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July 25, 2008 5:57:21 PM CDT

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Stories related to: classical music

Stories

17 Stories

  • June 2008

    • How an Amateur Made Classical Cool in NYC

      newser  |  Gramophone  |  Jun 7, 08 4:16 PM CDT

      How an Amateur Made Classical Cool in NYC

      Ronen Givony is no musician, he can’t read music, and had never organized a concert—until recently. Now the 28-year-old is considered one of New York’s top impresarios, thanks to his “Wordless Music” series, which puts top indie rock and electronica bands on the same bill as classical performers. The series is a blockbuster, drawing the young, curious 20-something crowd that Lincoln Center so desires. More »

      Tags

      New York City  • concert  • classical music  • rock music  • Lincoln Center  • indie pop

  • May 2008

    • Fire Lashes Berlin Philharmonic

      newser  |  Der Spiegel  |  May 20, 08 2:25 PM CDT

      Fire Lashes Berlin Philharmonic

      A fire broke out at the Berlin Philharmonic today, bringing more than 100 firefighters to the concert hall, Der Spiegel reports. No one was injured in the blaze, with musicians fleeing with their instruments; a lunchtime concert had to be evacuated. "We don’t believe anyone is in danger, as the fire appears to be contained in the roof," a fire official said. More »

      Tags

      Germany  • firefighters  • Berlin  • California wildfires  • classical music  • fire

    • Robo-Maestro Takes Baton

      newser  |  Guardian (UK)  |  May 14, 08 3:27 PM CDT

      Robo-Maestro Takes Baton

      It was classical music, but when the Detroit Symphony Orchestra hit its final note last night, it sounded an awful lot like the future. Honda’s Asimo robot led a real, live, human orchestra, and though the android was only repeating the recorded movements of a human, the performance went beautifully, impressing the musicians and delighting the crowd, the Guardian reports. More »

      Tags

      Detroit  • Honda  • robot  • classical music  • orchestra  • conductor

    • Violinist to Serenade Taxi Driver

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  May 6, 08 11:13 AM CDT

      Violinist to Serenade Taxi Driver

      When violin virtuoso Philippe Quint left a 1723 Antonio Stradivari “Ex-Kiesewetter” in a New Jersey taxi two weeks ago, he was distraught: The $4 million instrument was not only irreplaceable, it was on loan. But the cab driver returned the violin next morning, and today, in gratitude, the Grammy-nominated musician will perform a private concert—at the Newark airport cab stand. More »

      Tags

      New Jersey  • classical music  • taxi driver  • violin  • Stradivarius violin  • Newark airport  • generosity

    • Muti to Lead Chicago Symphony

      newser  |  New York Times  |  May 5, 08 2:23 PM CDT

      Muti to Lead Chicago Symphony

      After four years of searching for a new music director, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra has finally found its man: Italian maestro Riccardo Muti. He will take over for the 2010-11 season on a five-year contract. In September, Muti rejected the idea of an American music directorship because of hefty administrative duties, but a month of guest conducting changed his tune. More »

      Tags

      music  • Chicago  • classical music  • New York Philharmonic

    • Vivaldi Opera Revived 278 Years Later

      newser  |  BBC  |  May 4, 08 5:57 PM CDT

      Vivaldi Opera Revived 278 Years Later

      A long-lost opera by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi has resurfaced nearly 280 years after its Prague premiere, BBC reports. Argippo , a tale of love and deception set in an Indian maharaja’s court, was first performed in 1730 but vanished soon after, leaving only a libretto. But that was enough for a Czech musician to start hunting around Europe for the rest. More »

      Tags

      music  • Germany  • opera  • classical music  • Czech Republic  • Prague  • aria  • Antonio Vivaldi  • preservation

    • Mozart Helps Snap Saudi Taboos

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  May 3, 08 9:56 PM CDT

      Mozart Helps Snap Saudi Taboos

      Mozart hasn't challenged cultural taboos for more than 200 years, but last night he caused quite a stir in Saudi Arabia. A German-based quartet gave the nation its first public classical concert where men were allowed to hear Mozart and sit next to, gasp, women. "The concert is a sign that things are changing rapidly here," a German ambassador told the AP. More »

      Tags

      Saudi Arabia  • concert  • classical music  • Muslim women  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

  • April 2008

    • Shhh! Europe Law Forces Orchestras to Tone It Down

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Apr 19, 08 9:46 PM CDT

      Shhh! Europe Law Forces Orchestras to Tone It Down

      A new law in Europe to protect employees from ear-damaging noises is stifling a surprise industry—orchestras. Conductors are taking it down a notch to comply, in one case canceling a world premiere because it exceeded the allowable decibels in rehearsal, the New York Times reports. At the Royal Opera House, musicians have to wear earplugs—akin to telling a "race-car driver they have to wear a blindfold," said one oboist. More »

      Tags

      European Union  • classical music  • composer  • noise  • orchestra  • conductor

    • Pavarotti Lipsynched Last Performance

      newser  |  Guardian (UK)  |  Apr 7, 08 9:02 AM CDT

      Pavarotti Lipsynched Last Performance

      Lipsynching isn't just for neophytes like Nikki Hilton—none other than tenor Luciano Pavarotti faked his way through his final public performance at the opening of the Turin Winter Olympics, the Guardian reports. In a new book, Pavarotti's conductor and pianist claims that he recorded the cancer-stricken tenor and the orchestra, and used video trickery to pull the ruse off before millions of TV viewers. More »

