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Abu Bratsche, Musings of a lead viola operatortheafmobserver.typepad.com/abu_bratsche/ |
One of those weeks Sometimes being an orchestra musician can feel like being a priest who has lost his faith in God. For me, this was one of those weeks. It looked OK on paper ? a subscription set with a young and promi...
Stormy weather In the middle of yesterday afternoon?s rehearsal, our Personnel Manager, Linda Unkefer, came on stage, told us that there was a tornado warning in effect, and asked us to pack up our instruments and h...
What?s the opposite of ?accountability?? The board of the Columbus Symphony announced on Friday that they are unilaterally terminating their CBA with the musicians: The Columbus Symphony has terminated its labor contract with musicians -- a ...
Tinsel meets Windy Michael Hovnanian, who plays bass in a great orchestra somewhere in the vicinity of the same great lake I sail on, is one of the very best writers on any blog I read, musical or otherwise (and there a...
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Arts Journal MusicMusic News From Around the Net |
Strike Threatens La Scala Boheme Workers at Milan's La Scala are threatening strike action next week that would cancel the first three performances of "La Boheme"...
CT Scans Unlock Secrets Of Stradivarius? Researchers "put five of the ancient instruments and seven modern violins through the scanner. Stoel found that the ancient violins had more even wood density, possibly the result of even growth ...
A New Model Of Orchestra? Symphony Silicon Valley "has become locally famous, almost notorious, as an orchestra without a music director. Circumstances at first did not allow for the hiring of one -- concerts in the first...
Real News! Washington Post Hires A Music Critic The Washington Post last week hired a permanent staff music critic to succeed Tim Page. Anne Midgette, who has been in the job on an interim basis since January, when Page took a leave of absence, has...
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Slipped DiscNorman Lebrecht on Shifting Sound Worlds |
Candide camera <p>The most striking feature of English National opera's new production of Leonard Bernstein's Candide is the drop-curtain.</p> <p>It has been made up to look like a 1950s television...
One of the best <p>Jonathan Carr, who died last week near Bonn, was an astute political journalist and a musical enthusiast of expert knowledge and sound judgement. </p> <p>He brought an aesthetic p...
Missing persons alert <p>A year ago I asked <a href="http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2007/05/anybody_seen_alberto_vilar.html">'has anybody seen Alberto Vilar?'</a> Several reade...
Lorraine and the gentlemen's clubs <p>A wonderful release of Bach and Handel arias by the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson has just appeared on the self-publish community label, Avie, and is reviewed as my <a href="http://www...
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The Artful ManagerAndrew Taylor on the Business of Arts & Culture |
July hiatus June was a brutal month for on-the-road convening. So I'm taking July as a weblog hiatus. I'll be back in...
Not aloof and detached, but deeply, deeply human This one time, at band camp (okay, orchestra camp), I got to watch a slightly crazy and wildly gesticulating individual...
A thought to chew on Over the two arts conventions I've just marshaled through, one particular comment has been bouncing around in my head more...
Americans, as it turns out, are for the arts I'm just back from another conference, this time hosted by Americans for the Arts. Some 1400 representatives arts organizations, foundations...
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The Rest Is NoiseAlex Ross, music critic of The New Yorker |
Beijing photojournal The usual smattering of amateur snaps, to accompany my piece on music in China. I'd first like to acknowledge Mr. Nick, who served as my guide in Beijing. If anyone in the journalism business needs ex...
Obama-Sibelius? "I love ... S[i]belius," Barack Obama said in Missouri yesterday. Well, not quite; what he said was, "I love Kathleen Sebelius." Two years ago, I delved into the question of whethe...
EP = 50 Warmest birthday wishes to Esa-Pekka Salonen, the lodestar of turn-of-the-century music, who turns fifty today. Swedish Radio celebrated this scarcely credible landmark with a gala concert on June 18,...
Music in China Symphony of Millions. The New Yorker, July 7 and 14, 2008.
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SANDOWGreg Sandow on the future of classical music |
What the new audience wants In the arts -- and certainly in classical music -- we spend a lot of time talking to each other, and I've just about typed myself blue in the face trying to say that we need to talk to people from the...
Misleading democracy The comments so far on <a href="http://www.artsjournal.com/sandow/2008/06/hall_of_mirrors.html">my post about the National Performing Arts Convention</a> -- have been mostly very...
Hall of mirrors? I wasn't at the National Performing Arts Convention in Denver last week, but I've faithfully read <a href="http://www.artsjournal.com/npac/">the strategies for the future that the conf...
Environmental Philharmonic Because I'<a href="http://www.artsjournal.com/sandow/2008/04/the_environment_solutions_2_se.html">ve complained before that classical music organizations don't say or do do much about ...
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The Polyphonic BlogThe blog of Polyphonic senior editor Robert Levine |
One of those weeks Sometimes being an orchestra musician can feel like being a priest who has lost his faith in God. For me, this was one of those weeks. It looked OK on paper ? a subscription set with a young and promi...
Stormy weather In the middle of yesterday afternoon?s rehearsal, our Personnel Manager, Linda Unkefer, came on stage, told us that there was a tornado warning in effect, and asked us to pack up our instruments and h...
The answer to the problems of the orchestra industry Warren Hyer, Executive Director of the Central Ohio Symphony, has apparently discovered the secret of success for America?s professional orchestras: The Columbus Symphony Orchestra is struggling with...
It?s working! Public funding for the Columbus Symphony is being diverted to other organizations in response to the Board’s plan to lock out the orchestra and shut down operations: A key source of public f...
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League Conference June 2008Ann Drinan, Polyphonic Senior Editor, in Denver |
Saturday, June 15th Artistry as Civic Engagement ? The Role of Performing Artists in Serving Their Communities The Saturday morning 8 AM session was probably the best session I attended for musicians. It focused on examp...
José Antonio Abreu, Founder of El Sistema At an afternoon session for the League, Jesse Rosen asked Seņor Abreu to tell the attendees a bit about Venezuela, so that everyone could gain a greater insight into El Sistema. Because his remarks we...
Friday Afternoon, June 13th The League held its annual luncheon and annual meeting at noon, and announced this year?s winners of the MetLife Awards for Excellence in Community Engagement, the Bank of America Award for Excellence...
Turning First-Timers into Life-Timers: Addressing the True Drivers of Churn This morning, bright and early again, was a presentation for Artistic Administrators, conductors, and musicians of the big research project that?s being featured at the conference this year. This was ...