"Thielemann's personal canon consists of a handful of German-speaking composers, mostly from the mid-19th to the early-20th centuries, all of whose music benefited massively from the invention of the volume knob. It's not just that we can’t expect Saariaho from Thielemann; even non-German composers like Janáček and Debussy … seem a stretch." - Van
"From another musician, I learned that my experience was not unique. This trusted colleague speculated I might suffer from musician’s focal dystonia. I was embarrassed that I had never heard of it." - Aeon
"The Marinellis have been handcrafting bronze bells (in the mountains of southern Italy) since at least the 11th century, although archaeological findings at nearby Benedictine monasteries suggest the Marinellis' craft could date as far back as the 9th century." - Atlas Obscura
— the man everyone presumed it would be. Christian Thielemann will become general music director of the Berlin State Opera, and chief conductor of its famed orchestra, the Berlin Staatskapelle, as of Sept 1, 2024. - AP
Recent research shows that more active engagement with music can be a boon for our mental and even physical health... The scientists behind these results describe the new field as “music medicine”, with the prescription of playlists a treatment for common ills. - The Guardian
"We say we need new audiences, but the reality is we're really churning through the new audiences we do get." In the arts world, this problem is severe: Ninety percent of first-time orchestra attendees at the largest orchestras in the U.S. never return. - Inc
Both Southern Methodist University and the University of North Texas have long and notable histories of training organists who’ve gone on to major church, academic and concert careers. This fall, both universities have major organ projects underway, or recently completed. - Dallas Morning News
“I think the greatest challenge for us as interpreters today is to find authenticity of spirit in the music we interpret, and that's a cultural thing. There are two ways to do it. One is as a tourist and the other one is a native. - BachTrack
At the Ambronay Festival in France, Alejandro Meerapfel, a 54-year-old Argentine, was performing in an oratorio called Il Dono della vita eterna (The Gift of Eternal Life). The concert was being telecast live on France TV's Culturebox. (And that's not the strangest part of all this.) - Classical Music (UK)
"A plan is being formulated to reconstruct Davies and some of its environment (such as the large outdoor parking lot on Franklin Street), including reducing the number of seats to 2,100 and adding new facilities to venue, as if the three Zellerbach Rehearsal Halls in the building were not enough." - San Francisco Classical Voice
"The 2025-26 season marks the Madison orchestra's 100th anniversary. The symphony will conduct a search for a new leader, and DeMain intends to depart after that season" — his 32nd with the orchestra — "ends," at which point he will be 82. - The Capital Times (Madison, Wis.)
A large part of the archives of the historic company, which was founded in 1830, was destroyed in the blaze at the facility just outside Vienna. Firefighters were able to control the fire before it spread to the manufacturing floor. - Classic FM (UK)
While music was always important to him, Carlos Miguel Prieto majored in electrical engineering at Princeton University and got an MBA at Harvard. He was working for Pepsi Foods International in Mexico City when he had what he calls a “vocational crisis” and realized conducting was his calling. - Charlotte News & Observer
But now Disney is trying to wipe away the famous name. "A new official short story collection ... asserts that this style of music is actually called jatz." - Vulture
