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MUSIC

A Superstar Of Electronic Dance Music Turns To Composing For Symphony Orchestra

"After spending more than 20 years in public behind shiny, opaque robot-style helmets as half of the pathbreaking dance-music duo Daft Punk, Thomas Bangalter was ready to be seen without barriers." - The New York Times

How Many Songs Are Released As Recordings Every Day?

In 2019, Spotify claimed that 40,000 tracks were added each day to its platform. And by 2021, the number increased to 60,000. But last September, the CEOs of two major labels made the staggering claim that 100,000 songs were now getting released each day. - Ted Gioia

Some Black Operas Are Changing The Face Of Classical Music

One librettist says, ""Opera just lends itself so well to Black stories because of its epicness, ... because of its fantastical ability to show the wonder and the power of such big feelings." - CBC

Sometimes, Musicians, You Shouldn’t Accept That State Department Money

The story of the band Blood, Sweat & Tears' 1970 tour of Eastern bloc countries is bizarre, and sobering, a new documentary shows. "This isn’t a music doc, it’s a political thriller. ... It’s about a group of guys who unknowingly walked into this rat’s nest." - The New York Times

Why Can’t More Music Apps Be Like Apple’s Classical Music?

Bring on the metadata! "There feels like a genuine affection for the music in Apple Music Classical. ... But there are also just a lot of ways to find the music." - The Verge

The Science of Music That Makes You Happy

In a recent survey, 71% of 2,000 participants reported that music was the strongest influence on their mood and almost 75% regularly listened to music to cheer themselves up. - The Conversation

Music Lovers In Britain May Save Venues Through Grassroots Fundraising

"When the curtain comes down on the Music Venue Trust’s (MVT) #OwnOurVenues fundraising drive, it is expected to have raised close to £2.2m, a hemi-demi-semiquaver away from the £2.5m that it set out to achieve." - The Guardian (UK)

One Dead, Many Injured In Illinois Theatre Collapse After Storm And Possible Tornado Hit

The Apollo Theater was hosting four heavy metal bands - meaning the audience and bands may not have heard the sirens - before the roof collapsed in on the venue on Friday night. - Variety

Apple’s New Classical Music App: Embracing Idiosyncrasies

Apple has turned classical music’s diversity of metadata into the new app’s raison d’être. And, with so many of what Apple calls “data points”—over 50 million bits of information drawn from their database of recordings—it suddenly makes complete sense. - Van

Riccardo Muti Reflects On America As He Completes Chicago Symphony Tenure

"In my life, thanks to Philadelphia and Chicago, I’ve been to Wichita, Des Moines, Ames, Toledo… For me, to make music, it’s not that I conduct in Salzburg and I try my best. Because every time you try your best, it’s a disaster. Everything becomes mannered, exaggerated, chettera, chettera." - Van

San Antonio Lost Its Symphony Orchestra. But Its Musicians Have Played On

The Symphony musicians formed the SA Phil almost immediately after their orchestra died, and their entire first season has been a rallying cry for the future of symphonic music in the state’s second-largest city. - Texas Monthly

Apple’s Turn To Address Classical Music Meta-data

The problem was the way that classical music is categorized. The structure of classical music is completely different from pop music’s, which makes it extremely difficult for it to function in the streaming era. - The Wall Street Journal

Trump Claims A Song Featuring Him Is Topping The Charts. Is It Really?

“The J6 is beating Taylor Swift,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday, two days after the rally. “It’s Donald Trump and the J6 prisoners, and on iTunes, and on Amazon, and on Billboard, which is the big deal,” he said, adding, “now I feel like Elvis.” - The Daily Beast

John Luther Adams’s Latest Score Is A Lament Over The Ravages Of The Anthropocene

Most of his work is inspired by the natural environment, but in Vespers of the Blessed Earth, receiving its world premiere this week by the Philadelphia Orchestra and The Crossing, He's more direct than he's ever been about the damage caused by human activity. - The New York Times

Apple’s Classical Streaming App Has Arrived. So What’s Actually In It?

In August 2021, Apple purchased the classical-only streaming app Primephonic and immediately shuttered it, announcing that it would be reconfigured as an Apple product; 17 months later, that product has arrived. Here's a look at what's included in the new version — and what's missing. - Musical America

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