ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

MUSIC

Those Who Professionally Perform Piano Duets Together, Stay Together

Or at least that’s the hope of duo Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy, who met at the Moscow State Conservatory and who revived their piano duet career during the early days of the pandemic. - The New York Times

How Orchestras Are Struggling With Diversity

In the classical music world, this tension between prioritizing diversity and emphasizing the traditional system of meritocracy is one of the greatest sources of friction, mirroring a similar cultural argument taking place in other institutions and industries around the country. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Turns Out Bach Was A Mathematical Genius

The composer himself had an intensely mathematical brain. He would sign his name in music, and would even hide little references to the numbers 14 and 41, which acted as his numerical signature, in his works. - ClassicFM

Defending “Rhapsody in Blue”

Of course, it is important to acknowledge that the rhapsody was, by our modern standards, cultural appropriation. - The New York Times

Warner Music Just Had The Most Lucrative Quarter In Its History — And It’s Laying Off 600 People

CEO Robert Kyncl wrote in an internal memo, "We’re in a position of strength, and that’s the smart time to change, innovate, and lead. … Today, we’re announcing a plan to free up more funds to ... accelerate our growth for the next decade. … Our plan includes reducing our workforce by approximately 10%." - Billboard

The Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, Soldiers On The “Cultural Front” Of The Russia-Ukraine War

Shortly after the Russian invasion began, "the orchestra filed a request with the Ministry of Culture to go abroad. Military targets were under attack, but so was Ukrainian culture. The war’s ‘cultural front’ and Ukrainian culture’s fight for its continued existence was on minds throughout the country." - Classical Music (UK)

“A Partnership For The Ages”: In Praise Of MTT And The San Francisco Symphony

"The number of partnerships between an American orchestra and a music director that have been so productive for so long is vanishingly small. … This partnership has officially come to an end. So it’s a good time to outline and celebrate the scope of (Michael Tilson) Thomas’s achievements." - San Francisco Chronicle

Robert Spano Named Music Director Of Washington National Opera

Spano — currently music director of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and the Aspen Music Festival and School, principal conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and from 2001 to 2021 music director of the Atlanta Symphony — begins an initial three-year term at the WNO in fall 2025. - The Washington Post (MSN)

Montreal Symphony CEO Steps Down After 24 Years

Throughout her tenure, Cadeau oversaw the recruitment of Kent Nagano in 2006, the opening of the Maison symphonique de Montréal (the OSM's then-new home) in 2011, the creation of the education program "La musique aux enfants" in 2016, and the hiring of current Music Director Rafael Payare in 2021. - The Violin Channel

Grammys Chief Defines The Stakes For AI And Music

The key questions, Harvey Mason said, center on how AI is creating its new generative output and how the industry can identify whether an artist’s voice or music was misused. - Yahoo!

BMG Music Chief Says Tectonic Shifts In The Music Business Are Afoot. BMG Is Reorganizing

For Thomas Coesfeld, these and other recent gear-shifts at BMG all come in preparation for what he calls “tectonic shifts” affecting the music rights business. - Music Business Worldwide

Spotify Losses Narrow After Price Increases

Spotify narrowed its loss to 70 million euros, equivalent to about $75 million, in the final quarter, from €270 million a year earlier. Revenue grew 16% to €3.67 billion, in line with its guidance, helped by a price increase in the second half of 2023 and a growing ad business. - The Wall Street Journal

The Philadelphia Orchestra Tries Out A New Happy-Hour Concert Format

"Orchestra After 5" concerts begin with a cocktail hour in the Kimmel Center lobby, followed at 6:30 by a one-hour concert with an informal chat afterward. "If the goal was to lure listeners beyond the traditional base," writes Peter Dobrin, "it was a wild success." - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

What The No-Longer-Mostly-Mozart-Festival-Orchestra Is Up To For Its First Season

"While the ensemble will remain the same in size and membership, it has a new name, a new music director and a program aimed at drawing more diverse audiences. The Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center ... will convene in July for its first season under conductor Jonathon Heyward." - The New York Times

This Year’s Classical Grammy Winners

Elaine Martone won Producer of the Year, Classical, for a bouquet of albums including Third Coast Percussion’s Between Breaths, Seth Parker Woods’ Difficult Grace, and the Cleveland Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst’s Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5. - WRTI

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