Hat tip: Richard Schneider. NOTE: Blogging is likely to be light for the next couple of weeks…
Kriikku / Gilbert / NYPhil @ Carnegie Hall
ATOS @ Weill
I’m just back from the best chamber music program I’ve heard so far this season.
Two major corruption scandals stun the classical music business
“Corruption scandals sully the LPO and the Salzburg Festival,” reads the headline to Charlotte Higgins’ latest article for The Guardian (UK). More than a few impressarios and managers must be starting to ask questions about the ease with which musical festivals and organizations are being looted.
Cheap Thrills: Outstanding Recent Budget CDs
I know, I know — the market for music recordings is in flux if not chaos, and there are growing indications that downloads are finally starting to hit the head of a “tipping point” among the non-teen-and-college-age demographic. And yes, a growing share of my own acquisitions are file downloads. But for the most part I remain an unreconstructed consumer knuckledragger who orders finished product online, bids on scarce audio gratification in disc formaat on eBay, and frequents the handful of well-stocked “record stores” left in Manhattan.
Continue reading Cheap Thrills: Outstanding Recent Budget CDs
Fabio Luisi abruptly resigns from Sächsische Staatsoper (and Staatskapelle Dresden)
Daniel Wakin has the details at nytimes.com, including details of a broadcast deal that was made behind Luisi’s back involving his successor, Christian Thielemenn.
Continue reading Fabio Luisi abruptly resigns from Sächsische Staatsoper (and Staatskapelle Dresden)
Boulez / CSO @ Carnegie Hall
My review of their exceptional Sunday concert is live at Classical Source. Followers of the New York Philharmonic should take a look at Colin Anderson’s review of yesterday’s concert at London’s Barbican Centre.
Funniest Obituary Ever?
The Onion reports on the death of J.D. Salinger.
Carnegie Hall 2010-11 Season: Something for nearly everyone
The New York Times has the details. I’m pleased to see a series dedicated to Japanese music but am not exactly looking forward to wildly inconsistent maestro Valery Gergiev conducting Mahler – unless, of course, he starts following the clear and explicit annotations the composer includes in his scores.
Reality TV for Opera (and Music Industry) Lovers?
Now this looks interesting: an insider look at a regional opera festival may be coming to a television near you.