It is easy, and accurate, to call “Rhapsody in Blue” naïve and corny. But, to be fair, it was still very early in the timeline of jazz and swinging Black music on record. - The New York Times
Last season, amid rising costs and still-lagging ticket sales and donations, the Met took $30 million from its endowment to cover its expenses; this season, it has withdrawn almost $40 million. Even so, general manager Peter Gelb says things are starting to move in the right direction. - The New York Times
In addition to giving its music director an automatically renewing contract, the BSO has appointed Carlos Simon to its composer chair (a new position expanded from the composer-in-residence role) and created the Boston Symphony Orchestra Humanities Institute, which will present lectures, film series, and other events.. - The Boston Globe (MSN)
"Playfulness, irreverence, goofiness are part of us too. ... It is a mistake to equate artistic greatness with emotional sobriety. P.D.Q. Bach’s best compositions are, genuinely, masterpieces, magnificent expressions of the deepest currents of joyful absurdity. They are great works not in spite of their humor, but because of it." - Van
AI tools analyse vast amounts of music data to learn patterns and styles, enabling them to generate compositions in any genre. This technology is not just a tool, it’s a collaborator, opening doors to new soundscapes and musical possibilities. - The Conversation
"I like to say that the fairies visited me when I was born and gave me what I needed to be an artist." And this: "Meryl Streep came up to me, fell on her knees and said, ‘Oh my god! My next life I want to be like you!'" - The Guardian
While some people’s bar-going and spending habits have shifted since the pandemic (not everyone is returning to their regular bar or pub-going routines), by far the largest obstacles to keeping many independent live music venues open currently are the massive insurance price increases and sudden insurance policy cancellations they are facing. - ArtsHub
"British-American producer and librettist Lila Palmer (has been named) general and artistic director. Effective from 15 May, Palmer succeeds Clare Burovac, who steps down after three years in the role." - Classical Music (UK)
Forget the death of newspapers and magazines (that’s old news about old news), we are now in the end of the era of websites and blogs. Young people crowd source their news, information, entertainment, and opinions. - Populism
In his plan, Apple would take each subscriber's monthly fee and distribute 90% to the artists that subscriber listened to that month (pro rata based on streams, I assume). Each individual "fan" has an equal effect on the artist's distribution, instead of heavy listeners having an outsized effect compared to light listeners. - BoingBoing
Or so says Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who said, "maybe some people don't realise how uncomfortable a song like that can make a lot of people feel, even if it makes them feel good." - BBC
"After a years-long search process, the festival announced that Jos van Veldhoven, the longtime artistic director of the Netherlands Bach Society, and Conspirare artistic director Craig Hella Johnson will be the festival’s new 'artistic partners,'" along with not one, but four other "artistic partners." - Oregon ArtsWatch
"It is bleak on so many levels, first and foremost the job losses during a straitened time for media. Pitchfork was one of the last stable music outlets going – where else are the former staff, and the site’s hundreds of freelancers, meant to work now?" - The Guardian (UK)
