ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

MUSIC

Holographic Elvis Show For £300 In London? Fans Are Mixed

Reviews suggest they have dressed up some footage from Elvis’s 1968 comeback TV special and built a show around it (which includes visits to three separate themed bars selling expensive drinks). - The Guardian

Want To Understand Someone? Look At Their Spotify Playlists

Don’t waste time perusing photos their mom posted on Facebook nine years ago. If you want to get to know someone—and I mean really know them—there is no profile more intimate than one created on the music-streaming platform. - The Walrus

Hamburg Is Building A New Opera House. Its Funder Is Problematic

His family’s company, Kühne + Nagel, is one of the world’s largest logistics firms, and collaborated with the Nazi regime to transport goods stolen from Jews during World War II. - The New York Times

The Opera Company That Operates A Bel Canto Boot Camp

Before its opening night, Teatro Nuovo spends the summer immersing its training singers — both hired professionals and annual resident artists — in bel canto style for its four performances. - The New York Times

“Rap Act” Reintroduced In Congress: Would Ban Using Lyrics Inadmissible In Court

The bill would change the rules of evidence for federal courtrooms, making song lyrics inadmissible unless prosecutors can meet strict criteria, such as showing that the lyrics were meant to be taken literally. - Music Business Worldwide

Former Philly Pops Organization Abandons Its Lawsuit Against Philadelphia Orchestra/Kimmel Center

Encore Series, the parent organization of the now-defunct incarnation of the Pops, said it “wants to make clear that POKC did nothing wrong and is not responsible for Encore’s debts or obligations … (and) regrets that the lawsuit and related statements … led to unwarranted accusations directed to POKC and its leadership.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

“Math For Musicians” And “Exercise For Engineers”: Change Ringing In North America

People in chilly church towers pulling on ropes attached to sets of thousand-pound bells — that's usually considered (by those who even know the practice exists) a pastime for geeky Brits. But there are some 50 towers in the U.S. and Canada where devoted change ringers keep the "mathy-musical sport" alive. - Early Music America

Understanding Popularity Through Taylor Swift’s Song Construction

Swift is increasingly taken seriously in the halls of academia. A number of universities offer courses dedicated to Swift, but typically not to her music as such: rather, many of these courses take a literary approach to her songs or a broadly sociological approach to her as a pop culture phenomenon. - The Conversation

There’s A Billionaire Funding A New Opera House In Hamburg. The Problem Is Where He Got His Money.

The donor: 88-year-old Klaus-Michael Kühne. His family’s company, Kühne + Nagel, is one of the world’s largest logistics firms, and collaborated with the Nazi regime to transport goods stolen from Jews during World War II. So the project has become controversial, with some accusing Kühne of “artwashing” his family legacy. - The New York Times

Universal Music Files For A $500M Public Share Offering

UMG and Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square have an agreement that Pershing Square can request UMG to list in the U.S. if it sells at least $500 million in stock as part of the offering. - The Wall Street Journal

What To Make Of Dave Hurwitz’s Classical Music Schtick?

Who knew that it was possible to talk in this educated but roughhouse way about Mozart, star sopranos, Herbert von Karajan? Or that the fate of the world—or at least the fate of pleasure—hangs on whether string players warm their tone with vibrato? For those to whom such things matter at all, they matter desperately. - The New Yorker

98-Year-Old Conductor Herbert Blomstedt Gets The “CBS Sunday Morning” Treatment

“Herbert Blomstedt is still conducting major symphony orchestras around the world at the age of 98. And as correspondent Martha Teichner reports, he plans to continue doing so past 100 because, he says, ‘I have gifts I have to live up to.’” - CBS News

Minnesota Orchestra’s New CEO: Isaac Thompson Of Oregon Symphony

“Isaac Thompson has been named president and chief executive officer of the Minnesota Orchestra, returning to his home area after two years of holding the same positions with the Oregon Symphony. He succeeds Brent Assink, who has served in an interim capacity since September 2024.” - The Minnesota Star Tribune

The Grand Ole Opry At 100: An Extraordinary Institution That Powers An Industry

Any given night, the lineup may include mainstream country stars of the present and the distant past, bluegrass bands, gospel vocal groups, singer-songwriters, hotshot instrumentalists, down-home comedians, square dancers and more. - The Guardian

Five Essential Roger Norrington Recordings

On one side were those who admired his indefatigable research into 18th- and 19th-century performance practice, and the ways in which he deployed the results in his work with the period instruments. On the other side were those who viewed Norrington’s “experiments” as at best eccentric and at worst as profoundly destructive. - The Guardian

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