Beethoven is both foundational for orchestras and the great orchestral game changer—an iconoclast who became an icon. He’s been studied, documented, put on the silver screen, fictionalized, turned into a trope and a meme. His 250th birthday in 2020 will unleash a torrent of Beethoven mania at orchestras across the U.S. But does Beethoven—despite his place in the Pantheon—remain “universal” in the 21st century?
The League of American Orchestras’ 2019 National Conference put music, musicians, and composers center stage—while exploring the ideas and issues that are most relevant to orchestras in today’s changing world. Here’s a look at just four of the highlights from the League’s 74th annual Conference.
Large gifts from donors can transform an orchestra, affecting everything and anything from launching a concert series to rethinking its mission and mandate. But how to get there? Trine Sorensen, a veteran corporate consultant who serves on the boards of orchestras and other nonprofit arts groups, offers an insider’s perspective on the strategies and tactics that lead to principal gifts.
Brexit—the exit of Great Britain from the European Union—will have profound effects at home and abroad, with wide-ranging repercussions on the economy and international trade whether it’s a negotiated “soft Brexit” or a no-deal “hard Brexit.” What are the implications of Brexit for classical music? The bottom line from my perspective: Brexit is bad news for British orchestras.
News, moves, and events in the orchestra industry.
Seeing media coverage from Hong Kong, where people first took to the streets on June 9 against an extradition bill proposed by the local government, you might think that protests are taking place 23 hours a day, breaking only for commercials.
Read the whole issue online via Issuu.
If Beethoven were a candy, how would he taste? A goofy question, admittedly, but at airport duty-free shops everywhere, Mozartkugeln turn Mozart into a confection: an orb of marzipan and dark chocolate enrobed in a flattering foil portrait.
$150k to the SPCO; Turns out online opera is a good idea; Knight Foundation launches $750,000 initiative for immersive technology for the arts; Bernstein’s ‘Mass’ gets brilliant encore, bound for TV; What is Spotify thinking with its ‘Dance Like Nobody’s Paying’ ad campaign?; Spotify tops 108 million paying subscribers; Spotify abruptly shuts down its direct upload & distribution plans; For new video game music, Salt Lake City is becoming a hotspot; Digital tools and community first — A bright future for the TSO; Taylor Swift says she will rerecord her old music. Here’s how; U.S. copyright office awards mechanical licensing collective contract to NMPA bid; Amazon music has 32 million subscribers — and a 70% yearly growth rate; Is traditional radio about to crash?; Apple decides to invest in original podcasts — Putting a buzzkill on Spotify’s expansion; Exploring an immersive future in classical music; Imagine being immersed in the OSM — without the orchestra present; Stanford researchesrs point to dramatic improvements in virtual reality sound; Apple music’s analytics dashboard for artists is offically out of beta; Spotify, Apple, Pandora, Amazon, Google, warns against ditching PRO consent decrees; Spotify, Amazon, Pandora, Google/Alphabet protest streaming royalty rate increases; Commentary: Classical streaming has arrived. How do the new services stack up?;
How does a performing arts group draw younger audiences and build loyalty? A case study in the September 2019 issue of American Theatre magazine reports how Portland Center Stage in Oregon used support from The Wallace Foundation to experiment with its marketing and engagement programs for new theatergoers—and gained insights that are relevant to orchestras seeking to strengthen their own audience-building efforts.