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Philip Glass on Piano Music, Memories and Motorcycles
On a blustery afternoon in early December, Philip Glass climbed the massive staircase that leads up to the Juilliard School lobby, and barely winded, sat down for a long conversation about this music, life and career. Our talk, which formed the basis of a cover story for the February issue of BBC Music Magazine, veered from topic to topic, and one was…
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Carnegie Hall Feeling Groovy With ’60s Festival in 2018
If you’re at Carnegie Hall next season, don’t touch the brown acid. The venerable venue this week announced its 2017-18 season, one that includes a two-month festival (January 14-March 24, 2018) dedicated to the 1960s.
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The Crown Uses Classical Music to Dramatize Monarchy
This post refers to the first season of ‘The Crown.’ Here is a look at classical music in Season Two. In the Netflix original series “The Crown,” music plays a significant role in heightening the drama and majesty of the British throne. A glance at the show’s IMDB page reveals that this is no shoestring operation: The music…
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Eight Takeaways from Classical Music in 2016
In a year in which the 2016 presidential campaign impacted all corners of public life in the U.S., classical music often served as a diversion or even a refuge for many listeners. But musicians didn’t live in a vacuum either, as several news stories demonstrated.
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New Opera at the Met Fizzles, Houston Finalizes a Premiere
Questions about the Metropolitan Opera’s involvement with new opera have emerged this week after the company called off a long-planned new work by the composer Osvaldo Golijov, due to “conflicting schedules.” Meanwhile, a company 1,600 miles south of New York City has been rather quietly preparing a major new opera for its premiere this Friday.
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Louis Andriessen: A Political Composer for the New York Philharmonic?
The New York Philharmonic this week announced that Dutch composer Louis Andriessen is the recipient of its Marie-Josée Kravis Prize, an award consisting of $200,000 and a commission from the orchestra. Something of a lifetime achievement award, the prize has previously gone to Frenchman Henri Dutilleux (2011) and Danish composer Per Nørgård (2014).
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Yoga in the Concert Hall: Not Such a Stretch?
Among American orchestras, the definitions of community outreach and engagement seem to be constantly in flux. One of the latest efforts to reach a new audience on its own terms comes from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. On November 16, the DSO will host OM @ The Max, in which a yoga instructor – who also happens to be the…
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Halloween is Classical Music’s Most Entertaining Holiday
Halloween brings certain songs and compositions that never seem to grow old, in part because their annual moment is so fleeting and the music so evocative, colorful and hair-raising.
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The Leeds Competition and Jury Reforms
Competitions have a long history as being classical music’s talent mills. While almost all aim to launch artists’ careers, in practice, their track record is famously inconsistent. One frequent complaint holds that interesting and idiosyncratic performers often get bypassed in favor of “consensus” candidates that win over juries. But musicians continue to compete and the biggest contests still generate a certain…
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Seven Classical Music Trends to Watch For This Season
The 2016-17 season of classical music is underway with plenty of Gershwin, a debated new production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at the Met, and labor crises in Pennsylvania and Fort Worth. Here are seven other things to watch and listen for in the months ahead.