Saturday, February 13, 2016

Fascinating views and other bits

For a cold (I live in the midwest) Saturday morning, here are some high and lowlights of the week past.

Check out these images of major opera houses as you've never seen them before. A sneak peek at the Margravial Opera House, Bayreuth. There are many more.

Wagner didn't want to play here.

The Long Island Philharmonic has died. Did anyone know that it was sick? The orchestra, which once boasted Marin Alsop as its conductor, just couldn't hold it together any longer.  R.I.P.

In 2011, Colorado Symphony musicians agreed to a 14% reduction in salary and services, this on the heels of a 24% slash two years earlier. At that time, the Denver Post editorialized a Requiem for the Symphony, and yet somehow they're still playing. A quick look at their website notes a proliferation of pops events, classical "lite" (like Beethoven and Brews), and much, much "more" (or less).

These kinds of videos have been making the rounds. My friend Will, in Berlin, calls them "music to cause motion sickness.

There's talk of an alternative to plans for another abominable concert hall in London. Ungodly amounts of money have been "invested" to "improve" on atrocious facilities in the Barbican and elsewhere. Read here (compliments of Norman Lebrecht) about Leon Krier's vision to "orchestrate a Renaissance." 

I have discovered that it's much easier to find examples of ugly halls than ones that could be called beautiful.


No it's not the saucer section of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701D
It's nickname is the "Egg" and it's waiting to hatch in Albany, NY.




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