SUPPORTING THE ARTS THROUGH COVID-19
Germany Has Rolled Out a Staggering €50 Billion Aid Package for Artists and Cultural Businesses, Putting Other Countries to Shame
ArtNet News: Kate Brown
“Artists are not only indispensable, but also vital, especially now,” says the country’s culture minister.
The US Coronavirus Stimulus Bill Gives the Music Industry a Fighting Chance
Rolling Stone: Amy X. Wang
Thanks to music advocacy groups, relief package passed by both chambers of Congress will apply to songwriters, sound engineers, independent recording artists, and more
Spotify Pledges Up to $10M To Support Artists Amid Coronavirus, With In-App Fundraising Feature to Come
Billboard: Tatiana Cirisano
Spotify is donating money to the project’s first partners: Nonprofits PRS Foundation, Help Musicians and MusiCares, and will match donations made via the project’s webpage dollar-for-dollar for up to a total Spotify contribution of $10 million.
New Music Assistance Fund Launched for Musicians Affected By COVID-19
The Violin Channel
It has been announced the launch of the New Music Solidarity Fund – to grant emergency funding to musicians whose livelihood has been impacted by the COVID-19 virus.
Recording Academy Establishes Covid-19 Fund
Grammy.com
The Recording Academy and its affiliated charitable foundation MusiCares have established the COVID-19 Relief Fund to help our peers in the music community affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.
RESEARCH AND OPINION
Coronavirus: Radio listening booms while music streaming stalls
BBC
People staying at home due to the coronavirus pandemic appear to be listening to more radio rather than music apps, figures suggest.
A Pianist’s Final Message: Overlooked Works by a Son of Bach
The New York Times: Anthony Tommasini
When he died in February, Peter Serkin was putting the final edits on his recording of a trove of pieces by C.P.E. Bach.
The Ultimate Beethoven Symphony Collection
The New York Times: Anthony Tommasini, Joshua Barone, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, Zachary Woolfe, Seth Colter Walls, David Allen
Nine crucial works. The best recording of each.
A Historically Informed Approach To Music In Times Of Pandemic
Early Music America: Christopher Macklin
In the medieval and early modern period, just as now, the effect of the pandemic on artists and musicians has been severe, as moratoria on public gatherings and restrictions on travel sought to disrupt the transmission of disease by isolating the healthy as well as the sick.
NATIONAL
Jacobs alumna, Rachell Ellen Wong becomes first Baroque artist to receive an Avery Fisher Career Grant
The Strad
Wong, whose career is divided between historical performance practice on her Tielke baroque violin, and contemporary performance on her Carlo de March violin, has played with ensembles in the performance-practice arena including the American Bach Soloists, the Academy of Ancient Music, Bach Collegium Japan and Les Arts Florissants.
2 VC Artists Awarded 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grants
The Violin Channel
The 2020 recipients of the Avery Fisher Career Grants have been announced – including VC Artists Zlatomir Fung and Stella Chen.
How do you conduct virtual choir practices with more than 300 kids? The Philadelphia Boys Choir is learning how.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Cassie Owens
Since March 16, the boys’ choir’s four ensembles have been hosting nine Zoom rehearsals every week, while its sister organization, Philadelphia Girls Choir, is running roughly 14 among its four ensembles, said Smith.
Livestreaming the Seattle Symphony Became a Source of Connection in Dark Times
The New York Times: Brooke Jarvis
‘Nobody is anything alone. That’s what this situation is demonstrating.’
The Kennedy Center is facing more hard choices. Its president explains why she’s forgoing her salary.
The Washington Post: Peggy McClong
Looking at a $20 million deficit that could balloon to $55 million by the end of summer, Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter knows that painful cuts are on the horizon. So she slashed her salary first.
After $25 million stimulus, stunned NSO players receive one-week notice from Kennedy Center
The Washington Post: Peggy McGlong and Michael Andor Brodeur
Ed Malaga, president of Local 161-710 of the American Federation of Musicians, described the decision as outrageous and said the union has filed a grievance challenging what it believes is an illegal action.
The New York Philharmonic, Closed Till September, Is Winding Down Musicians’ Pay
Vulture: Sarah Jones and Justin Davidson
Beginning April 1, all musicians, regardless of seniority, will be paid the basic minimum salary of $2,952 per week ($153,504 per year).
New York City Ballet Cancels Its Season but Will Pay Employees
NY Times: Julia Jacobs
City Ballet says it will lose about $8 million with the disappearance of its spring season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kansas City Symphony Musicians Will be Paid, with Benefits
The Kansas City Star: Patrick Neas
There will be no changes to musician salaries or benefits through the current 2019/2020 season, even though the Kansas City Symphony has had to cancel or postpone more than 20 concerts and has taken a concomitant financial hit.
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center announces new Bowers Program Artists
The Strad
String players Stella Chen, Sihao He, Richard Lin, Timothy Ridout and James Thompson have been selected for a three-season residency.
INTERNATIONAL
UK Classical musicians plead for support as cancelled concerts blight income
The Guardian: Imogen Tilden
Musicians and performing groups face a bleak future as the coronavirus shutdown has meant earnings evaporated overnight. Will the industry ever recover?
Krzysztof Penderecki, Polish Composer With Cinematic Flair, Dies at 86
NY Times: Daniel Lewis
Mr. Penderecki’s modernist compositions turned up in films like “The Exorcist” and influenced a generation of edgy rock musicians.
The Bossa Nova Guitar of Rosinha de Valença
She Sreds: Cynthia Schemmer
Brazilian guitarist Rosinha de Valença was at the forefront of bossa nova’s peak in the 1960s, leaving behind an often uncelebrated legacy.
Anne-Sophie Mutter Has Tested Positive for Coronavirus
The Violin Channel
German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter has today announced that she has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.
World-renowned opera singer Plácido Domingo says he has coronavirus
CNN: Natasha Chen and Alicia Lee
“I feel it is my moral duty to announce to you that I have tested positive for COVID19,” he wrote. “My Family and I are all in self-isolation for as long as it is deemed medically necessary.”
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
How Artists Can Stay Afloat — and Find New Opportunities— Amid the Coronavirus Crisis
Billboard: Steve Knopper
Rebillet, the goateed electro-soul singer known for making up songs on the spot, raised $15,000 for charity by selling merchandise and soliciting donations during the livestream.
Violin Channel Living Room Livestream Concerts [COVID-19]
The Violin Channel
We’re coming to you live from living rooms all around the globe.
How Coronavirus Will Reshape The Concert Business
Billboard: Dave Brooks
The concert business shutdown is creating a credit crisis that’s choking indie promoters. The industry that emerges when it’s done will be more competitive — and concentrated — than ever.
Melbourne Digital Concert Hall launches on Friday
The Strad
A new online concert platform aims to support classical musicians who have lost work due to the coronavirus crisis.
OFF THE BEATEN TRAIL
A South African High School in Lockdown Performs a Rendition of “Hallelujah”
YouTube Video
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