"James Conlon, the second music director in Los Angeles Opera's almost 40-year history, will step down from his role after the 2025-26 season. … (His) departure from his leadership role coincides with that of Los Angeles Philharmonic's music director, Gustavo Dudamel." - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
Giving marks to people playing a Chopin polonaise is no different from deciding on medals in gymnastics, dressage and judo at the Olympic Games, as we shall see again in Paris this summer. The spectacle is governed by invisible rules that connect to no verifiable reality. - The Critic
"Everyone in Philly is always walking by these incredible buildings, including gorgeous houses of worship, but going inside is something we don’t usually get an opportunity to do," said John Walthausen, artistic director of the first Philadelphia Organ Festival, running March 15-23 in various parts of the city. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
The 55-year-old Spanish-Italian conductor succeeded Andrew Davis in 2021, with a five-year contract. That agreement will now run for an additional five seasons, through the summer of 2031. - AP
"Nile Rodgers, American songwriter and co-founder of the influential 1970s disco band Chic, and esteemed classical composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen won the 2024 Polar Music Prize on Tuesday. … Rodgers and Salonen will each receive prize money of one million Swedish kroner (about $95,000) in ceremonies in Stockholm." - AP
"The British label Chandos Records … has been acquired by Naxos Music Group founder Klaus Heymann. Chandos will continue to release recordings and worldwide distribution will be handled by Naxos. Chandos managing director Ralph Couzens, son of the label’s founder Brian Couzens, retains his role." - Limelight (Australia)
Streaming has grown to represent 84 percent of recorded music industry revenue, but that Spotify, the leading music streaming platform, only pays an average per-stream royalty of $0.003, meaning an artist must reach 800,000 monthly streams to equal a full-time $15/hour job. - The Hollywood Reporter
Groups that could make music together - whether a simple drumbeat or a beautiful melody - were more cohesive, communicative, cooperative and defensive. Natural selection then embedded the capacity for music into our biology. - Psychology Today
A team at the University of Maryland (UMD) has received almost a million dollars from the US National Science Foundation (USNSF) to study the possible application of artificial intelligence to violin pedagogy. - Nightingale Sonata
And rightly so. "Any person could put into an AI programme something like ‘I want a song 100 BPM that sounds like a cross between Abba and Arctic Monkeys’. And some music will be created and it will be pretty good.” - The Guardian (UK)
"Only one song from Barbie was a cultural sensation, a TikTok masterpiece, a showstopping earworm—and it’s the other nominated song, the one that’s probably going to lose on Oscar night: 'I’m Just Ken.’” Why are Oscars voters intent on making bad choices? - Slate
A study by the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA) finds that there are now 461 indie record shops in the UK, 122 more than 2014. Purely in terms of store numbers, the sector has recovered strongly after a small dip during 2020 that is likely attributable to the Covid-19 pandemic. - The Guardian
The full company has toured the Far East before, but this June will be the first time for the orchestra as a concert ensemble. Music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and vocal soloists Elīna Garanča, Lisette Oropesa, and Christian Van Horn will perform in Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo and Hyogo, Japan. - The New York Times
Pianos made in the 18th and 19th century were simpler, lighter and smaller than modern instruments, with narrower keys and lighter strings. The result is they play more softly than modern pianos. - AP
