"I don't judge people in any way about how much they know about music. In fact, when I'm writing, I think, "Well, let's pretend that no one in the room has ever heard classical music. Will this speak to them?" - NPR
The consensus is that AI is an extremely potent technology and already very, very good at creating content, however, you are somehow a villain if you use it. - Entrepreneur
You didn’t know that a cover of The Sound of Silence was the most popular hard rock song of the last decade, did you? “It’s the long-distance runner of hard rock songs. It’s accruing its popularity week by week.” - Slate
"You can’t start orchestrating much before the rehearsals begin because things haven’t settled. Until you get into rehearsals, you may not know what key a number is in or how much intro you need. So we have a lot of time pressure, put it that way.” - American Theatre
“Everything feels so precarious, … and suddenly there’s these songs that put you in dialogue with people going back over hundreds of years. That’s a really beautiful antidote to the precarity and uncertainty.” - The New York Times
When asked whether the fact that the last two Proms festivals in Britain have each featured only eight female conductors — compared with well over 40 males — meant progress had stalled, Alsop replied: “Stalled, that could define the quest for gender equality throughout history.” - The Times
“Woman With Eyes Closed was commissioned, completed ahead of deadline, cast and workshopped when the 2020 lockdown canceled Opera Philadelphia’s premiere. The (piece) was dropped again when the ailing company’s 2024 fall festival was put on hold.” The opera finally premieres this weekend — in Pittsburgh. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
“The understudy has landed the starring role. Ryan Fleur, after twice serving as interim leader, has been named president and CEO of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts, the group announced Wednesday.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
I’m inclined to agree with Adorno on at least some of this. I am allergic to the suggestion that music needs to be attached to claims about something else to be worthwhile – be that its ability to make money, or aid focus (and productivity), or to optimise health. Can’t it just be for its own sake? - The...
Jacksonville University will cut music and theater programs from its curriculum in a reorganization that will affect about 100 students and cost 40 faculty members their jobs. The cuts, an effort to save $10 million, are intended to align the university’s courses with the needs of today’s working world. - Jax Today
“The annual Kronos Festival … introduces the Bay Area to the quartet’s latest incarnation, with violist Ayane Kozasa and violinist Gabriela Díaz taking over chairs held, respectively, by Hank Dutt and John Sherba for more than four decades.” - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
With a team that included Raj Patel, the acoustician who worked on the auditorium, Ney assembled a trio of pianos to choose from, all Model D Steinways but with distinct sounds based on when they were made and where. - The New York Times
“With many opera companies in a doom loop of shrinkage caused by rising costs and stagnant (or worse) earnings, Houston has proved an exception. Driven by creative leadership and generous donors, its programming budget has risen steadily, (as has) its endowment.” - The New York Times
“This month, Virginia Opera and Richmond Symphony will present the world premiere of composer Damien Geter and librettist Jessica Murphy Moo’s Loving v. Virginia, an operatic retelling of the events leading to the landmark 1967 Supreme Court decision that declared laws against interracial marriage unconstitutional.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
