ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

MUSIC

Finding A Greener Solution To The Vinyl Backlog

By replacing vinyl with a different plastic, can this Dutch company get records playing again - without all of the delays, and without as much plastic waste? - BBC

A Group Of Classical Musicians Have Been Arrested As Part Of A Sex Ring In Argentina

"The group, which operated as the Buenos Aires Yoga School, was headed by 84-year-old Juan Percowicz. The group is accused of sexual trafficking, including of minors, as well as extortion and money laundering." Many of the musicians have links to Plácido Domingo. - NPR

Why Pop Music Stars Are Signing Up For Extended Residencies Rather Than Touring

In a rebounding touring market, with concert-starved audiences buying tickets in record numbers — and at higher prices than ever — these bookings are deliberate choices by prominent artists to reduce their time on the road and set up shop in far fewer places than they could on a traditional tour. - The New York Times

What Has Davóne Tines Done With “The Star-Spangled Banner”?

The first verse of the US national anthem feels too militaristic for some Americans' comfort, and the second and third are worse. So bass-baritone Tines worked with three leading composers to gradually morph the "Banner" into the celebratory song known as "the Black national anthem." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)

Charlotte Symphony Expands Pay, Season, Diversity

“There is more demand in Charlotte for our services than we can usually meet, so I’m very pleased we were able to raise the overall compensation." Along with pay increase for all 62 full-time musicians over the two-year term, the new contract seeks to broaden the applicant base for auditions. - Charlotte Observer

It’s Time To Stop Hiring Plácido Domingo, Says The Washington Post

"On the international stage, Domingo has largely remained an in-demand star. But why? I can tell you right now it's not his voice. … How desperate and sad to see institutions pretend that Domingo's artistic legacy must be preserved at the expense of their own integrity." - MSN (The Washington Post)

Composer Eva-Maria Houben On Music Structure And Listening

"I think these methods of analysis and talking about music are ideas musicologists need to explore a piece. When I listen to music, it is not important which aspects are notated or not notated. It doesn’t have any meaning for a listener."  - Van

The Power Of Music To Drive TikTok Memes

Though TikTok didn’t invent the audio meme, its effortless interface may have perfected it, and the platform, which recently ended Google’s 15-year-long run as the most visited website in the world, would be nothing without sound. - The New York Times

A Trans Cleveland Orchestra Staffer Is Suing Her Employers For Discrimination.  The Issue?  Health Insurance

Rem Wransky had completed her transition when she became the orchestra's web developer in April 2021, but she developed some physically painful complications which, her doctors say, require surgery.  The orchestra's insurance coverage specifically excludes gender transition care, a fact management claims it was unaware of. - The Buckeye Flame (Ohio)

Mounting Evidence? People Are Stopping Listening To Music

For the last few years, I have felt the inescapable disappearance of music from my friends’ lives. Even people with whom I have longstanding relationships that were born from a shared love of music have simply let it go, or let it fade deep into the background.  - The Guardian

More Repairs At Philadelphia’s Grand Old Academy Of Music

The exterior balconies overlooking the main entrance to North America's oldest purpose-built opera house — "still the city's formal parlor for everything from Broadway shows and The Nutcracker to college graduations," writes Peter Dobrin — have been gradually crumbling and are being rebuilt. - The Philadelphia Inquirer

The TikTok Music Phenomenon

The world’s biggest new social media platform hasn’t just propelled thousands of its users to viral stardom, it’s also provided huge momentum for music that might have passed people by. - EuroNews

Indigenous Musicians Are Getting Attention For New Experimental Music

A loose confederation of Indigenous artists is finding a wider audience by working at the fringes of modern music. These musicians and many of their peers are rapidly upending ideas about what it means to sound Native. - The New York Times

Sending An American Orchestra To Tour Europe Is Expensive.  Why Do It?

In particular, why does an orchestra from a mid-sized city such as Pittsburgh do such expensive tours, and what good does it do for their hometown?  The answer, reports Jeremy Reynolds, comes down to one word — something that makes a bigger difference than you might expect. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Symphony Musicians Agree To One-Year Contract Extension

"It's a way of kicking a can down the road after a couple of seasons amid a global pandemic. Several other orchestras around the country are doing the same."  One bit of news: the musicians actually like management's negotiator. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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