FEATURE
100 Years Ago Recording Studios Got a New Tool: Microphones
New York Times: Ludovic Hunter-Tilney
The arrival of the microphone changed not only who was heard in recordings, but also how we hear. “It’s the same experience as people tuning in to watch Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the moon,” Whitelock said, “that moment of, ‘Oh my God, I’m looking into another world.’ Or hearing another world. It was the moonshot of its time.”
RESEARCH AND OPINION
A Classical Musician’s Starter Guide to America First Programming
Song of the Lark
There will always be those who use art to push their own poisonous social and cultural agendas, especially in times of metaphorical or literal violence. It has always been so.
How SF Ballet and Tamara Rojo Are Giving Raymonda a Powerful Feminist Update
Classical Voice: Victoria Looseleaf
After encountering skepticism early on, Rojo realized that she would have to be the creative force behind the reinterpretation. Her new production of the ballet, which premiered in 2022 in London, marked her debut as a choreographer, coming at the end of her tenure as artistic director of English National Ballet.
A Conductor at the Top, and Still Learning on the Job
New York Times: Joshua Barone
Antonio Pappano, who leads the London Symphony Orchestra, feels like he is always “playing catch-up” because he skipped music school.
Bruno Mars Is Pop’s Most Reliable Male Star. Who Is He, Really?
NY Times: Shaad D’Souza
A schmaltzy ballad. A bubble-gum pop song. A raunchy rap anthem. All three Hot 100 hits feature Mars, a blockbuster singer and songwriter who is largely a cipher.
NATIONAL
Taming the ‘Howling Infinite’: ‘Moby Dick’ Comes to the Met’s Stage
NY Times: Wendy S. Walters
Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s 2010 adaptation of Melville’s unruly novel opens this week at the Metropolitan Opera.
‘Not what we signed up for’: inside Trump’s ‘shocking’ Kennedy Center takeover
The Guardian: David Smith
The esteemed bipartisan cultural institution has fallen into the hands of the returning president leading to chaos, confusion and a celebrity exodus.
Alarmed by Trump, a Renowned German Violinist Boycotts the U.S.
NY Times: Javier C. Hernández
Christian Tetzlaff said he was disturbed by the president’s embrace of Russia and other policies. “There seems to be a quietness or denial about what’s going on,” he said.
Looking to spend more time at Port Authority? Now there’s a theater.
Gothamist: Hannah Frishberg
Spending a night at the Port Authority Bus Terminal is the last thing many New Yorkers want to do. But there’s a new reason to reconsider: Hidden behind an unmarked door between an Irish pub and a Dunkin’ Donuts in the south wing is the Hidden Jewel Box Theater, which has been quietly selling out shows since this past October.
Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas says brain tumor has returned
The Associated Press
Thomas announced in August 2021 that he had undergone surgery for a glioblastoma. He returned to conduct with a reduced schedule and the following March resigned as artistic director of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida, after 34 seasons. He led the New York Philharmonic’s opening subscription program in September. The brain tumor has returned, and the 80-year-old intends to lead his final performance in April.
An Early Bob Dylan Recording Hits the Auction Block
NY Times: Colin Moynihan
The reel-to-reel tape is from a Gaslight Cafe show in Greenwich Village in 1961, when Dylan was playing to audiences you could count in a glance or two.
INTERNATIONAL
Musicians release protest album over proposed changes to U.K. copyright laws around AI
NPR: Chloe Veltman
More than 1000 artists including Kate Bush, Annie Lennox and Billy Ocean have created an album of songs recorded in silent music studios to protest proposed changes to UK AI copyright laws.
South African cellist Abel Selaocoe fosters dialogue across time and cultures in a new album
NPR: Olivia Hampton and Michel Martin
Strings and wood become harp and drum accompanying cellist Abel Selaocoe’s chants and throat singing in his new album Hymns of Bantu, out this month. It’s just one of the many ways he makes alchemy out of blended Western and African traditions.
A.R. Rahman on Bridging History and Modernity With ‘Chhaava’ Score and His Broadway-Style Theater Plans in India
Variety: Naman Ramachandran
Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”) continues to push creative boundaries with his latest score for the historical film “Chhaava,” while simultaneously spearheading ambitious plans to revolutionize India’s musical theater landscape.
David Dawson becomes Resident Choreographer at the National Ballet of Canada
Gramilano: Graham Spicer
Hope Muir, the company’s Artistic Director, said, “David and I share a long history together and I have a deep admiration for his commitment to expanding the boundaries of classical ballet through his distinctive choreographic approach and style. His work changes dancers and challenges them to go further in process and to find the humanity in the choreography.”
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MUSIC BUSINESS
ASCAP Posts Record-Breaking $1.835 Billion in Revenue for 2024
Variety: Jem Aswad
ASCAP, the only performing rights organization in the U.S. to operate on a not-for-profit basis, delivered a record-breaking $1.835 billion in revenue in the 2024 calendar year, an increase of $98 million, or 5.7% over 2023.
FCC Probes iHeartMedia On Alleged Payola Violations As Broader Enforcement Ramps Up
Digital Music News: Ashley King
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) warns radio station owners it’s taking action on so-called “payola” violations — with iHeartMedia topping the list.
Riot Games, Epic Games, and Tuned Global on the future of music in gaming
Music Business Worldwide: Murray Stassen
This year’s most-anticipated entertainment release isn’t an album, a movie, or a TV series. It’s a video game. Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto VI is projected by DFC Intelligence to generate $1 billion in preorders ahead of its Fall release and over $3 billion in its first year.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
‘I’m still dancing’: Derbyshire woman has 105th birthday rave at care home
The Guardian: Hannah Al-Othman
Hilda Jackson and fellow residents partied with strobe lights, glowsticks and drum’n’bass from festival-headliner.
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