ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

MUSIC

There’s A Billionaire Funding A New Opera House In Hamburg. The Problem Is Where He Got His Money.

The donor: 88-year-old Klaus-Michael Kühne. His family’s company, Kühne + Nagel, is one of the world’s largest logistics firms, and collaborated with the Nazi regime to transport goods stolen from Jews during World War II. So the project has become controversial, with some accusing Kühne of “artwashing” his family legacy. - The New York Times

Universal Music Files For A $500M Public Share Offering

UMG and Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square have an agreement that Pershing Square can request UMG to list in the U.S. if it sells at least $500 million in stock as part of the offering. - The Wall Street Journal

What To Make Of Dave Hurwitz’s Classical Music Schtick?

Who knew that it was possible to talk in this educated but roughhouse way about Mozart, star sopranos, Herbert von Karajan? Or that the fate of the world—or at least the fate of pleasure—hangs on whether string players warm their tone with vibrato? For those to whom such things matter at all, they matter desperately. - The New Yorker

98-Year-Old Conductor Herbert Blomstedt Gets The “CBS Sunday Morning” Treatment

“Herbert Blomstedt is still conducting major symphony orchestras around the world at the age of 98. And as correspondent Martha Teichner reports, he plans to continue doing so past 100 because, he says, ‘I have gifts I have to live up to.’” - CBS News

Minnesota Orchestra’s New CEO: Isaac Thompson Of Oregon Symphony

“Isaac Thompson has been named president and chief executive officer of the Minnesota Orchestra, returning to his home area after two years of holding the same positions with the Oregon Symphony. He succeeds Brent Assink, who has served in an interim capacity since September 2024.” - The Minnesota Star Tribune

The Grand Ole Opry At 100: An Extraordinary Institution That Powers An Industry

Any given night, the lineup may include mainstream country stars of the present and the distant past, bluegrass bands, gospel vocal groups, singer-songwriters, hotshot instrumentalists, down-home comedians, square dancers and more. - The Guardian

Five Essential Roger Norrington Recordings

On one side were those who admired his indefatigable research into 18th- and 19th-century performance practice, and the ways in which he deployed the results in his work with the period instruments. On the other side were those who viewed Norrington’s “experiments” as at best eccentric and at worst as profoundly destructive. - The Guardian

Detroit Opera, Facing Big Budget Shortfall, Cancels Next Season’s First Production

Following steep drops in donations and especially government funding, the company has called off all performances of Puccini’s Girl of the Golden West this fall. It was to be the only traditionally presented staging of the coming season; the remaining productions are of unconventional repertoire. - Detroit Free Press

Meet The New Champion Of The Left-Hand Piano Repertoire

Nicholas McCarthy, a 35-year-old Briton who was born without a right hand, has not only conquered the well-known works such as the Ravel concerto, he has commissioned new pieces for piano one-hand and revived little-known pieces from a repertoire that number more than 3,000 scores. - The New York Times

Folk Rock Band Hits Big On The Music Charts. Trouble Is, The Band Is AI. So Now What?

 As the project rises on global charts and dominates Viral 50 playlists, artists and industry professionals are asking urgent questions about authenticity, consent and the future of music creation. - ArtsHub

Two Orchestras In Southwest Florida Have Recently Closed, While Two Others Are Thriving. Why Is This?

In the past 18 months, the Punta Gorda Symphony and the Fort Myers-based Southwest Florida Symphony have gone under. Meanwhile, the Sarasota Orchestra and Naples Philharmonic are doing rather well — and there are reasons for the difference. - Naples (Fla.) Daily News

Leonard Slatkin Returns To Nashville Symphony As Music Advisor

Slatkin held the post — in this particular case, a sort of interim music director position — twenty years ago, from 2006 to 2009, between the tenures of music directors Kenneth Schermerhorn and Giancarlo Guerrero. With Guerrero having stepped down, Slatkin is returning for another three-year term. - WZTY (Nashville)

Electrical Recording Debuted 100 Years Ago This Year

“The ascent from one method (purely mechanical recording on a horn) to the other (electrical recording with a microphone) was more significant even than the later leaps from wax cylinder to flat disc, shellac to vinyl, mono to stereo, analogue to digital or CD to streaming.” - Gramophone

Rethinking Origins Of The Blues

What is original, real, and distinctive about black Southern culture is still often distorted or dismissed as primitive. And that is true not only in the South but in the wider American culture. - Hedgehog Review

Unreleased Music By Beyoncé Stolen From Car In Atlanta

“The theft of the materials, stored on five thumb drives, … along with footage, show plans and concert set lists, … happened on July 8, two days before Beyoncé began a four-day residency at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.” - AP

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss

function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');