One of the major projects Ben Hartley will take on as executive director is the first national tour of “American Railroad." The multimodal project will explore the interconnected stories of Black, Chinese, Indigenous, Irish and other immigrant contributions to the U.S. transcontinental railroad. - WBUR
Every piano has a noticeably different “character” of sound. It’s the kind of thing you might think you need training to hear, but then when you’re in the room hearing a pair of pianos, it’s glaringly clear to any ear. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Stuart Murphy, who steps down later this year, said three potential bases would be selected by the end of May and a winner chosen by the end of this year, ... (and) that Bristol, Birmingham and Nottingham were also in the running." - The Guardian
The opera is based on the memoir of Omar Ibn Said, a scholar who was abducted in Senegal in 1807 and sold into slavery in Charleston, where it premiered last year at Spoleto Festival USA. Finalists were Tyshawn Sorey's Monochromatic Light (Afterlife) and Jerrilynn Patton's Perspective. - The Post and Courier (Charleston)
“Can we live without the phone for just one damn hour?” he asked. He went on to point out that the audience had paid money for a certain kind of experience, and that phones could wait. - Philadelphia Inquirer
"Remixing maypole dancing is just one of the myriad ways that English folk culture is currently having a reboot, thanks to a new wave of switched-on folkies diversifying the scene." - BBC
You wouldn't know it from Adele, true, but "according to acoustic scientists at the University of Oldenburg in Germany, lead singers have been getting quieter over the years." - NPR
Beloved children's author Mo Willems, who is bringing a Pigeon opera to the Kennedy Center, says children's lit and opera have commonalities, including big emotions. "It’s direct communication. It’s interior dialogue. It’s self-discovery. And both forms really have been pushed off to the side." - The New York Times
"The Dream Journey aims to promote traditional, Sufi-style music, the popularity of which has declined in recent decades" due to the spread of militant, severe brands of Islamism. "Their channel has amassed over 36 million views and 169,000 followers, and has launched several careers." - The Christian Science Monitor
"In traditional katajjaq, also known as Inuit throat singing, two women stand face to face and perform a duet that doubles as something of a musical battle. Chanting in rhythm, participants attempt to outlast one another, each waiting for any crack in the pace of her opponent." - Psyche
Sheeran had faced allegations that he copied parts of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” for his 2014 song, “Thinking Out Loud.” Heirs of Ed Townsend — Gaye’s collaborator and song’s co-writer — sued him in 2017, claiming Sheeran copied “harmonic progressions, melodic and rhythmic elements” that are the “heart” of Gaye’s iconic song. - Washington Post
In just over two years, the school acquired Opus 3 Artists, Pentatone Records, and the major London agency Askonas Holt. SFCM president David Stull explains to Jeffrey Arlo Brown what the school's up to, and Brown considers for whom all this is, and is not, a good deal. - Van
Anger erupted online, with critics accusing Washington National Opera of serving as a mouthpiece for the defense industry. A think tank that advocates military restraint labeled it a “killer drone opera.” New York magazine gave the opera a “despicable” rating on its Approval Matrix. - The New York Times
To complete the metaphor, the lawsuit and its implications are the musical version of saying to a painter: You’ll have to pay to use red. Someone else used it first. - The New York Times
Mario Botta: "We've added a 17-story structure (six floors are underground) on the Via Verdi. At the base of this tower is an orchestra practice room, and on top is an airy dance studio. In between is needed functional space like offices, storage and rehearsal space." - The New York Times
