classical music

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Rebel Singer Out to Save 'Dusty' Operas

(Newser) - Natalie Dessay is still butting heads with opera purists after twenty-some years in the business. The zesty soprano, an actor at heart, upsets some critics by adding theatrical gestures and even screams to her roles. "At least it's alive," Dessay says of her style. Opera, on the other...

Wonder Delivers Classical Opus
 Wonder Delivers Classical Opus 
OPINION
Feb 24, 2009 10:48 AM CST

Wonder Delivers Classical Opus

Performs 20-minute composition before receiving US award

(Newser) - Stevie Wonder performed an original classical piece last night at the Library of Congress, where he is due to receive the second Gershwin Prize for Popular Song tomorrow, the Washington Post reports. He played piano, keyboard, and harmonica along with a 21-piece ensemble performing “Sketches of a Life,”...

Lincoln Center's Concert Hall Dazzles
 Lincoln Center's
 Concert Hall Dazzles 
ARCHITECTURE REVIEW
Feb 20, 2009 10:32 AM CST

Lincoln Center's Concert Hall Dazzles

Renovation at Lincoln Center slices open old building

(Newser) - While cities from LA to Copenhagen have unveiled stunning new concert halls in recent years, New York's Lincoln Center complex "seemed mired in indecision." But Alice Tully Hall, one of the center's smaller spaces, reopens to the public Sunday with a bold new design by the architects Diller...

Troubled NYC Opera Names Dallas Conductor New GM

Company names Steel new GM after chaotic year

(Newser) - The New York City Opera, the deeply troubled company based at Lincoln Center, has named Dallas-based director and conductor George Steel as its new general manager. The announcement comes after last fall's departure of Gerard Mortier, the Belgian iconoclast who promised a shake-up of the opera but quit before he...

Schroeder 'Played' Real Beethoven
Schroeder 'Played' Real Beethoven 
Jan 14, 2009 5:39 AM CST

Schroeder 'Played' Real Beethoven

Schulz's love of classical music came through in comic

(Newser) - The written notes that rose over Schroeder's piano weren't just doodles, scholars studying Peanuts tell the New York Times. Charles Schulz loved classical music as much as his Beethoven-obsessed character and carefully transcribed notes from real Beethoven scores to provide a soundtrack for every comic strip in which Schroeder was...

Chinese Virtuoso Conducts Assault on Glass Ceiling

Classical superstar Xian Zhang is young, energetic—and a woman

(Newser) - In the traditional world of classical music, no area has been less hospitable to women than the conductor’s platform. So it’s remarkable that one of the world’s hottest maestros is not just a woman, but a 35-year-old from China—Xian Zhang, associate conductor at the New York...

How to Get to Carnegie? YouTube, YouTube, YouTube

Cyber orchestra created to merge world music

(Newser) - The road to Carnegie Hall now passes through YouTube, which is borrowing a note from American Idol to give aspiring classical musicians a chance to perform on the world-famous stage. To snag a seat in the cyber-orchestra, contestants must download and perform—using a liberal interpretation of "instruments"—...

Cellist Runs Church of Beethoven

Albuquerque arts devotees start secular Church of Beethoven in old gas station

(Newser) - Congregants gather on Sundays at an old gas station in Albuquerque to greet friends, ponder the divine, and listen to classical music, NPR reports. Espresso-sipping members of the Church of Beethoven also listen to poetry readings and engage in group song, but don't need to have religious beliefs. Cellist Felix...

US Composer Says Feds Are After Him

John Adams claims agents have targeted him for his politics

(Newser) - One of the most famous composers in America insists that Homeland Security has targeted him for his liberal views, the Guardian reports. John Adams, who achieved fame with his Nixon in China opera 20 years ago, says airport immigration grills him whenever he comes home. "I'm perfectly aware that...

Rap Fan's Sentence: Bump Bach
 Rap Fan's Sentence: Bump Bach 
Oct 9, 2008 2:58 PM CDT

Rap Fan's Sentence: Bump Bach

Unable to listen for 20 hours, defendant opts to pay fine

(Newser) - An Illinois municipal court offered to reduce a 24-year-old’s fine for a noise violation if he listened to 20 hours of classical music, but he lasted just 15 minutes, the Springfield News-Sun reports. "I didn't have the time," says the college basketball player, denying that the symphony...

New Mozart Score Surfaces in France

Melodic sketch was part of a collection given to a Nantes library in early 1800s

(Newser) - A single-page musical score located in a French library has been confirmed as a Mozart original, the Telegraph reports. “Mozart's handwriting is clearly identifiable,” an expert said. “There's no doubt that this is an original piece handwritten by Mozart.” The notation is for a melody only,...

You Are Your Music: Study
 You Are Your Music: Study
Sep 6, 2008 6:11 PM CDT

You Are Your Music: Study

Study says music reflects our personalities

(Newser) - Our favorite music speaks volumes about who we are, according to a new psychological study. It turns out that Indie fans are miserable, and metal heads act a lot like classical music lovers. The Independent breaks down personalities by genre:  
  • Indie: Low self-esteem and lazy, not to mention selfish
...

Gergiev to Lead Defiant South Ossetia Concert

London Symphony's principal conductor hails Russian victory

(Newser) - Valery Gergiev, the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, among other prominent posts, will preside over a victorious concert tonight in South Ossetia, celebrating Russia’s recent military successes, theTimes reports. Gergiev is an ethnic Ossetian and close personal friend of Vladimir Putin—they are godfathers of each others’...

How an Amateur Made Classical Cool in NYC

Chamber rock series invites young fans to hear old masters

(Newser) - 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...

Fire Lashes Berlin Philharmonic
 Fire Lashes Berlin Philharmonic 
May 20, 2008 2:25 PM CDT

Fire Lashes Berlin Philharmonic

No one injured in blaze as musicians bolt from iconic concert hall with instruments

(Newser) - 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,...

Robo-Maestro Takes Baton
 Robo-Maestro Takes Baton 
May 14, 2008 3:27 PM CDT

Robo-Maestro Takes Baton

Honda robot manages to wow Detroit audience despite limitations

(Newser) - 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...

Violinist to Serenade Taxi Driver
Violinist to Serenade
Taxi Driver
May 6, 2008 11:13 AM CDT

Violinist to Serenade Taxi Driver

Concert at Newark airport for cabbie who returned $4M Strad

(Newser) - 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...

Muti to Lead Chicago Symphony
 Muti to Lead Chicago Symphony 
May 5, 2008 2:23 PM CDT

Muti to Lead Chicago Symphony

Italian personality had been pursued by NY orchestra, others

(Newser) - 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...

Vivaldi Opera Revived 278 Years Later

Czech musician tracks down long-lost work in Germany

(Newser) - 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...

Mozart Helps Snap Saudi Taboos

Mixed-gender concert signals opening to outside world

(Newser) - 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...

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