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MUSIC

How Private Equity Companies Are Wrecking The Music Industry

Private equity — the industry responsible for bankrupting companies, slashing jobs and raising the mortality rates at the nursing homes it acquires — is making money by gobbling up the rights for old hits and pumping them back into our present. The result is a markedly blander music scene. - The New York Times

Germany Adds Berlin’s Techno Scene To UNESCO Heritage List

A German nonprofit, Rave the Planet, hoped for years to add techno to the intangible cultural heritage list. Five other new German entries "include fruit wine and mountaineering a parade in Bavaria known as the Kirchseeoner Perchtenlauf, where attenders dress as furry monsters." - The Guardian (UK)

Everyone Needs An Oldies Station

“There’s considerable static between heaven and earth, and innocence is an oddity. We are all dancing as best we can, to the music we can hear, and we step on each other’s toes and end up with scrambled eggs dripping down our chins." - The Smart Set

To Write A Truly Great Fake Pop Song, You Need Real Songwriters

AI isn’t going to cut it, say the songwriters for the show Girls5Eva. "Though the tunes are ostensibly satirical versions of pop songs, there is no questioning that they are true bops in and of themselves” - and they’re written fast, because TV writing and filming is speedy. - Time

Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Last Performance

"Shot in just over a week in September 2022, Opus is a spare and intimate film. In stark black and white, the concert is just a man performing behind a grand piano. Off camera, though, there was a crew of over thirty people." - The Verge

How Did Thomas Ades Step Into The Classical Canon?

It’s not easy for contemporary composers, and Adès’s The Exterminating Angel is an expensive opera in a world that isn’t even supportive of classic, already successful operas. But a new production in Paris shows that its composer may now be firmly fixed in the canon. - The New York Times

Sweden Is At The Forefront Of Music Technology. Is There Something In The Water?

Some music tech entrepreneurs argue the speed at which AI tools are growing globally is also putting pressure on Stockholm's well-oiled music tech ecosystem. - BBC

Josh Kosman: Sizing Up Salonen’s Time At The San Francisco Symphony

Even after regular concerts resumed in earnest that fall, there was still that faint shadow across the proceedings, a sense that we had all gotten off on the wrong foot together. - San Francisco Chronicle

Who Might Replace Salonen At The San Francisco Symphony?

While American orchestras have a propensity for pursuing and hiring conductors from abroad, MTT’s success here might lead SFS to consider hiring an American. And while women are still all too rare among today’s U.S. music directors, the orchestra might follow San Francisco Opera’s example and appoint a woman to the position. - San Francisco Classical Voice

How Tech Is Changing Learning The Piano

A lifetime since my failure to practise prompted a family agreement that the piano wasn’t for me, I’m back at the keys. This time I don’t have a teacher to disappoint, but a dizzying range of apps and sites that are transforming the experience of millions of adults. - The Guardian

Salonen To Leave San Francisco Symphony: “I Do Not Share The Same Values”

“I have decided not to continue as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, because I do not share the same goals for the future of the institution as the Board of Governors does,” Salonen said in a statement. - San Francisco Chronicle

The Student Who Became A YouTube Star By Transcribing Jazz And Pop Songs

"George Collier … takes snippets of videos from live performances by well-known artists like Wynton Marsalis and Celine Dion, or bedroom musicians who’ve posted clips online, and ... juggling harmony, melody and rhythm, he turns sounds into detailed notations and shares the results with an audience of over 882,000 subscribers." - The New York Times

After 20 Years, James Conlon Will Step Down As Music Director Of Los Angeles Opera

"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!)

Studies: Music Is The Universal Language

When it comes to its effects on our emotions and bodies, a new study suggests that music truly is the universal language of humanity. - Ludwig Van

A Competition For Playing Chopin? It Has No Credibility

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

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