Machover’s brilliant new half-hour orchestral score asks AI for agency. It does so by treating the technology as stupid, musicians as creative artists and the audience as capable of opening its collective mind. It handles democracy not as a done deal, but a series of scary questions — and doesn’t trust the heartless machines for answers. - Los Angeles...
While Gustavo Dudamel was the orchestra’s music and artistic director, incoming music director Daniel Harding, who starts next fall, will split responsibilities with creative director (a new title) Esa-Pekka Salonen and conductor-in-residence Anna Handler. On Wednesday, the orchestra also announced new artistic chairs for jazz, Latin music, and new music. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
“The American conductor is currently in his third season as Music Director at the Orchestre National de Lille and fourth as Chief Conductor of the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra. … He will take up the (BBC) post (in Manchester) in September 2028 on an initial 5-year contract, succeeding John Storgårds.” - Gramophone
Attending a concert is no longer always just a night out. With the rise of music residencies and select-city tours, artists can save on travel costs while fans are shelling out for what's being sold as the trip of a lifetime. - CBC
She didn’t specify a reason in the announcement she made on social media, though she did state that she would keep her concert dates, which she made sure to list on her post. - Opera Now
The question at stake was how Russian composers could create their own tradition while drawing on established European musical culture. - The Conversation
"In 45 minutes, I swam through oceans, plodded through snow, saw a cathedral grow around me and watched as a craggy mountainside spawned a gang of nefarious gremlin creatures. It was unrelentingly stimulating." - The New York Times
The contracts banned such behavior as having an “insincere attitude,” entering “inappropriate romantic relationships” or criticizing the record label. - The New York Times
“In a joint statement, the unionized musicians, board and staff say the meeting discussed fundraising progress over the past week, and a possible plan to resume performances as early as this month.” - KJZZ (Phoenix)
Romanzo Criminale, written by Giancarlo De Cataldo and published in 2002, is so popular that its four protagonists are household names. It’s already been adapted into a successful feature film and a major TV series; now there's an opera version, with score by Oscar-winning composer Nicola Piovani (Life Is Beautiful). - The New York Times
"The 95-year-old National Symphony Orchestra has been performing in the Kennedy Center since it opened in 1971. Now, the musicians and their charismatic music director Gianandrea Noseda are musical nomads while the future of the arts complex, with its proposed renovations, remains uncertain." - NPR
Robert Stivanello: "The opera costume business has changed a lot. ... Covid killed a lot of opera companies." Now the knock-on effect has killed his company as well. - The New York Times
"It is a tragic situation, after all, for a piece of wood to have to plead with us for decency, love, and justice. It was the cello’s purest act of superheroism, to play Bach’s solo suites to a civilization sunk into depravity." - Paris Review
