FEATURE: THE AMAZING MIMI ZWEIG
Violinist and Jacobs Professor Mimi Zweig – ‘My Inspiration Behind StringPedagogy.com’
The Violin Channel: Blog
In a VC-exclusive blog, acclaimed American violin educator, Jacobs School’s very own Mimi Zweig talks us through her inspiration and purpose behind StringPedagogy.com.
RESEARCH AND OPINION
To Survive the Challenges Ahead, Cultural Institutions Will Need to Redefine the Value of Art. Here’s How They Can Do It
ArtNet: Deborah Fisher
The director of A Blade of Grass explores how the lockdown era might present an opportunity to change the way the art ecosystem functions.
The Post-Covid Concert Hall Catastrophe: Why Audience Attendance is the Least of Our Problems
The Middle Class Artist
What will matter more than anything else in consideration is that, without a vaccine, social distancing measures in large-scale venues must continue for months, potentially years.
Covid-era opera is getting more intimate, accessible and experimental
The Washington Post: Michael Andor Brodeur
“Lady M” was supposed to premiere this month as a staged concert performance by its six singers and six instrumentalists at Brooklyn’s Irondale Center. They opted to assemble the cast and musicians on Zoom to prepare a deconstructed and reconfigured vision of “Lady M” in the form of 18 virtual “soirees,” co-presented by the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Scared Your Company Might Close? These Artists Have Been Through It, And Have Some Advice
Dance Magazine: Jennifer Stahl
Dance Magazine spoke to a few people who’ve been through company closures in the past, and proven just how resilient dance artists can be.
Small Concert Promoters Salvage The Future
VAN-US: George Grella
Concert life will indeed return; playing music in front of people has been a part of humanity since pre-history. But how that will look is hard to see.
These Are the Bedside Concerts Comforting Virus Patients
The New York Times: Benjamin Weiser
An I.C.U. doctor felt despair at how little could be done for the sick. Soon, she had musicians playing over the phone in hospital rooms.
The 1918 Pandemic’s Impact on Music? Surprisingly Little
The New York Times: William Robin
Unlike the existential threat posed by the coronavirus outbreak, cultural life returned swiftly to normal after the flu.
Double-blind test reveals sound properties of instruments made from composites
The Strad
The research has been published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.
YOUTUBE PREMIERS
Boston Pops Orchestra – John Williams’ ‘Summon the Heroes’ [COVID-19]’
Virtual Guitar Orchestra – KALEIDOKITHARA by Sergio Assad
The MET Orchestra – Mascagni’s ‘Intermezzo’ from ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ [COVID-19]
VC Artists Emmanuel Tjeknavorian & Kian Soltani – Kodaly ‘Duo’ [2020]
Composer Aleksandra Vrebalov – ‘ANTENNAE: a fragment’ [PREMIERE – April 14]
Bolero Juilliard – a Day in the Life
NATIONAL
Concert to Test Whether America Is Ready to Rock Again
NY Times: Graham Bowley
Travis McCready is set to perform in Arkansas on Friday in what appears to be the first major U.S. music show since the pandemic began, but state officials have yet to endorse it.
Little Richard, Flamboyant Wild Man of Rock ’n’ Roll, Dies at 87
NY Times: Tim Weiner
Delving deeply into the wellsprings of gospel music and the blues, and screaming as if for his very life, he created something new, thrilling and dangerous.
Musical America’s Guide to Free Streams
Musical America: Clive Paget
A schedule of live-streaming music from around the globe.
Initiative to ‘Reopen Every Venue Safely’ Launches in Eight Cities Including Los Angeles, Austin and Portland
Variety: Charlie Amter
Music Cities Together, a joint initiative between Washington D.C.-based Music Policy Forum (Michael Bracy) and Austin-based Sound Music Cities (Don Pitts) committed to helping local officials in cities across America improve their music ecosystems, is stepping up efforts to save music venues and clubs nationwide.
American Composer Anthony Davis Awarded 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Music
The Violin Channel
American Composer Anthony Davis has been awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his opera: ‘The Central Park Five’.
Metropolitan Opera, Facing Sharp Losses, Furloughs Dozens
The New York Times: Zachary Woolfe
With the company’s September opening in jeopardy, it will put 41 staff members on indefinite furlough and cut 11 others to part-time hours.
International Online Bass Summit announced for June
The Strad
With guest artists including Gary Karr and Francois Rabbath, this event is intended to bring the bass community together.
INTERNATIONAL
Macron presents emergency plan to save France’s culture sector
The Local
While France is less than a week away from beginning to lift its strict, nationwide lockdown, much of the country’s arts and culture sector must remain closed for the time being.
Berlin study issues recommendations for orchestral distancing
The Strad
The study suggests that orchestras could potentially play together under certain conditions.
La Scala opens virtual tour during coronavirus lockdown
The Washington Post: Colleen Barry
The project has been in the works for years, and organizers accelerated it during the coronavirus, knowing there was a captive audience eager for cultural outlets
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment unveils new music theory videos
The Strad
The Illustrated Theory of Music, a series of short, informal videos, animate the stories behind Western music theory.
Romania’s Georges Enescu Philharmonic Announces Christian Zacharias as Honorary Conductor
The Violin Channel
The Georges Enescu Philharmonic has announced the appointment of conductor Christian Zacharias as its new Honorary Conductor.
Filipino Musicians Drive Hong Kong’s Music Scene, but Gigs Have Dried Up
The New York Times: Mike Ives
Battered by the one-two punch of protests and a pandemic, Hong Kong’s music venues have mostly gone silent. No one has felt the pinch more than singers, drummers and guitarists from the Philippines.
England’s City of Birmingham Symphony Announces New Leader
The Violin Channel
The City of Birmingham Symphony has announced the appointment of Romanian violinist Eugene Tzikindelean as its new Leader.
Coronavirus: Violinist Benedetti offering free online music sessions
BBC
Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti has assembled a team of musicians to offer three weeks of free music classes online.
Queen Elisabeth Competition announces postponements and launches @Home Competition
The Strad
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the competition has delayed its various sessions by one year, and launched an @Home Competition initiative.
Brucknerhaus Linz unveils plans to reopen in July
The Strad
The 1400-capacity venue will stage one-hour concerts for 400 spectators.
Dresden Music Festival to take place as Livestream event
The Strad
The 24h Livestream Festival will take place on 16 May.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
What’s Next for Lockdown Live Music? Pay-Per-View Tours, Crowdless Concerts, Virtual Merch and More
Variety: Jem Aswad
Streaming is considered to be the savior of the music business, but what really saved it — until recently, anyway — was concerts.
Miami City Ballet unveils what could be the first ballet created remotely
Palm Beach Post
The dance was commissioned by artistic director Lourdes Lopez, who paid for it herself, to honor front-line workers during the pandemic.
A Composer and Her (Very) Long String Instrument
The New York Times:
Ellen Fullman is sheltering in place with the 40-string, 45-foot-long droning instrument she created decades ago.
Public to perform and sing on track with BBC Lockdown Orchestra as part of a UK-wide performance
The Strad
Public will join in with BBC orchestra members in a collaborative rendition of You Got The Love as part of the Get Creative festival.
OFF THE BEATEN TRAIL
15 Essential Hair-Metal Videos
The New York Times: Gavin Edwards
The bands’ looks were over-the-top. So were the aesthetics of their clips for MTV.
Royal College Teacher To Run a Marathon to Raise Money For His Students
The Violin Channel
Royal College of Music violin teacher Mark Messenger will run a 26 mile marathon – to raise money for the ‘Royal College of Music COVID-19 Hardship Fund’.
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