“It was labelled ‘Beatles 60s demos’ and had been sitting around Neptoon Records, one of Vancouver's most well-known record shops, unplayed. ‘I thought it was just a reel-to-reel tape that somebody had put bootleg things on.’” - CBC
Pop singer Mariah Carey defeated a lawsuit claiming she illegally copied elements of her holiday megahit "All I Want for Christmas Is You" from a country song of the same name. - Reuters
Esa-Pekka Salonen didn’t resign as the orchestra’s music director; he simply said that he wouldn’t renew his contract, which runs through the 2025 season. Nonetheless, he's gone. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
Graham Parker told the board of his decision “to spend more time with his family” in January and stepped down at the end of February, but public announcement of his departure was delayed, orchestra officials said, “out of respect for Graham.” - Louisville Public Media
It’s become an issue in the opera world, leading to directors and designers wrestling intensely with the question of how to both preserve the opera without engaging in its more troublesome stereotyping. - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“Founded in 1989 by ABBA's Stig Anderson, the Polar Music Prize is an annual award, usually given to one contemporary and one classical musician. Each laureate receives 1 million Swedish krona (roughly €91,000 or $98,000).” This is only the second time it has gone to three recipients. - Euronews
The RIAA reported that U.S. recorded revenue grew to $17.7 billion, an all-time high, while vinyl sales stayed strong, growing to $1.4 billion in 2024. But this year’s report confirms that streaming growth is slowing, down to just 3 percent compared to 8 percent a year ago. - The Hollywood Reporter
The four-year extension means that the Italian conductor will remain in D.C. at least through the National Symphony’s centennial season. - The Washington Post (MSN)
“(The) eminent concert pianist, who has boycotted strongman rule in Russia and his native Hungary, said on Wednesday that he would no longer perform in the United States because of concerns about President Trump’s ‘unbelievable bullying’ on the world stage.” - The New York Times
“By connecting cables from his custom-built modular synthesizers to mushrooms, fruits, and leaves, he transforms their natural bioelectric signals into captivating sounds. During his performances, he works with focused precision, adjusting the knobs and buttons to fine-tune the rhythmic and peculiar sounds that are created.” - Atlas Obscura
Reporter Elysa Gardner looks in on some master classes designed to hone young performers’ skills in delivering song lyrics, improvisation and scat singing, assembling a program, and other ingredients of a successful cabaret performance. - The New York Times
Hertz Hall, the existing classical venue at UC-Berkeley, seats 600; it wasn’t uncommon for some concerts to attract 100 people or fewer, but there were no concert halls that size anywhere nearby. That is, until the opening on Sunday of the 100-seat Wu Performance Hall. - San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
