Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Which Composer Is The Biggest Badass?

"This intriguing question floated across the Twitter transom to us last Friday morning from Kara-Lis Coverdale (@kliscoverdale):

Who is the most badass composer there ever was? #drugs #sex #guts #politics

We loved Kara-Lis' question so much that we immediately threw it open to our fans and friends across Twitter and Facebook, a question to be pondered if not for the ages, at least over the course of a weekend. And boy, did you all respond."

For the full story, please see NPR.org.

Monday, June 27, 2011

The Cloud That Ate Your Music

"Recent weeks have been filled with announcements about music taking residence in the cloud, the poetic name for online storage and software that promises to make lifetimes worth of songs available to anyone, anywhere, as long as those people and places have Internet connections. (Which of course is a long way from everyone, everywhere, but utopian tech dreams tend to ignore mere hardware.)"

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

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

EMI Puts Itself Up for Sale. Again.

"EMI, the music company that was seized by Citigroup in February after a disastrous four-year ownership by the private equity firm Terra Firma, is going up for sale again."

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

Monday, June 20, 2011

Clarence Clemons, The Big Man In The E Street Band, Has Died

"Clarence Clemons, saxophone player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, has died of complications of a stroke. He was 69."

For the full story, please see NPR.org.

Speight Jenkins Sets Retirement Date

"Speight Jenkins, who has single-handedly turned the Seattle Opera into a force with which to be reckoned, will retire as general director at the end of the season in August 2014. Jenkins will have been at the helm for 30 years."

For the full story, please see Musical America.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Maryland Doctor Wins Van Cliburn Amateur Piano Competition

"Christopher Shih, a 38-year-old gastroenterologist from Ellicott City, Md. says the only time he finds to practice the piano is at night, after he puts the kids to bed. But all that late-night practicing has paid off. Shih has won the sixth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs."

For the full story, please see NPR.org.

Advertise on NYTimes.com No Radios by the Fountain, Please! Or Cellos!

"The crisp new signs began going up in some of the most popular spots in Central Park near the end of May. In large white letters on green backgrounds they announce that the areas have been designated Quiet Zones, and that musical instruments and amplified sound are not permitted. Some of the signs cite the authority of the Central Park Conservancy, the private organization that manages the park. Others also bear the name of the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation."

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

Sony Records 'Discovered Handel Opera'

""Germanico del sig. Hendl." Since 1929 the catalog of the Conservatorio Cherubini in Florence (section "Opere teatrali", p. 143) has listed a Handel title --"Germanico"-- not mentioned in any other sources. In autumn 2009 Handel scholars* in both Europe and the U.S. got word that a Bond Street jeweler was circulating a copy of the manuscript in London, attempting to confirm its authenticity. On behalf of whom, we wondered? That mystery was partially solved when, on 18 May, Sony Classical announced on its website that an important press conference would be held on June 6, 11:30 am, at La Scala’s gift shop in Milan."

For the full story, please see Musical America.

When the Melody Takes a Detour, the Science Begins

"In the middle of a World Science Festival panel on Saturday night, the guitarist Pat Metheny took a sudden U-turn from the program he had planned. Instead of performing one of his innovative compositions, plucked from any of the phases of his career as a style-shifting jazz omnivore, Mr. Metheny, performing with the bassist Larry Grenadier, decided on the spot to play a jazz standard."

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