Thanks to the Japanese band Radwimps, anime director Makoto Shinkai has made changes to movie narratives - and won over a lot of new fans to the genre. - The New York Times
Traditional channels such as radio and gigging still matter, but the explosive growth of TikTok in particular has given it a disproportionate power over the industry. - The Guardian
“They made a big deal out of supporting the Ukrainians but when it came to giving them visas to play in the UK, they didn’t want to know." - The Guardian
We couldn’t ignore that there were more mental health problems among people who play musical instruments and among people who reach higher levels of music engagement. I wanted to see if it was because they were engaged in music, or because they were born with a package. - Van
"Since 2011, Gianandrea Noseda has quietly amassed an impressive collection of string instruments, and since 2019, he's been covertly feeding those instruments into the orchestra. Currently, eight of Noseda's secret stash are in the hands of NSO players – seven violins and one viola." - MSN (The Washington Post)
"The (federal) suit … claims that the orchestra, since merging with the Kimmel Center, has engaged in 'unlawful, anticompetitive and predatory conduct' to 'eliminate the Philly Pops as a competitor in and monopolize the market for live symphonic popular concert music' in the Greater Philadelphia area." - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Using a technique known as data sonification, which translates information of practically any kind into soundwaves, W. Walker Smith crafted a new musical instrument from the translated sounds of every element on the periodic table. This acoustic view of chemistry allows for the creation of new kinds of music. - Syfy
"The funding (from Arts Council England) would support the ENO's 'reimagined artistic and business model' to have a primary base outside of the capital while allowing it to continue to 'own, manage and put on work at the London Coliseum'." - London Evening Standard
"The cuts, which were announced in March, would have reduced roles in the BBC Symphony, Concert and Philharmonic orchestras by 20%. On Thursday, the corporation said that while it needed to make savings, it was committed to working with the Musicians' Union to explore alternatives." - The Guardian
“I’m absolutely sure that this is one of the most important works of our time,” says Susanna Mälkki, who conducted that premiere with the London Symphony Orchestra in the pit, and is in London to conduct the Covent Garden dates. - The Guardian
Lawrence A. Johnson, founder of the Classical Review network of websites, decries what he sees as the deadly dull state of the art form in the city, especially but not only at Lyric Opera. Then he suggests a few ventures that might bring badly-needed change. - Chicago Classical Review
Leah Broad paints vivid, at times over-imagined, pictures of all four women and the worlds in which they lived and worked. She deftly interweaves their stories in a chronological tapestry. - The Conversation
In fairness, Schoenberg never pretended that he was out to smash the system — maintaining, to the end of his life, that art was a question of evolution, not revolution, and that he wrote from an inner creative impulse as heartfelt as that of Brahms or Schumann. - The Critic
Something critical is getting overlooked amid the fervor with which classical music claims its new sense of conscience: the artistic value of the works being unearthed. - Philadelphia Inquirer
TThe tenor Yusif Eyvazov has been appointed director of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in his hometown, Baku. (The couple has seen many of their engagements in Europe and North America disappear in the wake of Putin's invasion of Ukraine.) - OperaWire