      Tags

      opera  • classical music  • tenor  • Luciano Pavarotti  • orchestra  • conductor

  • March 2008

    • Dudamel Dazzles in LA Debut

      newser  |  Los Angeles Times  |  Mar 31, 08 10:07 AM CDT

      Dudamel Dazzles in LA Debut

      Gustavo Dudamel lived up to all the hype last Friday, when he conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the first time since Esa-Pekka Salonen announced that the 27-year old maestro would be replacing him as the orchestra's music director in 2009.  Dudamel paid homage to Salonen by opening with one of the Finn's scores. But the night had Dudamel written all over it, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »

      Tags

      classical music  • orchestra  • Gustavo Dudamel

    • Heal Me, Amadeus!

      newser  |  Independent (UK)  |  Mar 18, 08 1:11 PM CDT

      Heal Me, Amadeus!

      A British patient's epilepsy showed remarkable improvement after he started listening to 45 minutes of Mozart daily, the Independent reports. And while research is still sparse on the music's effect on epilepsy, some doctors speculate that his complex melodies stimulate the brain in a way other composers' works don't. "The organization of the cerebral cortex would seem to resonate with the architecture of Mozart's music," a doctor said. More »

      Tags

      health  • brain  • neurology  • classical music  • epilepsy  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    • Fine Arts Could Use Some Color

      newser  |  Guardian (UK)  |  Mar 5, 08 12:17 PM CST

      Fine Arts Could Use Some Color

      Britain's culture minister set off a row about high culture and national identity this week in castigating a popular series of classical music concerts for failing to attract a multiethnic audience. For Candace Allen, an African-American author living in London, the debate is more than theoretical: while classical music can be life-affirming, it's tougher to appreciate with white audience members staring at you. More »

      Tags

      race  • BBC  • classical music  • Gustavo Dudamel  • Proms

    • Scots Build Replica of Bach's Head

      newser  |  BBC  |  Mar 1, 08 8:40 PM CST

      Scots Build Replica of Bach's Head

      Forensic artists have re-created Johann Sebastian Bach’s head based on a cast of his skull and documents from the composer’s time, the BBC reports. The model, built at Scotland’s Dundee University, is “the most complete face that can be built from the available reliable information,” including the cast, a single portrait, and papers describing his appearance, said one expert. More »

      Tags

      Great Britain  • United Kingdom  • Germany  • Scotland  • classical music  • composer  • forensic experts  • Johann Sebastian Bach

  • February 2008

    • Philip Glass: Trained By Life

      newser  |  Details  |  Feb 29, 08 7:24 PM CST

      Philip Glass: Trained By Life

      Philip Glass paid $30 in rent in 1960s New York City, drove a cab to support his composing, and didn't make a dime on his work until he was 41. "I was trained by life," Glass tells Details of working at the kitchen table while his kids watched TV in the same room. As for creating music in isolation, "you're dreamin'." More »

      Tags

      New York City  • drugs  • classical music  • composer  • Philip Glass  • Timothy Leary

    • Philharmonic Wows North Korea

      newser  |  AFP  |  Feb 26, 08 7:16 AM CST

      Philharmonic Wows North Korea

      The New York Philharmonic received a huge ovation in Pyongyang tonight after a concert that marked the first thaw in cultural relations between the US and North Korea in 50 years. The performance—which included the countries' national anthems, a Korean folk song, and works by Gershwin, Dvorak, Wagner, and Leonard Bernstein—was broadcast on state media and around the world, reports AFP. More »

      Tags

      music  • Condoleezza Rice  • North Korea  • Pyongyang  • classical music  • Christopher Hill  • New York Philharmonic  • cultural diplomacy

    • North Korea Preps for Visit From NY Philharmonic

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  Feb 24, 08 3:00 PM CST

      North Korea Preps for Visit From NY Philharmonic

      Pyongyang may be shedding some of its anti-US propaganda in preparation for the New York Philharmonic's arrival tomorrow, but many worry Dvorak symphonies Tuesday for the elite will prove an ineffectual olive branch during a time of nuclear negotiations. Pshaw, an assistant secretary of state tells the LA Times: "They are alleging that we have a hostile policy and that's why they need nuclear weapons. The presence of the New York Philharmonic argues against that." More »

      Tags

      music  • North Korea  • propaganda  • Pyongyang  • classical music  • New York Philharmonic

  • April 2007

    • Rostropovich Dead at 80

      newser  |  Washington Post  |  Apr 27, 07 2:23 PM CDT

      Rostropovich Dead at 80

      Cellist, conductor, and one-time Soviet gadfly Mstislav Rostropovich, who used to instruct his orchestras to "play as if you are being tickled in the sides," died today in Moscow. Rostropovich, whose 17-year-run as the head of the National Symphony Orchestra tranformed it from a middling ensemble to one of the world's premier orchestras, was 80. More »

      Tags

      music  • obituary  • classical music  • composer  • USSR

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