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It’s good to be reminded now and then of what an orchestra looks like in the wild, and why virtually every professional orchestra in the known universe is unionized: Musicians, however, look to a conductor for musical guidance, and they say [Illinois Symphony Music Director Karen Lynne] Deal simply doesn’t do enough homework to provide […]

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll put on a businessman’s hat and look at a young musician’s career from that perspective.  What are the challenges facing this person as he or she steps into the profession?  One might say a musician’s challenge is to utilize and evolve the skills obtained in school in order […]

A candidate for the position of King County (Seattle) Executive is touting her executive experience rather than her decades as a local TV news anchor, and basing the claim on having been board chair of the Seattle Symphony: In her campaign for King County executive, Hutchison has highlighted her 2 Ω years as chairwoman of […]

Concerts get cancelled all the time, but usually not high-profile concerts conducted by the music director two weeks in advance of the concert: The Honolulu Symphony board has done something unprecedented that will shock some patrons while possibly giving encouragement to people who have written big checks for the orchestra. It has canceled a concert […]

Show business can indeed pay well: After you practice for years and get to Carnegie Hall, it’s almost better to move music stands than actually play the piano. Depending on wattage, a star pianist can receive $20,000 a night at the 118-year-old hall, meaning he or she would have to perform at least 27 times […]

Performing in prisons has almost graduated to the status of trend: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra guest pianist Simone Dinnerstein plays an usual venue this morning at 11: The Maryland Correctional Institution for Women. The world-renowned pianist, who has played Carneige Hall and the Kennedy Center, also will answer questions from inmates/audience members after she performs works […]

Leonard Slatkin responded via email (see yesterday’s blogpost) to my request for information about the article on his website. I have excerpted his comments: “The article was written the day after the Met[‘s recent production of] Tosca was trashed.   How come opera directors can get away with mangling the instructions from a composer, but the […]

The new Music Director of the Detroit Symphony, Leonard Slatkin, has been having a bit of fun lately. Maybe other orchestras will take up these measures as well, to give audiences an unusual concert-going experience. Tomorrow I’ll post Maestro Slatkin’s comments about his ideas.

The question keeps getting asked: should you play music to your unborn child to increase their intelligence? How about tapes of a 2nd language? There’s a whole industry out there that preys upon new parents–if you aren’t doing something for your child, you’re not doing enough. I find it ironic that classical music is often […]

This study proves far less than it claims to: In a report to be released on Monday the nonprofit Center for Arts Education found that New York City high schools with the highest graduation rates also offered students the most access to arts education. The report, which analyzed data collected by the city’s Education Department […]