Drew McManus on the orchestra business.
News is aflutter now about the Minnesota Orchestra heading to Cuba to be the first US orchestra to perform there since President Obama took steps to normalize relations between the countries in December 2014. That last part is emphasized because the more this news makes the rounds, the more that point gets glossed over; so much so that in some cases it is even getting left out (although most of those …
At the rate music directors at big budget orchestras are leaving, we might as well begin a betting pool. First Alan Gilbert in New York and now Christoph Eschenbach is leaving his position at the National Symphony Orchestra at the end of the 216/17 season. The official Kennedy Center press release has the relevant details although you can be sure that the speculation circuit is certain to be kicking into gear sooner …
Usually, stories that begin with “well, we were drinking…” turn out to have something other than a happy ending but a recent article published by Holly Mulcahy on 2/11/2015 at Neo Classical proves to be an exception to the rule. Mulcahy has been chronicling a series of events leading up to her upcoming performance of Jennifer Higdon’s 2010 Pulitzer-prize winning Violin Concerto on March 12, 2015 with the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera including bringing the piece to …
Forte, a sheet music notation software company, has decided to hold a “Best Classical Music Website” contest through March 1, 2015 and the winning outlet will apparently be awarded with 3 licenses of their Forte6 (one each of Home, Basic, and Pro versions) software to be given to readers who participated in the contest poll. As of now, there are 14 different outlets and you can vote for one; having said …
Chicago, indeed the entire field of classical music, lost one of its most devoted servants when music critic and broadcaster Andrew Patner unexpectedly passed away on the morning of February 3, 2015 at the age of 55. Always affable, easy to talk with, and refreshingly candid, he was the human Wikipedia for all things related to Chicago arts and culture. Andrew was a friend and colleague, he was among one of …