Rostropovich Dead at 80

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• Jazz Icon Hubbard Dead at 70

  Dec 29, 08 9:02 PM CST
  Grammy-winning jazz giant Freddie Hubbard died today in Sherman Oaks, Calif., a month after having a heart attack, the AP reports. He was 70. Revered among trumpet players, Hubbard collaborated with legends like John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins as he established a blazing, hard-bop style that influenced a generation. "His playing is exuberant," said Wynton Marsalis, who admired Hubbard's "big sound" and "sense of rhythm and time." More »

• Composers Score With Video-Game Gigs

  Dec 8, 08 10:34 AM CST
  The musical scores for video games have kept pace with the evolution of the games themselves, the Los Angeles Times reports, with composers bringing in as much as $2,000 per minute to create sweeping, film-like compositions. With sales projected to hit $50 billion this year, game developers can budget $500,000 or more for the soundtrack—which can prove musically challenging. More »

• Cellist Runs Church of Beethoven

  Nov 16, 08 6:35 PM CST
  Congregants gather on Sundays at an old gas station in Albuquerque to greet friends, ponder the divine, and listen to classical music, NPR reports. Espresso-sipping members of the Church of Beethoven also listen to poetry readings and engage in group song, but don't need to have religious beliefs. Cellist Felix Wurman says he founded the church to help people "find spirituality through culture."
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• US Composer Says Feds Are After Him

  Oct 19, 08 6:35 PM CDT
  One of the most famous composers in America insists that Homeland Security has targeted him for his liberal views, the Guardian reports. John Adams, who achieved fame with his Nixon in China opera 20 years ago, says airport immigration grills him whenever he comes home. "I'm perfectly aware that I, like many artists and many thoughtful people in the country, am being followed," Adams says. More »

• Four Tops Singer Dead At 72

  Oct 17, 08 2:50 PM CDT
  Baritone Levi Stubbs, the heart of the Four Tops, died today in Detroit at age 72, the Detroit News reports. With Abdul Fakir, Lawrence Payton and Renaldo Benson, Stubbs recorded many iconic hits of the Motown era, including Bernadette, Reach Out (I’ll Be There), and Standing in the Shadows of Love. On his own, he was the voice of Audrey the carnivorous plant in the 1986 film version of Little Shop of Horrors.
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