Music

Thursday’s settlement deal in a case brought by a onetime Philadelphia area saxophonist against a $2 billion musicians’ pension fund shows that the trustees who ratify advisers’ and outside managers’ investment picks can be held responsible for their mistakes. – Philadelphia Inquirer

Matthew Walther: “If it is worth bailing out restaurants and bars and other places where people congregate together for merriment and diversion, we must not neglect those institutions in which men and women come together for something that satisfies all the deepest longings of our species.” – The Week

Sixty singers showed up in early March for a 2.5-hour choir practice. Now, three weeks later, “45 have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or ill with the symptoms, at least three have been hospitalized, and two are dead.” – Los Angeles Times

The classical music critic got to watch a rapper marched offstage after verbally assaulting a host and throwing a drink at the crowd. She said, “I was surprised he had his shirt off and trousers down so quickly. It takes a bit longer for a symphony orchestra.” – The Observer (UK)

Despite a $25 million stimulus package for the Kennedy Center, the musicians of the NSO were told late Friday night that their April 3 paycheck would be their last, and their health care would end at the end of May if concerts have not resumed. Unsurprisingly, given that their collective bargaining agreement requires six weeks of pay before layoffs for economic hardship, “the union has filed a grievance challenging what it believes is an illegal action.” – The Washington Post

But with live performances suspended by the coronavirus pandemic, we classical music critics decided to take matters into our own hands and create our dream cycle, featuring our favorite recording of each symphony with just one rule: No conductor or orchestra could appear more than once. – The New York Times

Most industry creative and support occupations are not eligible for unemployment.  The bill now covers self-employed small-business owners, a category that in music ranges from songwriters to roadies. Under the new bill, self-employed individuals could begin receiving financial aid, through grants and loans, as soon as next month. – Variety

All salary and benefits for the players wil be maintained through the end of the 2019-20 season in June — thanks, according to executive director Danny Beckley, to increased support from patrons and donors. – The Kansas City Star

Said festival founder Martin T. Engstroem, “There were far too many uncertainties. Our audience and our musicians come from all over the world with a large population mix. We could not take responsibility for a new outbreak of the virus.” The gathering in the Swiss Alps had been scheduled for July 17 to August 2. – EN24 (Switzerland)

“Roughly 90% of our members are affected,” said Horace Trubridge, general secretary of the Musicians’ Union. “This will force musicians out of the profession. Our members also do a lot of event work – weddings and conferences – that has also fallen off a cliff, coupled with the fact that most of our members subsidise their income from live performance by teaching and studio recording work which of course they can’t do now either.” The idea that universal credit is going to keep these people’s heads above water is a nonsense. – The Guardian

“Since March 16, the [Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale’s] four ensembles have been hosting nine Zoom rehearsals every week, while its sister organization, Philadelphia Girls Choir, is running roughly 14 among its four ensembles.” Reporter Cassie Owens watches a rehearsal and talks to director Jeffrey Smith about how he pulls it off. – The Philadelphia Inquirer

“The opera company’s drivers have been using their cabs to help deliver food to Tesco stores in Scotland, as supermarkets face unprecedented demand from shoppers during the coronavirus crisis. … Alex Reedijk, Scottish Opera’s general director, said the company had been linked up with Tesco after the supermarket chain contacted a local general haulage company asking for help.” – The Stage

“The Ojai Music Festival has joined the list of coronavirus cancellations, … marking the first time since its founding in 1947 that the annual celebration of experimental classical music will not be held.” This year’s guest music director was to have been German composer Matthias Pintscher. – Los Angeles Times

Yes, it’s because of the coronavirus. “‘Our artists, staff, directors and shareholders are devastated by this sad but inevitable turn of events,’ says Hazard Chase managing director, James Brown. ‘Our world has been torn apart in less than a month.'” – Classical Music (UK)

“CEO Deborah Borda said that the orchestra has negotiated a new interim deal with its musicians: They will be paid in full until March 31, and then accept reduced pay for the next two months. Health insurance and instrument insurance will continue through the remainder of the current contract, which expires September 20.” – Vulture

Ultra’s attempt at virtuality illustrated what happens when the vehicle of that nihilism, the global economy, grinds to a halt. However grim it might have seemed before, the end result is weirder still. “This,” a user called historicalfigure9 wrote on the subreddit, “is depressing.” – The Daily Beast

Says one freelance photographer and bartender, “All my jobs have been canceled at the photo studio, and now my safety job has disappeared too.” One academic who studies the music industry says, “Only 5% of promoters and 30% of artists can continue their careers in this environment, and they weren’t well off to begin with. … In short, they’re screwed.” – Los Angeles Times

The singer “said that he is currently in good health but decided to get tested after experiencing ‘fever and cough symptoms.'” – CNN

This week’s edition of what we can watch while stuck at home and missing all of the culture outside our walls. – The New York Times

Inspired by Italy, Rogers Park got itself together to sing the popular 1980s rocker’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.” The singer himself joined in via Instagram, and a local radio station changed its playlist so the song would start precisely at 7 pm. “As the final chorus hit, one neighbor even began tossing rose petals out of the window while singing.” – Block Club Chicago

That’s not its official name, and it won’t be a competition, but EuroVision organizers said “the show will ‘honour the songs and artists’ that were due to take part of the contest this May.” – BBC

Michael Brodeur: “The plan was to spend my first week … seeing concerts and shaking hands. (Just typing that makes me want to sanitize.) The goal was to go big,” with five performances in four days. “Then came the coronavirus, and the sudden lack of things for a critic to critique seemed the least of our problems.” – The Washington Post

“The orchestra musicians voted [unanimously] to take a ’10 percent cut of our weekly salary for the next seven weeks that had been canceled,’ said [violist Amy] Hess. ‘Then the dollar amount of everyone’s cut will be distributed to the extra and stage band of musicians, to help make up for the work they wouldn’t have been paid for.'” – Chicago Tribune

The company will pay its chorus members, orchestral musicians, and unionized backstage staff through the end of March but maintain their health insurance. Upper-level administration employees will take pay cuts ranging from 10 to 50 percent, and general manager Peter Gelb is forgoing his salary entirely. – The New York Times

On an individual level, innumerable artists and bands have rearranged tours or scrapped them altogether. With streaming still offering low royalty rates for artists, most musicians rely on essential revenue from touring. So can a livestreamed show be a feasible replacement for the real thing? – The Guardian

“When you’re on stage and projecting to an audience they are relating in various ways to what you are doing on stage. When I perform I’m always trying to invite them to respond in any way they can. When you’re doing it just for your musicians, you have a different approach, delving into the intricacies so much deeper…you’re not trying to project something when you’re so intimate. I actually felt very intimate there.” – Van

“The Glyndebourne Festival has announced that … instead of opening on May 21, 2020, it will instead open on July 14, 2020. As such, any performances scheduled prior to July 14 will be canceled. The company noted that it will send out a revised schedule in coming days.” – OperaWire