At the center of the melée was William Henry Fry, a widely traveled composer and critic whose lectures on music drew sold-out crowds, and who had composed Santa Claus for the players and occasion. As for what made Fry so important that a holiday-themed piece could ignite a war of words? - WRTI
Concert programmers and soloists who wish to stray from the beaten concerto path must often summon their powers of persuasion to get new and obscure repertoire before receptive audiences. How do they do it, and what lessons do their examples hold? - Strings
"This was a new kind of Christmas carol. It didn't mention the birth of Jesus, angels or wise men." Bing Crosby sang it in the 1942 film Holiday Inn, and "by December it was on every radio, in every jukebox. … The key reason was the nation’s entry into World War II." - The Conversation
The original lyrics written for the film Meet Me in St. Louis began "Have yourself a merry little Christmas / It may be your last / Next year we may all be living in the past." For the version we know now, we can thank first Judy Garland and then Frank Sinatra. - Mental Floss
“New” is the key factor here. In compiling my best-of list for the year gone by — a list that has now swollen year-over-year from 12 to 14 — I found that contemporary offerings made up the bulk of my choices. No knock on Beethoven, but it’s good to hear some fresh perspectives. - San Francisco Chronicle
The orchestra said that Runnicles will take up the post in the 2025-26 season and will lead the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra as Chief Conductor Designate from the coming 2024-25 season. - OperaWire
"Equity said its members in the ENO chorus would vote in early January on whether to launch industrial action. The union said it was fighting plans to cut chorus salaries by 40% under moves to shorten their contracts" with ENO's reduced season in London and headquarters move to Manchester. - The Guardian
"What should Wagner look like in the age of the Wagner Group? How can the hammer of the Norse god Thor appear on stage, after the Russian mercenary army used a sledgehammer to shatter a captive’s skull, his face bound with clingfilm, in a video broadcast to the world?" - The New European
"Honestly, the majority is always wrong. Music is just the backdrop to their life. I’m not saying that mainstream music isn’t important to them, but they’re not connoisseurs. They’re not making it their whole life. But the people who really love it, they will be at the shows." - The Wall Street Journal
"The reason … is one that several pop stars who made it out of the 20th century have cited lately. 'The road life just got too hard,' (said) Alan Paul, 74 and one of the two remaining original members. 'And schlepping doesn’t swing.'" - San Francisco Classical Voice
"This is not a program of audience integration (the management cannot be so unobservant as to suppose that will happen, except at the outermost fringe), but of audience fragmentation, in perfect synchronization with the oft-remarked silo-ing of group identities in our society as a whole." - Conrad L. Osborne
The city's Coney Island amusement park, opened in 1886, had fallen out of public favor in the past few years. The Cincinnati Symphony's subsidiary, Music & Event Management Inc. (MEMI), has purchased the site to build a $118 million outdoor amphitheater for touring popular acts as well as orchestra concerts. - WCPO (Cincinnati)
“Maestro” is a complete enough achievement that there is no point in dwelling on what it might have done differently. What’s most significant is the fundamental respect that the film shows for music and musicians—which is not the same as awe for Bernstein himself. - The New Yorker
"The Clarion is essentially software which can mimic the sound of any instrument you desire and works on technology including iPads." That might sound suspect, but one designer says it's "software in the same way that a violin is made of wood." - BBC
"There’s an openness and curiosity about ideas here. We’ve always been interested in what’s new, what’s next, and what’s the way forward. That shows up in the way we talk about classical music.” - USC Today
