All right, so while I’m not as soccer-crazy as my brother (who’s been getting up at 4:30 am to watch games from the West Coast), it’s been fun getting caught up in a little bit of World Cup fever (gotta … Continue reading →
So much of what we do as an orchestra takes place on stage in front of a paying audience that we as musicians sometimes forget that the majority of our daily activities are actually a mystery to non-performers. Most people … Continue reading →
Let me open by saying I’ve always loved Renée Fleming. I’m also a fan of progressive/space/alternative rockers Muse. And I’m not one of those people who view “crossover” with a combination of derision and snide contempt. And let’s talk about … Continue reading →
Yeah, I know. It’s been almost a full week since either of us posted anything new, and I’m sorry about that, but seriously, you guys? There is nothing going on right now. Nada. If August is a slow news month … Continue reading →
I’ve written about the response to Dudamel’s first national tour with the LA Philharmonic, and noted the pitfalls of being a highly-hyped young conductor. Now the Philadelphia Orchestra has named as their new music director a young conductor who, along … Continue reading →
From pop music overlord Chris Riemenschneider at the Star Tribune: I still wish city leaders and the Minnesota Orchestra would figure out a way to bring back the sorely missed Day of Music to that same neighborhood. That used to … Continue reading →
Veteran arts observer Terry Teachout had an interesting piece in the Wall Street Journal over the weekend, in which he looked at the fiscally troubled Pasadena Symphony and used their situation as a springboard to ask a very loaded question: … Continue reading →
Flash mobs have been getting more and more elaborate lately, but it might be hard to top this full-fledged professional performance of a few highlights from Verdi’s La Traviata that broke out at the central open-air market in Valencia, Spain … Continue reading →
There are people who get into music, and then there are people who get into music. This drummer looks to be playing to a stadium crowd of 30,000 screaming fans, which is clearly not the case. The move right around … Continue reading →
I’ve written before about the complicated dance between composers and performers, the composer’s need for constant innovation and desire for things to sound a certain way jostling against the musician’s existing skill set and desire for the instrument s/he plays … Continue reading →
