Donald Palumbo, 76, is credited with revitalizing the Met chorus during his 17-year term (2007-2024) and, before that, the chorus of Lyric Opera of Chicago (1991-2007). He will be only the third director in the CSO Chorus’s history, following the tenures of Margaret Hillis (37 years) and Duain Wolfe (28 years). - Chicago Sun-Times
“The Philadelphia Orchestra is a nonprofit organization that believes in the power of music to bring people together, create understanding, and speak to the human spirit. Earlier this month, the National Endowment for the Arts rescinded critical funding for our Pride Concert, taking place on June 4.” - OperaWire
“(Her) years-long saga to win back the rights to her first six albums will go down as one of the most significant storylines in the history of the modern music business, as the dispute brought the complex, often dry world of copyright and master ownership further into the national consciousness.” - The Hollywood Reporter
"When Domingo Hindoyan, the Venezuelan chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, made his debut with L.A. Opera last November with Roméo et Juliette, Times classical music critic Mark Swed called it 'a coup for the company.’” Now comes an even bigger coup for the opera. - Los Angeles Times
Swift knows why: "Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings in their record contract because of this fight, I’m reminded of how important it was for all of this to happen.” - The Guardian (UK)
At the 20th anniversary party’s live soundtrack piano performance, “a hush swept through the room, and people held up their phones to record. Two friends held each other and cried; one took a video as the other wiped away her tears.” - The New York Times
“Operators aimed the dish at Voyager 1, the world’s most distant spacecraft more than 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) away. Traveling at the speed of light, the music was expected to overtake Voyager 1 within 23 hours.” - Seattle Times (AP)
“Launching in London is a risk. When SXSW is in the Texas capital, it takes over the city’s downtown area – a feat that’s impossible in London. The UK’s capital is not Austin.” - The Guardian (UK)
At Tiny Desk, the lack of modulation made indie, rock, and folk popular. “But a 2014 concert with T-Pain, in which the famously autotune-heavy singer unveiled an impressive set of pipes, showed how artists from a broader array of genres could shine.” - NPR
At Madrid’s Bernabéu Stadium, dozens of music gigs took place in 2024 - until September, when everything came to a (non-screeching) halt when the stadium’s neighbors sued over the noise. - BBC
The Sacred Harp, the collection from which the traditional American practice of communal shape-note hymn-singing takes its name, was first published in 1844 and has been in continuous use ever since. The compendium is currently undergoing its first update in decades; publishers stress that it is a renewal, not just a reprint. - AP
John McWhorter: “Sitting through a three-or-more-hour performance in a language we don’t understand is a peculiar cultural phenomenon, ... and it’s a big part of what keeps opera from reaching more people. ... The composers of yore had their works translated ... because they wanted audiences to understand what they were hearing." - The New York Times
