Today, of course, technical perfection is an overriding concern. But there are other aspects of performance practice today, some of which are wonderful but others I find distracting after comparing them to recordings of certain of my favorite musicians of the past. - Nightingale Sonata
"For years now, opera has been in a sort of cocoon-like transition period as it explores new works and ways to move beyond its exclusionary history. Companies large and small around the country are emphasizing newer works and new ways of performing old works." - San Francisco Classical Voice
The recently-departed music director of the Seattle Symphony hasn't been to Glasgow to conduct his other orchestra for nearly two years, and his contract there ends this August. So the BBC Scottish Symphony has gone ahead and announced Dausgaard's successor as chief conductor: Ryan Wigglesworth. - The Scotsman
“Even with the inflated prices, I’m still going to go to gigs because music is what I live for. But working-class people are getting priced out of seeing the musicians they love.” - The Guardian
What’s become increasingly clear in recent weeks is that the source of Spotify’s headaches isn’t Rogan. It is Spotify’s own corporate ambition to dominate the audio business — and keep investors happy — by reaching 1 billion users and 50 million “creators.” - Los Angeles Times
It's all about resonance. "A system’s natural frequencies depend on its intrinsic properties: For a flute, for instance, they are the frequencies of sound waves that exactly fit inside its cylindrical geometry." - Wired
"For a few days this week, a new firm called HitPiece sold nonfungible tokens, or NFTs — pieces of code asserting ownership over a digital object — associated with thousands of musicians’ catalogs" - and, it seems, without permission. - Los Angeles Times
Spotify’s business needs all the podcasters it can get. Especially ones like Mr. Rogan, who draws listeners by the millions. But the threat of popular musicians drawing listeners off the platform in protest of Mr. Rogan or any other controversial podcast content can’t be dismissed, either. - The Wall Street Journal
While commonalities certainly exist the differences were astounding. How could it be that Rossini’s humorous comic operas, which have been bringing laughter and joy to western audiences for almost 200 years, were seen by our Kho and Kalash participants to convey less happiness than 1980s speed metal? - The Conversation
Beverly, Madison, and Eston Hemings seem to have inherited musical talent from both their mother and their enslaver/father, Thomas Jefferson, a lifelong violinist. The brothers and their cousins (descended from Sally's sister) formed a very popular dance band that lasted for several generations. - Early Music America
With their own instruments and evening clothes in hand, the Royal Philharmonic completed a 14-concert, nine-city U.S. tour on Monday night, the first international orchestra to play Carnegie since Feb. 24, 2020, a gap caused by the pandemic. - Toronto Star
There's teaching, church gigs, the occasional out-of-town sub job in another orchestra. The lucky ones have fully-employed partners. - KPAC (San Antonio)
Currently the chief conductor of the London Philharmonic and Bergen Philharmonic and formerly music director at English National Opera, Gardner will become music director of the Norwegian Opera and Ballet in Oslo in August 2024 (at which point he'll step down in Bergen). - OperaWire