"We believe that the human connection found through music is a vital part of our society and culture, and that music is much more than a product to be consumed," the company wrote. - Engadget
Just playing the instrument is difficult enough; making top-quality oboes is fiendishly complicated, and breaking even while doing it is challenging enough that Laubin Oboes was essentially bankrupt when Jim Phelan bought the firm in 2022. He has made some very promising changes. - The New York Times
Unlike creators, a performer does not have the benefit of a personal product (or several) that persist over time like a symphony or novel or painting. - Nightingale Sonata
“The real reason I’ve left (the U.S.) is deeper than politics: it’s the culture. The culture creates the politics. … The relentless commercialisation, rising tides of xenophobia, the strident acrimony of social discourse, the violence, and the increasingly hysterical tenor of life in the USA have simply worn us down.” - The Saturday Paper (Australia)
We have gone from clapping to drumming, and from using drum machines in recording studios to generating “new” sounds with AI. Yet now that I have completed these experiments, I realise that one thing remains the same. - The Conversation
Financially, it’s likely to be good for the Opera. “The news of the split could inspire a groundswell of support from longtime patrons who pumped the brakes on their operagoing in 2025 amid the Trump takeover. It may even serve to restore projects that were thought lost.” - Washington Post (Yahoo)
The director of indies and Meg 2: The Trench says, “Before it might have been playing games or doomscrolling. is a more productive and creative way of calming down.” - The Guardian (UK)
It’s a new lawsuit in a long, long battle, with opponents that are not exactly beloved. “X and the publishers have been in a legal battle for years, with the NMPA first suing the platform back in 2023 over allegations of mass copyright infringement.” - The Hollywood Reporter
“As my will to blindly obey crumbled, I began to secretly tune in to the American armed forces radio station that broadcast in Japan. … One day, ‘Losing My Religion’ came on, and I remember hearing it for the first time and freezing. I physically stopped walking.” - The Guardian (UK)
No doubt we should believe that leadership just as much as we’d believe any questionable partner. “Opera leaders had said that it was an amicable split, and made no mention of the political turmoil causing many artists to cancel their Kennedy Center engagements." - Variety
The resolution calls for the opera to move its performances out of the Kennedy Center’s 2,364-seat Opera House as soon as possible and to reduce the number of performances as a cost-saving measure. Opera officials said that new sites in Washington have been lined up but that no leases have been signed. - The New York Times
On Monday, San Diego Opera announced that Jacobs has committed $4.5 million to establish The Joan and Irwin Jacobs San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera Collaboration Fund. - San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
Mario Miralles has made violins and cellos for everyone from Yo-Yo Ma and Anne Akiko Myers to principals in the Los Angeles Philharmonic to students to Gustavo Dudamel. His home and studio were in Altadena, and he lost years’ worth of carefully sourced wood, instrument diagrams, and almost everything else. - The New York Times
“Let me be clear: UMG will not stand by and watch irresponsible business models take hold, models that devalue artists, fail to provide adequate compensation for their work, stifle their creativity and ultimately, diminish their ability to reach fans.” - Music Business Worldwide
On Tuesday, the VSO issued an open letter saying it would be ending the use of confidentiality agreements in cases of sexual misconduct, unless it is specifically requested by the complainant. - CBC
