It seems that there’s been a good bit of writing about how nice classical music has become recently. The Washington Post ran an article that talks about how EMI took out a bad note sung by Pavarotti at La Scala and the resulting boos in extracted from the audience. The Financial Times published a piece about the history of booing and how it never really took hold in the UK or the US and AJ blogger Greg Sandow wrote about a pair of overly complementary radio commentators.
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The American Anthem At The Greek Olympics
I just watched the medal ceremony for Michael Phelps and heard the version of the Star Spangled Banner they’ve decided to use (although I freely admit that I don’t have the first idea about “who” makes this decision). And I have to say that I don’t like the version they’ve selected at all. As a matter of fact it’s just about the worst version I’ve ever heard. I don’t make it …
Some Recent Developments And Debunking Some Spin
Recent DevelopmentsIt’s certainly been an interesting week in the orchestra industry. One very interesting development is the recent announcement that Columbus Symphony Orchestra Board Chair Michael J. McMennamin has relinquished his post as chair of the Board of Trustees. Details are covered in an article by Eileen Coyne in the August 12th edition of Columbus Business First. This means that the Columbus symphony now has absolutely no full time leadership: no …
Reader Response: Various Thoughts From Some “Guy”
Last Monday’s article produced a wonderful stream of emails from a wide assortment of readers. People wrote in to comment about my “doctor” complaint mostly in favor but a few chastised my “cavalier attitude” toward people who have “worked hard” to get that Ph.D degree. But some of the really fascinating feedback centered on the unpretentious attitudes displayed by Berlin Philharmonic concertmaster Guy Braunstein and his aversion to the title “Herr …
Various Thoughts From Some “Guy”
Fellow AJ blogger Kyle Gann posted a comment of mine a few days ago I sent to him in response to a piece he wrote about a new degree program for music criticism. And it brings up an interesting point about society in general: the amount of automatic validation people assign to owning a degree. I think it’s important for people to always consider that education is hardly a substitute for …