Category: music

“Although the Phil declined to provide overall ticket sales figures, attendance appeared to be strong at theaters in many areas of metropolitan Los Angeles.”

“As jazz clubs flourished in the ’50s and ’60s — exemplified by the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach and Shelly’s Manne-Hole in Hollywood — private performances dropped off. The high attrition rate of clubs in the last 20 years has made salons an attractive alternative to clubs and concerts.”

“So if you were to try to compile a list of the 10 greatest composers in history, how would you go about it? For me the resulting list would not be the point. But the process of coming up with such a list might be clarifying and instructive, as well as exasperating and fun.”

“Peter Mark, whose contract as artistic director of the Virginia Opera was terminated in November by unanimous vote of the board’s executive committee, is taking his revenge. At a press conference this afternoon, before an audience of people who expressed their support for him by e-mail after his ouster, he is announcing the creation of a new Lyric Opera of Virginia.”

“Cage’s whole career was a movement toward giving up control, toward creating a music that might be representative of the tension between form and chaos. Such a progression, however, required nearly constant upheaval.”

“Yesterday, HMV announced it will close 40 (almost 1 in 10) of its high street stores, due to a drop in profits over Christmas. The HMV store closures will hurt independent labels more than the majors.”

“Some of the trombonists and cellists had been playing their instruments for only 10 weeks, but their relative polish was surprising. Even more striking was the vibe. The musicians radiated glee and quiet pride. … Many of these families live in down-and-out Southwest Philadelphia, and the triumph of after-school energies being diverted to the pursuit of something positive was lost on no one.”

John Gilhooly, director of London’s Wigmore Hall: “We could have ditched a musical vision for the future, put on a few lecture recitals and comedy gigs and accepted decline was inevitable. But we didn’t do that – and instead we’ve raised ticket sales from 120,000 to 180,000 a year, and our radio broadcasts and the new Wigmore Live CD label attract listeners around the world.”

American Opera Theatre “announced Tuesday that its next production – a double bill of Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” and the stage premiere of Melissa Dunphy’s “The Gonzales Cantata,” a setting of the transcripts of the congressional hearings of former attorney general Alberto Gonzales – would be its last.”

“Controllerism embodies a lot of important trends in art generally and, as music controllers become easier to use and cheaper, they will start to be considered musical instruments in their own right – instruments that only play other instruments.”