Where Bernstein Left Off: Teaching The Classical Audience

"Latest in the never-ending series of orchestras' educational endeavors: the Boston Symphony Orchestra has launched an on-line "Classical Companion" to Beethoven's nine symphonies, with videos, lectures and a "Beethoven Music Lab" that allows you to create your own development section to three of the symphonies. It's all very nice: Jan Swafford's brief video introductions to the individual symphonies are pleasant but too short to be of real use, particularly without telling musical examples."

For the full story, please see the Washington Post.

Making Search More Musical

"Every day we get millions of search queries about music. You want to know more about your favorite artists, find that new album or iconic song or figure out the name of that tune stuck in your head. In fact, according to Insights for Search, two of the top 10 queries in the U.S. are music-related. But often, if your answer is in a song, it can take a while to get there. We call this "time to result" — and we're always looking for ways to reduce it."

For the full article please see Google's Blog.

Composers consider unionization

"The Society of Composers & Lyricists was scheduled to announce at its annual membership meeting Tuesday night that an "informational meeting" about the possibility of affiliating with Teamsters Local 399 will be held Nov. 16 at the Pickwick Gardens Conference Center in Burbank, Calif."

For the full article, please see Variety.

The Cellphone Symphony

"A musician and his team have trained 1,000 cellphones to deliver 2,000 text messages in about 40 seconds that sound like Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture – complete with bass drums and crashing cymbals at the end."

For the full story, please see thestar.com.

Torture songs spur a protest most vocal

"Was the theme to "Sesame Street" really played to torture prisoners held at Guantanamo and other detention camps? What about Don McLean's "American Pie"? Or the Meow Mix jingle? Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A."?"

For the full story, please see the Wall Street Journal.

Google Music Links Look Nifty

"Reports are rife that Google is preparing to add music to its search results, allowing users to listen to songs right from the results page. The new feature, which is supposedly set to be announced next week, involves licensing deals all four major music labels as well as a smattering of independents. Though there is revenue sharing involved, the main plan is to use the initiative as a way to keep users on Google for longer."

For the full story, please see Ars Technica.

The Song Decoders

"On first listen, some things grab you for their off-kilter novelty. Like the story of a company that has hired a bunch of “musicologists,” who sit at computers and listen to songs, one at a time, rating them element by element, separating out what sometimes comes to hundreds of data points for a three-minute tune. The company, an Internet radio service called Pandora, is convinced that by pouring this information through a computer into an algorithm, it can guide you, the listener, to music that you like. The premise is that your favorite songs can be stripped to parts and reverse-engineered."

For the full story, please see the New York Times.

What Makes It Great?

"From Beethoven to Broadway, hear pianist and composer Rob Kapilow reveal the heart of the music with fresh insight and a touch of humor."

Listen at npr.org.

Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies

The Center for Beethoven Studies has a new website!

The Center is the only institution in North America devoted solely to the life, works, and accomplishments of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Established in 1983 when Ira F. Brilliant donated his Beethoven collection to San José State University, the Center officially opened in September 1985 with a gala co-sponsored by the San Jose Symphony. Building on Ira Brilliant's original donation, the Center now has the largest collection of Beethoven materials outside of Europe. In addition to functioning as a research library and museum, the Center is involved in a variety of educational programs and sponsors concerts, lectures, tours, and other events. Long-term projects include publication of The Beethoven Journal and development of the Center's online catalog, the Beethoven Gateway. The Center is also the headquarters for the American Beethoven Society.

Noted Ballet Music Director Resigns Suddenly

"Stewart Kershaw, music director and conductor of the Pacific Northwest Ballet company for the last 25 years, resigned earlier this week, taking the public – and the company – by complete surprise. The move came without warning and is effective immediately."

For the full story, please see Musical America.

Open Access Week 2009

In conjunction with 2009 Open Access Week < www.openaccessweek.org >, the UW Libraries is offering four programs that explore various aspects of the current landscape of scholarly publishing and access, as well as projections for the future. Follow the link for a full schedule of events.

Music Library Open House

*Want a library tour?
*Want to get a head start on that big research project but don’t know where to start?
*Want to learn how to use RefWorks to manage your citations before you start your research?

Come to the Music Library Open House for answers to all of your burning library questions!

*Monday, October 5, 12PM-2PM
*Tuesday, October 6, 2PM-4PM
*Wednesday, October 7, 10AM-12PM