From the BBC: Croatia rose to the occasion in their crucial Euro 2008 defeat of England – after an apparent X-rated gaffe by an English opera singer at Wembley. Tony Henry belted out a version of the Croat anthem before the 80,000 crowd, but made a blunder at the end. He should have sung ‘Mila kuda si planina’ (which roughly means ‘You know my dear how we love your mountains’). But he instead sang ‘Mila kura si planina’ which can be interpreted as ‘My dear, my penis is a mountain.’ –more– Today’s topic–embarassing public performances. Your own or others.
Read moreIf you’re in the San Diego/Tijuana region today, or if you happen to be at your computer at 6 pm PST, tune in to KSDS FM (88.3), our beloved jazz station, to hear yours truly and Ellen Weller interviewed about our forthcoming Unsilent Night performances. I don’t know if this is a first for Unsilent Night worldwide, but we are entered as a participant in a holiday parade: The North Park Toyland Parade, Sat. Dec. 8 at 11 am, marching down University Ave from Utah to 32nd St. I set up a Facebook page called Unsilent Night San Diego with
Read moreThe new Pope with the Prada slippers whose name nobody can remember, and who is, by the way, German, is apparently banning modern music in the Vatican. Seems he thinks that Pope Gregory pretty much nailed it and is backing his chief enforcer–Mgr Valentin Miserachs Grau, director of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, which trains church musicians, who says that there had been serious “deviations” in the performance of sacred music. “How far we are from the true spirit of sacred music. How can we stand it that such a wave of inconsistent, arrogant and ridiculous profanities have so
Read moreI have a vague recollection of an article in the Sunday Times sometime in July of one of the last ten or so years which compared the decline of twelve-tone music (or maybe atonality or maybe modernism in general, but I think it was twelve-tone music) to the fall of the Soviet Union. I wonder if anybody remembers it and can possible cite its date and author. Thanks
Read moreUnfortunately, I’ve been unable to keep up with the spam attacks our little wiki have suffered and have been forced, because of bandwidth charges, to take it temporarily down. I don’t mind spending a few bucks for the new music world; I’m just not that interested in spending bucks for creepy botboys. I’ll be looking for some plugins or other solutions in the meantime. Sorry for any inconvenience. All of the data is fine – including a zillion links to sex toys, viagra, ciallis in our articles and then there’s the spam stuff too! Just kidding… and stay tuned. P.S.
Read moreAll the ooh-ahh flutter over Golijov’s Ayre, or even the recent Dudamel & Co., and then you spot something like this: Loredana: Marioara de la Gorj (2001)
Read moreSki jumping is disappointing in real life, too.
Read moreHere’s some great news for the Sequenza21 community. The super-hot Philadelphia-based chamber ensemble Relâche is presenting a concert of new works, including the premiere of our own Galen H. Brown’s Waiting in the Tall Grass, at the Greenwich House Music School in downtown Manhattan on November 30, followed by a repeat performance the following night at the International House in Philadelphia. The concert will also include new pieces by Duncan Neilson, Brooke Joyce and, Paul Epstein. Says here in the press release (Galen is much too modest to make a call or send me a heads-up e-mail himself) that …Brown’s music has been
Read moreThe Boston Symphony premiered Elliot Carter’s Horn Concerto over the weekend and will debut a piano concerto (already completed) next year. And, there’s a five-day festival planned for Tanglewood this summer. At 98, Carter is proving that the key to a glorious career is to live a very long time, hold onto to your chops, and be friends with James Levine. Which is not to imply that Carter is not very good; he’s just very good in a way that I find a bit too abstract and cold to love. My favorite old dude these days is Ned Rorem, who is often overshadowed by more famous contemporaries and dismissed
Read moreThe Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) has just become the latest classical music organization to launch its own CD label. BMOP Sound will debut in January 2008 and will be devoted exclusively to new music recordings, many of them pieces commissioned by BMOP. BMOP Sound is scheduled to release five world premiere CDs at the start of 2008: John Harbison’s Ulysses; Michael Gandolfi’s Y2K Compliant; Gunther Schuller’s Journey Into Jazz featuring Gunther Schuller (narrator); Lee Hyla’s Lives of the Saints, featuring Mary Nessinger (mezzo-soprano); and Charles Fussell’s Wilde, featuring Sanford Sylvan (baritone). With 28 more recording projects in the works, the company
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