BACKIn today’s classical news: Roman Totenberg’s stolen Stradivarius is reintroduced by Mira Wang, and PRS for Music celebrates the first birthday of its Member Anti-Piracy System. Duelling’ violin brothers Vladimir & Anton discuss the lost art of classical improvisation. Researchers have found that accelerometers in smart devices can be hacked using sound waves. Are non-profits a sustainable system for classical music?
The Times
Conductor more minor than Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim first conducted an orchestra at the age of 12 while Sir Simon Rattle was 13.
Rhinegold
PRS for Music announces anti-piracy successes
PRS for Music is celebrating the first birthday of its Member Anti-Piracy System (MAPS), which allows music creators to remove their repertoire from unlicensed online services and platforms.
Robert Murray withdraws from ENO’s Partenope
Robert Murray has withdrawn from ENO’s production of Partenope following a fall. He is suffering from severe concussion and has been advised to rest as far as possible.
Cmuse
Harness the Power of Classical Music: Five Reasons Why Classical Music should be on your Playlist
Classical music is powerful, and that’s no secret. May it be playing the piano, a Cremona violin perhaps, or cello amongst others, there’s always a certain beauty in putting together a beautiful piece and making a whole music out of it.
Pizzicato
Plagiatsvorwurf gegen designierten Wiener Staatsopernchef
Bogdan Roscic, dem designierten Intendant der Wiener Staatsoper wird vorgeworfen, sich in einer Arbeit über Theodor Adorno, mit der er 1988 in Wien promovierte, des Plagiats schuldig gemacht zu haben.
Music Business Worldwide
Deezer strikes major partnership with french retailer FNAC
Interesting news out of France: The market’s No.1 physical music retailer, FNAC, is getting into bed with its No.1 streaming music provider, Deezer.
Classic FM
The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra first played a piece of music from memory in 2010. It was Grieg’s five-part Holberg Suite. And while it was normal to see soloists performing from memory, it was something else to see a whole orchestra without music.
Musicalchairs
Is nonprofit the best way to do classical music?
Is non-profit status a good thing for classical music? It’s the standard model in the United States, but does that mean it’s the best model?
The Guardian
Berlioz’s “dramatic legend” eludes any single genre – is it a philosophical oratorio? An opera of the imagination? A macabre, metaphysical satire featuring lowbrow songs about fleas and a eulogy to a dead rat?
The Strad
Whatever happened to improvisation in classical music?
‘Duelling’ violin brothers Vladimir & Anton grew up surrounded by Romani music and use a variety of Romani techniques in their performances – including writing their own variations and cadenzas. Here they discuss the lost art of classical improvisation.
The New York Times
Misha Mengelberg, Bold and Spirited Jazz Pianist, Dies at 81
Misha Mengelberg, a Dutch pianist and composer who approached the jazz tradition with an adventurous spirit and an antic sense of humor, died on March 3 in Amsterdam. He was 81.
The Washington Post
Roman Totenberg’s stolen Stradivarius was once lost forever. Now, it plays again.
NEW YORK — No two Strads are alike, they say, but the violin that Mira Wang reintroduced to the world Monday night is truly special. It was gone for decades, stolen after a concert in 1980, and its owner, Roman Totenberg, died in 2012 thinking it would never be seen again.
Pitchfork
Music Can Be Used to Hack Phones, Computers, and Cars, New Research Shows
“It’s like the opera singer who hits the note to break a wine glass, only in our case, we can spell out words.”
Sound and Music @soundandmusic Watch “The Iris Murder” an award winning new chamber opera by Alasdair Nicolson and librettist John Gallas. https://t.co/DsIvOw2Iu0
