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MUSIC

Fraud Fail: Musicians Are Seeing Their Music Being Taken Down From Streaming Services

Although distributors and streaming services frequently use language that places the blame on the artist for fraudulent activity detected on their accounts, it has become clear that artists are often caught in the middle of a crossfire between streaming services, distributors and fraudsters attempting to game the system for their own financial gain. - Variety

Conductor Edo De Waart Suddenly Announces His Retirement

Said the 82-year-old this morning, "I woke up at 5:30 yesterday morning to get ready for rehearsal and I thought, what am I even doing? I was wobbly on my feet, and then I thought, I just shouldn't do it anymore." - NPO Radio 4 (Netherlands) (via Google Translate)

Oakland Symphony Names Music Director To Succeed Late Michael Morgan

Kedrick Armstrong, a 29-year-old "Black queer kid from Georgetown, South Carolina," starts the job immediately, but his first concert will be next October's season opener. In this Q&A, he compares conducting to cooking his favorite dish, shrimp and grits. - The Oaklandside

In Chechnya, A New Ban On Dance Music That’s Too Slow Or Too Fast

The Russian republic of Chechnya has banned dance music it deems either too fast or too slow, in an attempt to quash a “polluting” western influence on the conservative majority-Muslim region. - The Guardian

At Paris’ Pasteur Institute, The Music Rocks

The Pasteur Institute has made advancements in another field — the musical arts — as some of its scientists have formed bands and other acts involving colleagues as well as students who have studied there. That cohort has honed its musical passion and ability at an on-site studio they call the music lab. - The New York Times

Despite Financial Mess, San Francisco Symphony Could Be A Great Opportunity For The Right Music Director

"Reframe the task and it could become very attractive for a particular kind of musician. The key is to take a cue from the sports pages, where the concept of 'rebuilding' is well understood." - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)

Backlash Against The Chicago Symphony’s Mäkelä Hire

Troublingly, a backlash regarding this appointment has quickly gained momentum—let’s call it “Klaustrophobia.” Unlike Mr. Dudamel’s early days in L.A., when nary an unkind word was spoken, the vitriol from various quarters directed at Mr. Mäkelä is disconcerting. These naysayers may prove prescient, but can’t we give the guy a chance? - The Wall Street Journal

The Film Composer Who Helped ‘Drive My Car’ Win An Oscar Is Driven By Anger

Eiko Ishibashi says that in scoring Ryûsuke Hamagachi’s new film, she felt his raw emotion - “anger that felt directed towards the way humans work, the unfairness of this whole world” - and matched it to her own. - The Guardian (UK)

If No One Will Read Your Academic Work, Perhaps You Need To Hire A Student Symphonic Band

Her climate change studies were getting a professor down. So she turned to the University of South Florida's school of music. "Composition professor Paul Reller worked with students to map pitch, rhythm and duration to the data. It came alive ... in ways it simply does not on a spreadsheet." - NPR

You Can’t Escape Philip Glass

Whether you love him, hate him, pay him or his music no mind, or pretend he doesn’t matter — you cannot escape Philip Glass. His impact on composers of succeeding generations, whether they accept him or oppose him, is indelible. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)

A Young Woman’s Journal To The High Temple Of Violin Making

Violins like Ayoung An’s, made in the tradition of Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri, require about two months of work and sell for about 16,000 to 17,000 euros, or $17,500 to $18,500. “I can make a violin in three weeks, but I don’t want to,” An said. “This object is very precious to the person purchasing it.” - The New...

Study: People (Regardless Of Culture) Are Drawn To Simple Rhythms

A comprehensive study spearheaded by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics provides evidence that people tend to show a predisposition towards rhythms formed by simple integer ratios regardless of cultural background. - PsyPost

Boston Symphony Principal Flute Elizabeth Rowe Is Walking Away From The “Dream Job Of A Lifetime”

"In August, after Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 ends the summer at Tanglewood, Rowe, 49, will take her final bow with the orchestra, which will probably also be her final bow as a professional flutist. Then, she’ll devote her days to her newly chosen career: leadership coaching." - The Boston Globe (MSN)

Did Beethoven Have A Secret Code?

Something in his brain shifted; later, he would tell people that it was as if someone had turned over a deck of cards to reveal the hidden faces behind the plain backs. Over the next several years, he would come to believe he had discovered Beethoven’s secret code. - The Atlantic

Pitchfork Had A Huge Audience But It Closed. What Does This Mean For Music Journalism?

This moment represents a new low for music journalism as a whole. But it’s in times like these that prefigurative visions come more clearly into focus. - Boston Review

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