ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

MUSIC

Inspired Performances (Versus Phoning It In)

If your contribution to a project is not absolutely essential and if you are not especially motivated, you can coast and let others carry the load.  But if too many people are “loafing,” it can become infectious and the team (or in this case, the ensemble) suffers. - Nightingale Sonata

Composer Unsuk Chin On Her New Violin Concerto

That is, the one she was determined not to write. Chin says that between her first and second violin concertos, she moved beyond abstractions - "my musical thinking changed a little bit because I became interested in musical personalities." - The New York Times

Music Copyright Laws In Britain Must Change With The Times

The issue in lawsuits: "Determining whether an artist has copied another songwriter is based on two tests. Firstly, whether they are likely to have heard the song before writing their piece, and secondly whether they have substantially lifted a section of it." - The Guardian (UK)

The Ukrainian Bass-Baritone Singing At The Met For More Than Just The Opera

Vladyslav Buialskyi has become a symbol at the Met, but for the 24-year-old in the young artists program, daily life has become "a huge nightmare. ... You wake up each day hoping it’s not real, but it’s still happening." - The New York Times

Trinity Church Conductor Put On Leave During Sexual Misconduct Investigation

Julian Wachner, the high-profile director of music at Trinity Wall Street, "one of New York’s wealthiest and most powerful churches," has been placed on leave after accusations of a 2014 sexual assault surfaced on social media. - The New York Times

For One Five-Year-Old, Lockdown Meant Teaching Herself Piano, Composition, And Violin

Some of us took walks and read books in early to mid-2020. But this now-7-year-old was so determined to learn music that, her dad says, "She went way far by herself, way far away than what we could teach her." - BBC

At The Kennedy Center, Mapping The Future Of Classical Music

The idea: "The Cartography Project, a multiyear initiative, will generate new works from dozens of composers and artists of color, each representing American communities grieving in the aftermath of institutional and interpersonal race-based violence." - Washington Post

Is Dudamel The Future Of The NY Philharmonic?

The symbolism was unavoidable. Van Zweden — who said in September that he would be leaving in 2024, opening up one of the world’s most prestigious podiums — is already the past. Dudamel is the Philharmonic’s future. - The New York Times

Rachmaninov, Russian Culture, And Putin’s Atrocity In Ukraine

"It is desperately ironic that Rachmaninov's experience — being held personally accountable for the actions of a government he despised — is being repeated with Russian artists who have no connection to their government, in the rush to condemn Putin's horrific invasion of Ukraine." - Van

Kyiv Orchestra Performs In City’s Central Square

The very site of the outdoor concert by the Kyiv-Classic Symphony Orchestra symbolized their defiance: the Maidan, Kyiv’s central square, the focal point of revolutions including one in 2014 that ousted a pro-Moscow president and helped define Ukraine’s Western political path. - Washington Post

Montreal Symphony Cancels Performance By Young Russian Pianist Even Though He Spoke Out Against The War

The decision followed a request by members of the Ukrainian community that the orchestra cancel Alexander Malofeev’s performances. Initially, the OSM declined, noting that the young pianist had distanced himself from the Russian regime. - Montreal Gazette

TikTok Announces New Program To Pay Musicians

The service will allow musicians to upload songs directly to the app and receive royalties for plays, managed through a designated artists' platform. The platform also includes analytical tools to help artists leverage virality. - Protocol

Presenters Are Cancelling Performances By This 20-Year-Old Antiwar Russian Pianist.  Should They Be?

Alexander Malofeev traveled to Canada for a concert this week with the Vancouver Recital Society and a Prokofiev concerto this weekend with the Montreal Symphony. He's been dropped from both, despite his own statements against the invasion of Ukraine. Canadians are debating whether this is going too far. - Ludwig Van

Geffen Hall Is Fully Funded And Will Open Year Early

The project’s leaders announced on Wednesday that they had raised their goal of $550 million to cover the cost of the renovation, and that the hall will reopen to the public in October, a year and a half ahead of schedule. - The New York Times

Russia Used Interpol To Get Italy To Arrest Ukrainian Opera Director

"Yevhen (Eugene) Lavrenchuk was imprisoned in Naples for more than two months after Russia issued a call for his arrest through Interpol's 'red notice'" for fugitive criminals; he was released after Italy's justice minister intervened. (Until last year, Lavrenchuk was the controversial artistic director at Odesa's opera house.) - The Guardian

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