"A cousin to self-playing player pianos, photoplayers automatically play music read out of perforated piano rolls. During their slim heyday — from their invention around 1910 until about 1930, when the silent film era is thought to have ended — photoplayers delighted audiences.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Microsoft really tried. “It had a bunch of interface design ideas that are still very present in our lives today. The universe in which the Zune was a smash isn’t so far away. … Maybe if it hadn’t been brown?” - The Verge
The three solo artists who make up Huntr/x recorded their now-platinum album alone. Then they went on The Tonight Show and got asked to sing, live. “It was literally our first time singing together,” but “it was very organic and easy.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
Talk about an alternate reality: Perlman told John Williams he’d consider it. “Toby, my wife, said, ‘Are you out of your mind? You’re going to think about it?’ So I called back.” - The New York Times
In an increasingly authoritarian age, we are suspicious of new leaders; when posterity squints back at us it will have to fumble in the dark to identify 21st-century composers who might, by some future criteria, qualify for greatness. - The Critic
“Physicians will get prescriptions that they will give to patients. ... And we will give each patient that calls us two tickets for free,” said the orchestra’s CEO. Though Montreal’s concert-prescription program is still new, many doctors elsewhere in Canada have already expressed interest, as have orchestras in Toronto and Quebec City. - CBC
Paul Winberg is credited with tripling the festival’s annual contributions, bolstering its administrative infrastructure and overseeing a key change in artistic leadership last year. Under his watch, the festival has become one of the country’s foremost free classical music series. - WBEZ
The power of music has long been its ability to soundtrack a generation—to evoke emotion, as well as summon a specific time and place. Headphone listening not only isolates the listener; it shrinks music’s cultural footprint. - The Atlantic
“At the Hot Club of New York, ... jazz from the 1910s through the ’50s crackles to life, spun on 78 RPM discs made of shellac (and heard) through a restored vintage hi-fi system … (in a room) where shelves sag under thousands of 78s, books and magazines.” - The New York Times
A private collector brought a page from a mid-9th-century liturgical book to document dealer Nathan Raab, who, after research, identified some previously overlooked markings over the word “Alleluia” as notating the rising and falling pitches of a melody. - The Guardian
American director and writer Ted Huffman, who will assume the position at New Year’s 2026, replaces Pierre Audi, who passed away suddenly this past May. Huffman, who has directed several productions at Aix, is known in particular for his collaborations with composer Philip Venables such as 4.48 Psychosis and Denis & Katya. - Opera Now
Those in favour argue that they are essential for discovering new talent and launching international careers. The main arguments against them are that they stifle musicality by focusing on technical perfection, and reward conformity rather than originality. - The Spectator
Perhaps the most famous commission became one of America's most iconic pieces of music. Aaron Copland's ballet Appalachian Spring, written for dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, received its world premiere at Coolidge Auditorium on Oct. 30, 1944. - NPR
But small venues “should not be valued solely for their role in nurturing future superstars. Live music has an intrinsic value and venues can be part of a town’s identity. A scheme to put them into community ownership has had striking success, with five secured so far.” - The Guardian (UK)
Pitchfork has historically been a one-sided affair. While it ran the occasional reader poll, there was no way for readers to directly voice their opinion on the site. - The Verge
