Robert Trevino, music director of the Basque National Orchestra in Spain, writes about the restaurant meal that gave him the idea, how he and the orchestra staff planned and marketed the series (and convinced the media not to reveal the secret), and how the audiences responded. (includes complete video of concert) – Gramophone
Tag: 02.03.20
Opera Carolina Lays Off Its Executive Director
In a statement to supporters obtained by the Observer, the opera said Beth Hansen’s role was cut “as a result of a harsh economic climate for the arts and a possible reduction in fiscal year 2021 support from the Arts & Science Council.” – Charlotte Observer
YouTube Now Makes More From Advertising Than All Broadcast Networks Combined
YouTube makes more money from advertising than the ABC, NBC and Fox broadcast networks—combined. It’s an astonishing domination of the video ad market. – The Information
Long A Visual Desert, Baghdad Is Coming Alive With Political Art
“Where did all this art come from? How is it that a city where beauty and color have been largely suppressed for decades by poverty, and by the oppression or indifference of successive governments, suddenly came to be so alive?” – The New York Times
At Santiago’s Theatre Festival As The Chilean Uprising Continues
“Sometimes comic, sometimes earnest, always indignant, Chilean theatre repeatedly gives voice to the abused, the angry and the dispossessed. … All this is consistent with a festival that has its roots in the underground resistance to the Pinochet dictatorship. Fiercely independent, Santiago a Mil sees itself on the side of the people and has accessibility in its DNA; the three-week festival attracts audiences of 200,000, of whom 150,000 pay nothing.” – The Guardian
Canada Proposes Outlines Of A New Media Landscape
They range from bringing online media platforms like Yahoo and Facebook under the scope of the Broadcasting Act to making sure that streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime are sufficiently promoting Canadian material. – CBC
How The Right Conductor And The Right Orchestra Can Make A Statement
Alex Ross: “For the most part, the classical-music world is in need of conductors with broad horizons, who can guide audiences from a passive worship of the past to an active awareness of the present. The rote repetition of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Mahler ultimately does those composers no favors. But we also need conductors who know how to revitalize the grand tradition—and orchestras that can respond in kind. At the moment, Pittsburgh is one of the few places on the international scene where that alchemy regularly happens.” – The New Yorker
If Hits Can Be Built With Data, Won’t Everything Be A Hit? Well…
“If there are benefits to humans using data to assimilate this kind of information and attempting to make it actionable, the results have yet to impact the production-to-hit ratio of major studios in any meaningful way. That said, I expect that to change very soon as AI models trained to maximize engagement start to show up in video production departments.” – Shelley Palmer
Data: Pop Songs Have Become Sadder. Why?
English-language popular songs have become more negative. The use of words related to negative emotions has increased by more than one third. Let’s take the example of the Billboard dataset. If we assume an average of 300 words per song, every year there are 30,000 words in the lyrics of the top-100 hits. In 1965, around 450 of these words were associated with negative emotions, whereas in 2015 their number was above 700. – Aeon
The Remarkable Caroline Shaw
Some composers deal with the threat of boredom by cramming their scores full of drama and extreme sounds. Others embrace it, stretching time and indulging in trancelike repetition. Shaw describes her approach as the avoidance of both extremes. “I know what I don’t like,” she says: “plain harmonies that don’t ever change. What makes me sad is hearing a sequence of interesting chords — and then it goes to vanilla. That’s the worst.” – New York Magazine