Category: music

“Harnessing the pure sound of Tibetan singing bowls, this new composition was programmed to run for 1,000 years without ever repeating itself. Two decades on, Jem Finer chuckles at his own presumption. When he was devising the project in the late 90s, he says, he hadn’t understood the real challenge, which was that such a long-term project is only as good as the structures devised to look after it, keeping it relevant to a fast-changing world and up to date with a technological revolution that has swept us from the infancy of the internet to the hyper-connected world in which we now live.” – The Guardian

“A months-long investigation by the law firm Cozen O’Connor into ‘horrifying accounts of rape and repeated sexual abuse’ from violinist Lara St. John while she was a student at the Curtis Institute of Music has found her claims to be credible. A report by the firm detailing her experience, as well as separate claims of abuse by about two dozen other students over a period of decades, was unanimously accepted Tuesday by the Curtis board,” which unreservedly apologized to St. John and thanked both her and the newspaper reporters who published her account. – The Philadelphia Inquirer

The decision by the organizers of the quadrennial event makes the Cliburn the first major music competition of 2021 to be called off because of COVID. As a result, in 2022 Fort Worth will host both the main competition (in June) and the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition (sometime in the fall). – KERA

“We voted to accept devastating changes to our existing contract,” stated a press release issued by the musicians. “Had we rejected these cuts — including 50% of our weekly salary for the fall season and deep but graduated cuts for the ensuing two years — we would immediately have been without any income or the guarantee of health coverage.” – San Francisco Examiner

Heather O’Donovan: “Unlike six months ago, however, they’re prepared to face the challenges. I spoke with leadership at conservatories across the country to get a sense of how they’ve adapted to these unprecedented times. What they shared with me was a deeply heartening show of ingenuity, creativity, and resilience.” – WQXR (New York City)

Thomas Wolf: “To the extent it was described to us in the younger generation, their travails were recounted as humorous stories with the suffering left out. It was only much later as I began my research about the family that I learned just how treacherous their journey had been.” – Nightingale Sonata

“A survey of 2,000 members of the Musicians’ Union found that 34% ‘are considering abandoning the industry completely’, because of the financial difficulties they face during the pandemic, as performance opportunities are severely curtailed. Almost half have already found work outside their industry, and 70% are unable to do more than a quarter of their usual work.” – The Guardian

A performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” at the Teatro Real was canceled after spectators spent more than an hour shouting and clapping to protest against what they said were insufficient social distancing measures in the opera house’s mezzanine levels. Photos and videos shared on social media showed filled rows in the upper sections of the house, in contrast to the orchestra level of the auditorium, where spectators were separated by vacant seats. – The New York Times

“To woke critics, Beethoven’s music has taken on a new, darker meaning. To musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding, stars of the “Switched on Pop” podcast produced in association with the New York Philharmonic, the Fifth Symphony is a stand-in for everything they don’t like about classical music and Western culture. As far as they’re concerned, it’s time to cancel Ludwig.” – New York Post

Mehta doesn’t mind that both Domingo and Levine are facing allegations of sexual harassment in the United States. “We leave the blacklists to American puritanism. Levine has been ruined by the US media. Domingo has had to leave the Los Angeles Opera, which was worth nothing before him. And all because of complaints that have come from failed artists after 30 years . That sounds like revenge,” commented Mehta. – Weiner Zeitung