Composer Jonathan Bailey Holland was today named dean of the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, starting in September.
He is presently head of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music in Pittsburgh. He says: ‘The Bienen School has displayed a commitment to widening the lens through which we define the art form and is well-positioned to continue this necessary work as we move toward a future that demands excellence, creativity, tenacity and compassion.’
Excellence? Isn’t that elitist?
Horses at the Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Academy were astonished to be treated to a recital by three Philadelphia Orchestra principals.
The performance by tubist Carol Jantsch, horn player Jeffrey Lang and trombonist Nitzan Haroz was filmed for ‘Our City, Your Orchestra,’ to be released tonight on the orchestra’s website.
The Academy offers therapeutic rides for people with physical and developmental disabilities. Nice to hear the appreciation.
The Solti Foundation US has named 22 young conductors to receive a 2023 Career Assistance Award. They are:
Elias Brown, Austin Chanu, John Gennaro Devlin, Nathaniel Efthimiou, Kevin Fitzgerald, Stefano Flavoni, Taichi Fukumura, Gerald Karni, Nicholas Koo, Geoffrey Loff, William Long, François López-Ferrer, Benjamin Manis, Jacob Niemann, Nico Olarte-Hayes, Tristan Rais-Sherman, Michael Repper, Jacob Schnitzer, Euan Shields, Matthew Straw, William Walker and Alyssa Wang (pictured).
Georg Solti, alive, never turned away a musician who was down on his or her luck. His name lives on through perpetual generosity.
Hunter College of CityUniversity of New York has terminated the employment of Shellyne Rodriguez as adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Art and Art History.
Ms Rodriguez held a machete to a NY Post journalist’s neck when he came to question her about a campus assault on pro-life students.
She reportedly told the journalist she would ‘chop you up with this machete!’ Luckily, he had brought a photographer.
Hunter College is home to extremists in various arts subjects (more here), including music.
Ms Rodriguez has no shortage of supporters on social media.
From my monthly essay in the new issue of The Critic:
Around the time I started writing about music, it was common — obligatory, in some quarters — to refer to Igor Stravinsky as the Great Composer of the Twentieth Century. Memories of the man were still fresh (he died in 1971) and his historic stature seemed secure.
Pierre Boulez said: “The death of Stravinsky means the final disappearance of a musical generation which gave music its basic shock at the beginning of this century.” His publisher Ernst Roth said: “After Stravinsky, it will be as it was after Michelangelo.”
These perceptions have since shrunk dramatically. Stravinsky, right now, is in freefall….
Read on here.
It has become known that Facebook has got rid of Instagram’s Director of Music partnerships, Perry Bashkoff, as part of its global cuts of 10,000 jobs.
Bashkoff was just about to bring on-stream a device to add music to your photo streams.
Instagram has replaced Facebook as the star performer’s medium of choice.
More here.
The world’s busiest music librarians are gathering at Berlin’s Philharmonie this weekend to share their frets and woes.
Among the conference subjects:
– Pedals, Pitches, and Pixels: An Introduction to Harp Notation
– Bowings for Non-Strings Players
– Part Quality, Legibility, What Disturbs a Musician on Stage
and, of course:
– Find Your Balance: Self-Care and Mental Health for Music Librarians
When the Met online box-office was shut down for nine days last December by a major hack, the loss of revenue was extreme.
But those costs could be about to go sky-high.
Anthony Viti, a former Met employee, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of 45,000 other staff and customers, claiming that his Social Security number, driver’s license, date of birth and financial account information were all accessed by the hackers.
Once the hack was first discovered, he alleges, it took more than two months for the Met to get protected: ‘For approximately two months, The Met failed to detect an intruder with access to and possession of The Met’s current/former employees and consumers’ data. It took a complete shutdown of The Met’s website and box office for The Met to finally detect the presence of the intruder.’
The Met’s response? ‘We strongly believe this case has no merit.’
Read more here.
The government is investigating the music industry over allegations that artists do not receive a fair share of streaming royalties.
It has been made clear that special attention will be paid to the rights of ‘session musicians’, which includes orchestral players. At present many receive nothing from streaming. This could yield an uptick to musicians’ income.
More here.
The well-connected Chinese conductor has long been in charge of the country’s three best funded orchestras in Beijing Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Last night he made it known he is giving up the Guangzhou Symphony – or, rather, handing it over to a protégé.
Long Yu said: ‘After exactly 20 years as Music Director of the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, it brings me immense pride to announce that conductor Huang Yi will be take over the baton next season. It has been one of the great joys of my career to watch the GSO develop into one of China’s most artistically superb and vibrant orchestral institutions. I will remain as the GSO’s honorary Music Director.’
The Cleveland conductor has decided that next month’s revived cycle at the Vienna Opera will be his last.
At 63, he says: ‘Life consists of many farewells… The complete ‘Ring’ is to every conductor what Mount Everest is to mountaineers. It’s a unique peak that lures you and promises the greatest joy, but at the same time it poses extreme challenges.’
Good call.
From today, the all-you-can-eat streaming service will be available on all Android phones, not just Apple.
The app can be downloaded from Google Play store.
Apple Music Classical is available everywhere that can access Apple Music, with the exception of China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey. Most of these territories will be added early in 2024.
Will it change your life? Read here.
