Popular wisdom (or anyone in a “spring-autumn” relationship) would have you believe that age is just a number. Recent new music director hiring trends would have it otherwise. Heading a major orchestra was once the bastion of the older guard; … Continue reading →
To continue with the theme of of “great words written by someone else” (and also, not so coincidentally, brought to my attention via Facebook), here’s a very eloquent piece by the associate concertmaster of the Syracuse Symphony on what it … Continue reading →
Over the weekend, a short Facebook note started to pop up repeatedly in my news feed. It wasn’t written by anyone I knew, but nearly everyone I do know who works in or around the arts business seemed to be … Continue reading →
It’s that time again; inaugural concerts of new music directors. Last year it was Alan Gilbert/New York Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel/LA Philharmonic; this year we’ve got Riccardo Muti/Chicago Symphony and Christoph Eschenbach/National Symphony. The first few seasons are always a … Continue reading →
Looks like Sam will be dealing with jetlag as he and the Orchestra begin their week across the pond; I’m coping with my own jetlag, having returned from a two-week visit to my mother in Hawaii this past weekend. Easing … Continue reading →
I’ve written ad nauseum on this blog about the various woes and financial afflictions that plague American orchestras during economic hard times, and honestly, even I’m getting a little sick of the subject. But I wanted to seize the opportunity … Continue reading →
An article on budget cuts, layoffs, and salary cutbacks in Portland, Oregon’s arts scene this past weekend was a sad, if unsurprising, thing to read. This is happening all over, including here in Minnesota, of course, and while those of … Continue reading →
Judging by the comments appended to Sarah’s post back on May 12, a lot of you were horrified when audio surfaced of conductor Anshel Brusilow brutally dressing down the musicians of the Richardson (TX) Symphony Orchestra during a rehearsal. One … 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 →
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 →
