"What we’re seeing throughout the entire performing arts sector at least in Milwaukee is people are coming out for the traditions and the pieces and the performances that they know already, but they’re not particularly adventurous to go see new plays, new operas or new pieces of music." - Milwaukee Business Journal
The spectacle of a pint-size virtuoso — in any field, not just music — feels otherworldly, and it inspires an almost lurid fascination that is difficult to resist. It can also lead us to misconstrue the reality of what we’re witnessing. - San Francisco Chronicle
"The (Colorado) company is in a bitter dispute with the labor union representing its performers, The American Guild of Musical Artists, ... with accusations that include charges of withheld artist payments, refusals to bargain in good faith, body shaming, sexual harassment, and other threats." - Colorado Public Radio
Physicists at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) used a 3D nanolithography tool called the Nanofrazor to cut the smallest record ever. The tune they "recorded," in full stereo no less: the first 25 seconds of "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree." - Ars Technica
"Hit hard by a cash shortfall and lackluster ticket sales ..., the (company) said Monday that it would withdraw up to $30 million from its endowment, give fewer performances next season, and accelerate its embrace of contemporary works, which, in a shift, have been outselling the classics." - The New York Times
"The Pops announced in November that it would cease operations at the end of this season. But the new tentative agreement, back-dated to this past Sept. 1, runs through Aug. 31, 2024 — suggesting that the group is eyeing a potential path to survival." - The Philadelphia Inquirer
In the 1950s, TV networks broadcast light operas by Victor Herbert and Kurt Weill. Those pieces are rarely revived now; neither are the comic works of Anthony Davis and William Bolcom, and there are composers today who could write more. We just need a company for them. - The New York Times
Robert Beaser, who was chair of the school's composition department from 1994 to 2018, was placed on leave last Friday, following a report in VAN detailing numerous allegations of misconduct. Juilliard had investigated claims against Beaser twice in recent decades. - Yahoo! (AFP)
Culture in Boston was encrusted in past practice and inflated self-esteem. The musicians did not take kindly to proposed changes or hard truths. Artistic director Anthony Fogg, a James Levine loyalist, stiffened their resistance. Music director Andris Nelsons was not open to her ideas. - Slipped Disc
Debate in the Lords focused on the term “grand opera”, which fans of lyric theatre believe was deliberately used by ACE to imply that the art form is overblown and irrelevant. - The Observer
"It's the best thing I've done in my career, in terms of bringing people to the instrument," says Anna Lapwood, who has 420,000 followers on the video app, including a few major classical music figures and even a rock star or two. - The New York Times
Six in ten professional musicians say they are worse off financially now compared to the same time last year. Nine out of ten are worried about affording food over the next six months, with 84 per cent concerned about paying their mortgage or rent. - The Strad
"The Guardian took every Christmas song that had charted in the UK Top 100 since 1952, and selected the 100 most popular of those on Spotify. Two-thirds were released at least 30 years ago." Which is to say: "all we want for Christmas is mid-20th-century nostalgia." - The Guardian
"That complicated history of 'Carol of the Bells' has embodied a grim motif since its inception. ... Then as now, Ukraine was under threat from Russia, a shadow of an anxious past that still extends over the country." - The New York Times
We don’t need more itinerant maestros who draw big salaries in multiple cities. We need more directorships along the lines of ones in which a conductor focusses on a single city and puts down roots. This is how American orchestral culture unfolded before jet travel. _ The New Yorker
