“Want to do something different this Saturday? Come see an orchestra play,” reads the ad. It was apparently created by someone who has never seen an orchestra play, and imagines it as rows of violinists seated in the audience, many playing with three hands or one hand or no hands at all. - The Guardian
Before Leonard Bernstein, it was a given that U.S. orchestras wanted their maestros to be European. Yet by 2008, American conductors were music directors in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis and D.C. Today only one of those jobs is held by an American. - The New York Times
Violist Hank Dutt, 71, who's been with the group for 46 years, and violinist John Sherba, 69, who joined one year after Dutt, will leave the group as the season ends in June. They leave violinist, founder and artistic director David Harrington, 74, as Kronos's only veteran member. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
“TikTok is how you get the word out about a new song — and now you’re muting someone’s entire catalog? The labels say TikTok is so important and push their artists to , and now they can’t?” - Variety
The band of 47 exiled musicians aged between 14 and 22 had been working for months on their repertoire for the shows, which are due to start at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London on Thursday. The Home Office had initially refused their visa applications but overturned the decision on Monday after public criticism. - The Guardian
The reason I’m screwed is that Spotify listeners’ ability to access their collection in the far-out future will be contingent on the company maintaining its software, renewing its agreements with rights holders, and, well, not going out of business when something else inevitably supplants the current paradigm of music listening. - The Atlantic
“Algorithmic recommendations are addictive because they are always subtly confirming your own cultural, political, and social biases, warping your surroundings into a mirror image of yourself while doing the same for everyone else.” - Los Angeles Times
“The commission said it found that Apple violated European competition rules by preventing app developers from informing users about 'alternative and cheaper’ music services." - Washington Post
"While they can certainly be literary, a lyric is just one channel for conveying meaning in a song. The vocal delivery, melody, rhythm, arrangement and production are all used to enhance, or sometimes subvert, what the words are saying." - The Guardian (UK)
In the streaming era, tours have become the main source of cash as sales of recorded music have plummeted. However, a recent study by the Help Musicians charity found that an astonishing 98% are struggling to make a living. - The Guardian
Pop vocals, then, routinely run up against the physical limits of the human body. Yet what makes a song difficult to sing doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with having to hit a particularly tricky note. - The Atlantic
That is, "to project 'feelings of patriotism and national pride' inside Russia and 'the authority of the country on the international stage.'" (The phrases come from Putin's decrees.) One good example: an August 2022 performance of Shostakovich's "Leningrad" Symphony (the 7th) in St. Petersburg. - Van
ASCAP’s 2023 revenues represent an increase of $215 million or 14.1% over 2022. ASCAP says it increased the value and monetization of its members’ music with domestic revenue from U.S.-licensed performances surpassing $1.327 billion, which is an increase of $149 million or 12.6% over the prior year. - Inside Radio
Putin clearly hopes that the “Leningrad” Symphony will be as helpful for his invasion of Ukraine as it was for Stalin’s defense against the German invasion. -Van
