The police bust of an all-women party she hosted in 1925 was the subject of Ma Rainey’s 1928 record “Prove It on Me Blues.” Rainey and her contralto voice were part of a wider lesbian blues counterculture that included Gladys Bentley, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters and Alberta Hunter. - BBC
The review into the traditional music scene in Wales found traditional music sectors in England, Scotland and Ireland benefited from a "wide range of music industry support structures" that were "largely absent in Wales". - BBC
The ongoing health of this ecosystem depends on working artists’ ability to create art. When musicians can afford to pay rent, put food on the table, make music, and play shows, everyone benefits. When they can’t, the entire economy suffers. Venues close, artists abandon their craft, and Canada’s cultural fabric tears. - The Walrus
Peter Whelan, a keyboard player, bassoonist, singer and conductor who currently directs the much-acclaimed Irish Baroque Orchestra, begins his initial term at Philharmonia Baroque in the 2026-27 season. He succeeds Richard Egarr, who resigned in 2024, and Music Director Emeritus Nicholas McGegan (1985-2020). - San Francisco Classical Voice
The pieces, for solo piano, were jotted down by the composer in the sketchbooks he carried with him everywhere. The recording, by pianist Alexandre Tharaud, is released this Friday (June 27), ahead of the centennial of Satie’s death on July 1. - The Guardian
The orchestra is performing in the Republic for the first time in 11 years. More notably, it’s the first time they’re playing with Zimerman in almost 30 years; the pianist has long refused to perform in the United States. - The Korea Herald
The developments in technology over the past 20 years have made it so that composers today can single-handedly (if they choose) record, mix, master and release their music – using a near-limitless combination of real and sampled instruments – at the very moment they are writing it, and effectively say, ‘look, this is what I meant’. - Gramophone
Germany’s smaller opera houses allow up-and-coming artists to hone their craft, giving onstage experience to generations of performers. Smaller houses also allow audiences to get to know a much larger repertoire than what’s usually programmed at leading institutions. - The New York Times
Terry Harper “started on rehearsal pianos in the backroom, while building up his skills and confidence, before finally taking over when his dad retired a decade later. These days, he can walk into a room and immediately know if the piano is out of tune.” - BBC
The cellist-pianist couple, also co-artistic directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, founded the Silicon Valley-based summer festival in 2002 and have been its leaders ever since. They will depart after next summer’s event. - The Strad
André de Ridder, currently music director of the opera house and orchestra in Freiburg, Germany, will start work at both ENO and NZSO in 2027. Current principal conductor Gemma New will become the NZSO’s Artistic Partner, a new position. - Limelight (Australia)
But the industry has new tools to help companies track down what songs are ‘made’ by software, and what are human-created. The focus could "enable more precise licensing, with royalties based on creative influence instead of post-release dispute.” - The Verge
A Gentle Reader complains about the seeming informality of some all-black women’s attire on orchestral stages. Miss Manners replies, “Surely women musicians can find long black dresses or trouser suits they can wear at every concert. … Miss Manners recalls reading about a cellist who …” - UExpress
In the wake of the nineties revival, ABBA’s music has come to seem so universal—pure, uncut, lab-grade pop, purified of any particularizing influences—that it can be hard to remember that it originated in a particular milieu, and a marginal one at that. - The New Yorker
