Sophie, who died in 2021, started young, going to music festivals with her dad and brother as a child. "One day, a friend of their dad gave Sophie an old synth, and she began experimenting, sampling sounds around the house and recording music." - The Guardian (UK)
"The opera’s three-and-a-half-hour running time has been cut to ... ninety minutes, and the exquisite Italian libretto is being projected in internet-speak English subtitles accented with the occasional emoji. The show promises to be art in line with that great contemporary ideal: frictionlessness.” - Paris Review
The chorus struck for three days last week, canceling the season opener. “An earlier proposal would cut choristers’ compensation by 65% and reduced their programs to five per year.” Now there’s a compromise proposal, but will that be enough? - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
The piece dates to the mid to late 1760s and consists of seven miniature movements for a string trio lasting about 12 minutes, the Leipzig municipal libraries said in a statement on Thursday. - The Guardian
"I continue to be struck by the fact that the current leadership of the San Francisco Symphony really has no defenders in any press: local, national, or international. They are getting hammered by all quarters, by all media. And if they were hoping to win over ABC7, that clearly didn’t go well." - Song of the Lark
The streaming boom that lifted the music industry’s fortunes in the mid-2010s after years of decline has leveled off, — with the recorded-music industry posting just 4% growth in the first half of 2024 after many years of double-digit increases — and all three major companies have been laying off staff. - Variety
"More than 150 musicians and patrons joined the Symphony Chorus, which formed a picket … in front of Davies Symphony Hall an hour and a half before the Verdi Requiem concert was scheduled to begin. Among the signs held by strikers, one read, 'No contract = No Chorus.'" - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
"The deal with Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians calls for raises of about 15% in 2024-25, and 7.5% each in 2025-26 and 2026-27. Base pay will rise to $205,000 by the deal’s final season." - AP
The symphony believes one way to attract audiences is to showcase what few cities have, a one-of-a-kind performing arts scene, which also includes the ballet, the opera, the SF Jazz Center, and the Conservatory. - ABC7
Streaming equalizes the monetization across all fans, despite the fact that superfans listen to music a few hours every day, and yet casual fans only listen to a few hours every week." - Music Business Worldwide
“Fact number one”, according to Grainge, is that “streaming has resulted in a quantum leap forward in music access and monetization and streaming will continue to propel many years of industry growth.” - Music Business Worldwide
"By using advanced brainwave measurements and neural imaging, the scientists identified that music engages a circuit connecting the auditory cortex and parts of the brain involved in reward and emotional processing, creating what the researchers call 'triple-time locking' of neural oscillations." - PsyPost
"A convoy of trucks bearing eight restored bells — the heaviest of which weighs more than 4 tons — pulled into the huge worksite Thursday. … They are being blessed in a special ceremony ... before being hoisted to hang in its twin towers for the Dec. 8 reopening (following the catastrophic 2019 fire)." - AP
