Category: music

On Saturday, Lyric Opera of Chicago premieres William Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge. Next up: The Great Gatsby. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)

The online music revolution has mostly been the province of young pop musicians. But now tenor Plácido Domingo has signed a contract to record for the web. – The Boston Globe

Broadcast live on MTV, VH1, the BBC and others to 60 countries and on radio in another 120 nations, potentially making these the widest-heard musical performances in history. Meanwhile. politics and charges of commercialism dog the event. – The Washington Post

As Net-Aid, the latest in a long line of mega global benefit concerts (this time for Kosovo) gets organized, a critic ponders these events’ musical impotence. – The Times (UK)
(ALSO: Largest Internet ever. – SF Gate, 10.06.99)

The hottest ticket in New York this fall is for the Metropolitan Opera’s Tristan und Isolde. The reason is Canadian tenor Ben Heppner, who is quickly becoming a legend. – The Boston Globe

A performance before it’s put up for auction in December. “This quartette was composed for me in my presence by Ludwig v Beethoven at Vienna Friday 28th November 1817” wrote the young English traveler Richard Ford on the manuscript. – BBC

A new Canadian opera about a topic not much discussed: slavery in early Canada. It’s a tough subject but the reviews have been enthusiastic. – CBC

Sculpture, plays, films of homage – lovers of the late great Canadian pianist from 19 countries converge on Toronto for a conference. – The Sydney Morning Herald

– has been turned into a center for scholarship and support of composers. – The New York Times

Egypt is planning a 12-hour opera by Jean-Michel Jarre to usher in the new millennium. At midnight, a 30-foot golden pyramid will be placed atop the missing peak of the Great Pyramid of Cheops, flooding the surrounding area with golden rays to signal the birth of the first day of 2000, says the Egyptian culture minister. – The Seattle Times (AP)