Category: music

“It’s a fallacy to think that this is new. But for some reason, the idea that opera can be topical has carried with it a whiff of provocation, even titillation, since the earliest days of the genre, when thinly disguised mythological narratives referring to contemporary rulers were a standard feature of every self-respecting state celebration.”

“So how do you come to conclusions about the “greatest”? Think about the music you listen to most frequently, the composers you can’t live without, the works you’ll pack for that desert island.”

“Just a handful of other musicians have hit the one billion view mark on YouTube. Last October, Lady Gaga was widely acknowledged to be the first. Teenage pop star Justin Bieber hit the milestone the following month.”

“There’ve been substantial drops in endowments, substantial drops in pension funds and a decline in attendance and contributions in some cases.”

“Einstein often used his fame to meet and befriend musicians he admired. He would play chamber music with them and, though no virtuoso, could usually hold his own. Except for counting, that is…”

“When reviewers do not for whatever reason offer some insights into what they are writing about, it devalues the art form by implying that it isn’t important enough to warrant an opinion.”

“The 49-year-old has only recently begun performing again after recovering from a rare form of encephalitis. The debilitating illness, which led to paralysis of his left shoulder muscles, kept him away from the concert platform for 18 months.”

The current music director of the Toronto Symphony spent 14 years as first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet – until he developed focal dystonia in his left hand and had to give up his instrument. But for one concert in April 2012, Oundjian and his old teacher Itzhak Perlman will play Bach’s Double Violin Concerto with the Toronto Symphony.

“For all the new commissioning and trumpeted world premieres, however, it would be foolish to pretend that it still retains that pre-eminence. Like the novel, it goes on, it attracts lots of creative endeavour still, but, save for the odd populist success, it no longer holds the centre stage as it once did.”

“It’s not just because we have established institutions operating at high artistic levels. Part of the reason lies with the fact that the many smaller groups orbiting around the big boys do quality work in their own right, complementing each other’s repertory while setting their own stamp on it.”