World's Oldest Record Store In Danger "Spillers Records in the centre of Cardiff is officially acknowledged as the world's oldest music store by Guinness World Records. Now its future is uncertain - and some of the world's biggest stars are being asked to back a campaign to keep it open." The Independent (UK) 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 8:04 amIndia Gets A New Professional Orchestra "India, which has never shown much interest in sonata form and suchlike, now has a professional symphony orchestra and this week named a Kazakh violinist as its music director." La Scena Musicale 12/07/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 7:53 amZeffirelli Returns To La Scala It's been 14 years since director Franco Zeffirelli worked at the opera house, and the buzz was considerable. "Tickets reserved for sale online for all 11 showings of Aida sold out in a record two hours. One of the season's most-anticipated cultural events, Aida attracted an audience of leading political, business and cultural figures — among them Italian Premier Romano Prodi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as his guest." The Globe & Mail (AP) 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 5:57 amWhen Classical Musicians Were Stars "Today, thanks to CDs, DVDs, podcasts and downloads, we have access to more classical music, at our fingertips, than the most visionary composer of the 1970s could have imagined. But the notion of the classical-music composer as a major celebrity was pretty much buried with Britten. Thirty years ago, last Monday." Dallas Morning News 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 5:45 amTen Best Recordings Of 2006? John von Rhen makes his choices of the year's best... Chicago Tribune 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 5:38 amUnder The Influence - How To Make The NY Phil Matter More As the New York Philharmonic begins looking for a successor to Lorin Maazel, the orchestra ought to be thinking about getting a leader who will participate more in its community. "The debate about the future of classical music and the role of the symphony orchestra goes on across the country, but the Philharmonic under Mr. Maazel is not part of the conversation. Despite the problems facing orchestras, there are real success stories and encouraging news to report. But is anyone looking to the Philharmonic for answers?" The New York Times 12/10/06
Posted: 12/10/2006 4:45 am