MUSIC

Washington National Opera Sues Kennedy Center

“The Washington National Opera (WNO) filed a lawsuit Thursday, alleging that the Kennedy Center failed to return more than $17 million in donations made to the organization after its split from the venue earlier this year.” - The Hill

Pittsburgh Symphony Extends Manfred Honeck’s Music Director Contract To 2033

“The renewal will give Honeck a 25-year tenure with the orchestra, making him the longest-serving music director in the Pittsburgh Symphony’s 131-year history. Honeck, who began his tenure in the 2008/09 season, has overseen a period of significant artistic growth and international visibility for the orchestra.” - Moto Perpetuo

Boston Symphony CEO: Yes, We Handled The Nelsons Thing Poorly. No, We’re Not Changing Our Minds.

Chad Smith: “I can see that it was an abrupt announcement externally. It didn’t represent abrupt decision-making, though. It was a very considered conversation that has been going on for some time. … Our intention was to have a joint statement, but that wasn’t agreed to.” - The New York Times

Pianist Igor Levit Launches His Own Record Label

The imprint, which will operate within Sony Music, Levit’s longtime label, is called No Silence, and will feature artists other than Levit himself. Among the first three releases, available in October, will be a complete 16-hour performance of Satie’s Vexations. - Gramophone

AMC Postpones Interactive Movie Theatre Concert Series

The chain is partnering with live entertainment company Arena One to bring new technology to theaters. This tech would allow artists on a remote stage to see, hear and respond to the theater audience, in effect turning your local cinema into a stadium, the companies said. - Los Angeles Times

Wigmore Hall And Apple Music Launch New Digital Platform For Artists

Under a new artist-first model, Wigmore Hall will pay the full production costs for every release and will take no share of the recording income, passing on 100% of royalties received directly to the performing artists. - Gramophone

Carbon Fiber Violin — Meet Stradivari

Both the carbon fibre violin and the bow impressed with their dark, warm, and distinctive tone. From the very beginning, the two violins blended beautifully; despite their different personalities, they seemed perfectly matched. They were also remarkably powerful, filling the room with sound. - The Strad

A New CEO For Aspen Music Festival And School

Meghan Umber has spent two decades at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where she’s currently the orchestra’s chief programming officer and president of the Hollywood Bowl. She replaces current Aspen CEO Alan Fletcher as of October 1. - Aspen Public Radio

Condustor Ryan Wigglesworth On What The Classical Music World Is Now

A new generation – of concert-goers as well as performers – are essential to classical music’s future. Would a Ryan Wigglesworth born today still become a musician? Are the networks and resources still in place? Wigglesworth thinks not. It’s a problem he’s navigating first-hand with his own children. - The Guardian

Movie Scores Are Taking Over Orchestra Programs

What used to be a novelty has now become a core staple of symphonic programming in the United States: live soundtracks, performances in which an orchestra plays while a movie screens overhead. - The New York Times

AI Bootleggers Are Stealing Songs, Tweaking Them And Making Money

It was an AI-manipulated version of the band’s 2019 single “Angels Above Me,” sped up with a tweaked lead vocal and a dance-music kick drum. Stick Figure wasn’t mentioned anywhere, but someone was making thousands of dollars off its viral success. - Los Angeles Times

Plan For $1.16 Billion Opera House Scrapped By Mayor Of Düsseldorf

Millions have already been spent on planning and architectural design for a new home for the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and total costs for the project were capped at a projected €1 billion (which few people believed). Now the mayor says the money simply isn’t there. - The Violin Channel

The “Middleware” Problem: How Do You Find Classical Music?

“For decades, the relationship between artists and audiences was heavily mediated and nurtured by newspaper critics, classical radio hosts, record-store owners, etc. — They made the music findable and meaningful. I call that layer the civic middleware of culture, and over the past twenty years it has largely collapsed.” - Bachtrack

Report: Half Of British Musicians Have Lost EU Work Since Brexit

The report by European Movement UK, a cross-party campaign group advocating closer UK-EU relations, found that nearly half of British musicians had experienced a reduced amount of work in the EU since 2021, while more than a quarter had stopped working there altogether. - The Gaurdian

Study: A High Percentage Of Musicians Are Using AI In their Work

A new study from the Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music found that 33 percent of respondents  “use AI to generate initial ideas, melodies, or reference tracks that are later reworked.” About 26 percent of artists “use AI for full backing tracks in finished work.” - The Hollywood Reporter

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