The venue, named after popular a public radio music show, has been in turmoil for a year, since a new management team led by CEO Joe Callahan took over from founder Hal Real. What’s now called World Stage still faces a pile of unpaid rent, tax and utility bills. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
The magazine was sold to Mark Allen by Rhinegold Publishing in December 2018, together with other titles such as Music Teacher, Choir & Organ and International Piano. It had been flourishing since the late 1970s but was facing declining interest and online competition. - Slipped Disc
The time when every musical event, every world premiere, every opera opening, was the spark for a lively public discussion is gone. In its place we have, or soon will have, silence. - On a Pacific Aisle
Early last year, the Basque maestro — former chief conductor of the BBC Philharmonic and the Cincinnati May Festival and a very busy guest conductor — revealed his diagnosis. He has now announced that the disease has progressed and that, following final concerts this month, he is ending his career. - IMG Artists
Next season, 2026-27, will be the last for both the Boston Philharmonic and its associated youth orchestra. The identity of the organization is thoroughly bound to that of Zander, the conductor who founded both ensembles and is now 87. - Boston Classical Review
Every year, over 400 church organs in the UK alone are sent to the junkyard or become unplayable due to neglect. The organization Pipe Up is rescuing some of those instruments which can be made playable at relatively little expense, then sending them to new owners ranging from London to the Philippines. - BBC (Yahoo!)
Nearly every major pianist of the early 20th century made music for these machines. Echoing AI commentary today, some musicians viewed the player piano as not just replicating human playing, but exceeding it. - The Atlantic
Right now though, it’s anyone’s guess where the “future vision” of the BSO will take them – and if the relationship between the players and the board is in the state of disrepair it seems to be, this could become a Premier League style story of power, vanity and ingloriousness. Oh dear. - The Guardian
Candombe — not to be confused with candomblé, the syncretic religion created by Afro-Brazilians — was once confined to poor black neighborhoods in Montevideo. Now it has many thousands of practitioners and fans throughout the country. - The Guardian
Spotify said artists from 75 different countries had generated at least $500,000 in streaming royalties last year, compared to 66 the year prior, with about half of an average artist’s streams now coming from outside their home country. - The Hollywood Reporter
Sitting in front of the singers, without the distraction of the sets or even an orchestra, I found myself face to face with Mozart’s sublime interwoven vocal lines and the unadulterated beauty and power of the human instrument. It reminded me of why I keep turning up to opera in the first place. - The Guardian
“Venezi, the daughter of a far-right militant and known for tossing her blonde mane in a popular shampoo ad, is seen as part of the (current) government's declared aim of ending alleged left-wing cultural hegemony in Italy. … Critics say her conducting record is too slim for a post like La Fenice's.” - ANSA (Italy)
Chilean conductor Paolo Bortolameolli, who was associate conductor under Gustavo Dudamel at the Los Angeles Philharmonic through 2023, begins his term in Phoenix with the 2027-28 season. He will maintain his other current position, music director of the Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Chile’s national opera house, and the Filarmonica de Santiago. - Arizona Republic
With a fine equivalent to a few days’ revenue and some marginal changes to its business practices, Live Nation will, more or less, plow ahead as the dominant force in live music. - The Los Angeles Times
The show may not have been perfect, but it was a success: WNO has managed to get Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha onto a stage just two months after it left its longtime home. - The New York Times
