Berkeley Symphony’s New Conductor On His Transformative Career Encounter With Marin Alsop

Joseph Young: “I went up to her and said ‘I really want to go to grad school for conducting’ and she said ‘why don’t you come study with me.’ That moment changed my life. Before that I had no examples. I had no mentor. All I knew was that I wanted to conduct orchestras. In that moment I had all of that. Someone from whom I learned there is a transcendental power in what we do in music, which I began to appreciate. Someone who showed me, by example, to be a leader not only of an orchestra, but of a community, as when I was with her in Baltimore.” – San Francisco Classical Voice

Chou Wen-Chung, ‘Godfather Of Chinese Contemporary Music’, Dead At 96

“[He] left a relatively small body of compositions, but his fastidious and elegant works are filled with emotional eddies. He wrote mostly for Western instruments, but made them bend single notes to accommodate the microtonal flexibility of Chinese music.” In addition, as a professor at Columbia University, he trained an entire group of now-prominent Chinese composers, among them Tan Dun, Zhou Long, Chen Yi, and Bright Sheng. – The New York Times

Is This Comedy Quiz Show Responsible For Boris Johnson Becoming Prime Minister?

“An institution in Britain, Have I Got News For You began airing in 1990 and runs on Friday nights on the BBC’s main channel, averaging 4 million viewers. … Political guests are subject to continual mockery, especially if they have a scandalous past or their policies appear muddled. But for those willing to be laughed at, and to laugh at themselves, the show has become a way to endear themselves to the public in a country where self-deprecation is an art form.” And Boris Johnson’s appearances on the show are seen as “pop culture classics.” – The New York Times

13-Year, $90M Legal Battle Over Art And Cardboard Is Now Over

“The case was brought by the paintings’ owners, Stanley and Gail Hollander, in 2007. They sought more than $90m in damages in connection with a claim for alleged loss in value on the [Martin Kippenberger triptych] Copa III, Copa IV and Copa IX (1986) after damage caused by a handling hiccup. After a three-week trial by jury and millions spent in legal fees, Gail Hollander (Stanley died in 2016) received just $19,500, their claim undone by a curious restoration of the paintings’ frames.” – The Art Newspaper

800 Musicians Say They’ll Boycott Amazon Festival Over Company’s Work For ICE

The letter — organized by a group of artists and activists including Speedy Ortiz’s Sadie Dupuis, Downtown Boys’ Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, Evan Greer, Adult Mom, @k8_or_die, Carmen Perry, and Jes Skolnik, according to Rolling Stone — comes in response to the announcement of Intersect, Amazon’s first music festival, which will be held in Las Vegas from December 6-7. The company is promoting the festival as an event “where music, technology, and art converge.” – Hyperallergic

Max Exodus Of Leadership Of Vancouver’s Arts Organizations

It’s an impressive roll call (and all women): Executive director of the Vancouver International Film Festival, Jacqueline Dupuis. Ballet BC artistic director Emily Molnar. Vancouver’s Chutzpah! Festival artistic managing director Mary-Louise Albert. Kathleen Bartels executive director of the Vancouver Art Gallery. Kelly Tweeddale, executive director of the Vancouver Symphony. And Kim Gaynor, general director of Vancouver Opera. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)

Surprise: Vancouver Opera General Director Steps Down Over Disagreement On Company’s Direction

Kim Gaynor joined the opera three years ago, and was given the challenge of moving the company from a traditional season (or “stagione”) model to a festival with a number of events during a concentrated period in the spring – a decision that had been made by the board and her predecessor, James Wright, ahead of his retirement. The move had been made in response to financial and organizational challenges. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)

The Bumper Sticker Is Wrong – Mistakes Do Define Us

General infallibility is a tempting proposition. Treating an individual’s attitudes and preferences as givens – as matters beyond debate or criticism – might seem to promote human dignity by forcing us to treat all views as equally worthy of respect. But such an outlook is likely, if anything, to have the opposite effect. This is because taking seriously a person’s capacity to make mistakes is critical to taking seriously their capacity for rationality. Only by recognising that people are capable of error can we properly value anyone’s goals or engage in rational debate. – Aeon