AI isn’t going to cut it, say the songwriters for the show Girls5Eva. "Though the tunes are ostensibly satirical versions of pop songs, there is no questioning that they are true bops in and of themselves” - and they’re written fast, because TV writing and filming is speedy. - Time
"Shot in just over a week in September 2022, Opus is a spare and intimate film. In stark black and white, the concert is just a man performing behind a grand piano. Off camera, though, there was a crew of over thirty people." - The Verge
It’s not easy for contemporary composers, and Adès’s The Exterminating Angel is an expensive opera in a world that isn’t even supportive of classic, already successful operas. But a new production in Paris shows that its composer may now be firmly fixed in the canon. - The New York Times
Some music tech entrepreneurs argue the speed at which AI tools are growing globally is also putting pressure on Stockholm's well-oiled music tech ecosystem. - BBC
Even after regular concerts resumed in earnest that fall, there was still that faint shadow across the proceedings, a sense that we had all gotten off on the wrong foot together. - San Francisco Chronicle
While American orchestras have a propensity for pursuing and hiring conductors from abroad, MTT’s success here might lead SFS to consider hiring an American. And while women are still all too rare among today’s U.S. music directors, the orchestra might follow San Francisco Opera’s example and appoint a woman to the position. - San Francisco Classical Voice
A lifetime since my failure to practise prompted a family agreement that the piano wasn’t for me, I’m back at the keys. This time I don’t have a teacher to disappoint, but a dizzying range of apps and sites that are transforming the experience of millions of adults. - The Guardian
“I have decided not to continue as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, because I do not share the same goals for the future of the institution as the Board of Governors does,” Salonen said in a statement. - San Francisco Chronicle
"George Collier … takes snippets of videos from live performances by well-known artists like Wynton Marsalis and Celine Dion, or bedroom musicians who’ve posted clips online, and ... juggling harmony, melody and rhythm, he turns sounds into detailed notations and shares the results with an audience of over 882,000 subscribers." - The New York Times
"James Conlon, the second music director in Los Angeles Opera's almost 40-year history, will step down from his role after the 2025-26 season. … (His) departure from his leadership role coincides with that of Los Angeles Philharmonic's music director, Gustavo Dudamel." - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
Giving marks to people playing a Chopin polonaise is no different from deciding on medals in gymnastics, dressage and judo at the Olympic Games, as we shall see again in Paris this summer. The spectacle is governed by invisible rules that connect to no verifiable reality. - The Critic
"Everyone in Philly is always walking by these incredible buildings, including gorgeous houses of worship, but going inside is something we don’t usually get an opportunity to do," said John Walthausen, artistic director of the first Philadelphia Organ Festival, running March 15-23 in various parts of the city. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
The 55-year-old Spanish-Italian conductor succeeded Andrew Davis in 2021, with a five-year contract. That agreement will now run for an additional five seasons, through the summer of 2031. - AP
"Nile Rodgers, American songwriter and co-founder of the influential 1970s disco band Chic, and esteemed classical composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen won the 2024 Polar Music Prize on Tuesday. … Rodgers and Salonen will each receive prize money of one million Swedish kroner (about $95,000) in ceremonies in Stockholm." - AP
