remodeled Geffen Hall. They see it “as a chance to right a historical wrong, especially at a time when many of the world’s most glamorous new halls — including Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Philharmonie in Paris and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg — have installed mammoth new pipe organs.” But, as is so often the case, New York is a little different. – The New York Times