ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

MUSIC

Lebrecht Weighs In On Our Crisis Of Criticism

A conductor is fired only for sex, a reviewer not even for that. So when four chief critics are blown away in one afternoon, it’s no small earthquake and a shaft of aftershocks ensued. - The Critic

Spotify’s Streaming AI Problem

The question remains: how effectively can Spotify identify artists who do not disclose their use of AI? As AI technology becomes more sophisticated, distinguishing between human and machine-generated content will only become more challenging. - Rude Baguette

Playing The Violin Takes A Huge Toll On The Body

How huge? “About 60 per cent of professional violinists and violists experience some form of playing-related musculoskeletal disorder (known as ‘PRMDs’) that prevents them from playing their best.” - Sydney Morning Herald

Why It’s Good For Smaller Touring Acts In The UK To Perform In Clubs

The truth is that only performing in larger cities like Glasgow, Manchester, London, and Cardiff risks losing your audience over time. - The Guardian (UK)

Restoring The Sound Of William Faulkner’s Piano

The musician who rescued the piano says, "The irony is we want in their original state. … But to keep them in their original state, you have to do things in a modern way to preserve them.” - The New York Times

The Vancouver Symphony Is Now On Strike

“The union says more than 97 per cent of its members voted in July in favour of job action after its last offer to the employer.” Then there are some accusations of a “communications breakdown.” - Vancouver Sun

Venice’s Opera House Appoints New Music Director; Musicians And Staff Revolt

This week the management of Teatro La Fenice, evidently at short notice, named as music director the 35-year-old conductor Beatrice Venezi, reportedly an associate of Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. In response, the musicians and staffers have refused to recognize Venezi and demanded withdrawal of her appointment. - ANSA English (Italy)

Crowd Of Log Cabin Republicans Show Up To Heckle Guitarist At Kennedy Center

Yasmin Williams, whose email to new Kennedy Center president Ric Grenell got a notoriously vicious response, performed there last week. Shortly before curtain, she and staffers learned that Grenell’s office had reserved 50 tickets for members of the gay Republican group; they booed and hackled for 15 minutes before moving elsewhere. - Washingtonian

Higher Ticket Sales, Younger Audiences, Artistic Stability, Successful Fundraising — Things Are Looking Up At The Philadelphia Orchestra

The situation wasn’t good for the orchestra in the ‘00s and ‘10s: the messy opening of the Kimmel Center, difficulties with its conductors, musician contract disputes, a financial crisis which made the Philadelphians the first major U.S. orchestra to file for bankruptcy. How different everything looks now … - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

On America’s 250th Birthday: Where’s The Pittsburgh Symphony’s American Music?

Of the symphony’s 20 classical subscription concerts, only two of them feature American works in those all-important, major-work slots. Both of those concerts will take place in June of next year. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Houston Symphony Extends Music Director Juraj Valčuha‘s Contract

The 49-year-old Slovak conductor, previously chief conductor of Italy’s RAI National Symphony Orchestra and the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, took up the position in Houston in 2022. This latest agreement extends his term through the 2027-28 season. - OperaWire

UK Music Venues Are Dying. Might A BYOB Business Model Save Them?

“Some clubs are charging £5 for a ticket, you get to the bar and it’s £12 for a double,” meaning cash-strapped students will stay in or pre-drink heavily to spend less later. By raising ticket prices to £10-£15 but allowing BYOB, students come out, knowing they can then drink at supermarket prices. - The Guardian

Yusuf/Cat Stevens Says His Upcoming US Tour Is In “Serious Jeopardy”

“A post on the singer’s Instagram on Friday said the U.S. leg of the tour ‘is in serious jeopardy due to significant delay in U.S. immigration processing. Despite our team’s exhaustive efforts, the required performance visas for Yusuf and his band have not yet been issued.’” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

Yuja Wang Appointed To Newly-Created Faculty Position At Curtis Institute

The superstar Chinese-American pianist, who herself studied at Curtis, won’t be a professor of piano giving weekly lessons. Her title, as of September next year, will be Artistic Collaborator; her duties, while not yet defined, will likely include master classes and chamber music, a favorite activity of hers. - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Recording Companies Adopt Book Publishers’ Tactics To Sue Suno Over Copyright Theft

The complaint suggests that Suno may have ‘stream-ripped’ millions of copyrighted sound recordings to train its model. The timing of the new allegations appears directly connected to Anthropic’s recent USD $1.5 billion settlement with authors, who claimed the service obtained pirated books to train its AI models. - Music Business Worldwide

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