I am only hearing this for the first time. I’ve found several wonderful recordings on YouTube, but some I can’t safely post, as I suspect they break copyright. This one, though, seems safe.
Alinka Kozári, Soprano and Angel T San Bartolomé with Collegium Musicum Costa del Sol
‘But it has been shown time and again that learning to play a classical instrument – or sing – makes you much cleaver, more confident and a better team player, as well as many other benefits.
Hmmm. Does “cleaver” mean something different in the UK? I’m guessing this is a typo ..?
Drive me nuts! A trio of musicians. Two listeners. And it’s a “study”?
A collaboration of researchers from Imperial College London and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama examined the electrical signals in the brains of musicians and listeners.
Although improvisation is not commonly associated with classical music, the new study suggests that introducing elements of improvisation into classical concerts could increase audience engagement.
…
The team hope that this work will go some way to helping classical music fight against declining audiences. They suggest that by incorporating improvisation into classical musical concerts, musicians will create a unique event that will be both engaging and captivating.
Hmmm. Maybe if we make more mistakes that would also cause listeners to be more engaged.
Think about it.
Alex Ross has an article in the New Yorker that includes this:
Professional worriers in the classical business have portrayed the Minnesota and the City Opera situations as symptoms of a systemic disease. To be sure, many other institutions find themselves on shaky footing. The Brooklyn Philharmonic, which has been struggling for years, currently has no staff. More than a few opera companies have scaled back their schedules and ambitions. But other organizations are in surprisingly robust shape. The Chicago Symphony reported a record year of attendance and fund-raising. The Los Angeles Philharmonic is basking in wealth and thriving on innovation. The Cleveland Orchestra has increased revenue by attracting thousands of students to its concerts. And the Detroit Symphony is gradually rebounding from a fractious labor dispute a few seasons back, even as the city contemplates selling off some of its art collection. The Great Recession drew a clear line between soundly run groups and the rest.
I have always thought of “my” opera company as soundly run, but yesterday afternoon I was dismayed to learn, via a pre-opera lecture, that next year we will have only one cast for each opera, two fewer rehearsals and two fewer performances. This amounts, for the orchestra, to a loss of what would equal an entire opera run. I was so sad to hear it, and I was sadder still to realize that the audience was learning of our fate before we had been informed. Sad, sad stuff. I had always thought Opera San José would be the last job from which I would retire. I am going to have to rethink the plan I guess. Heartbreaking.
#20ThingsAboutMe 5) I play the flute, I taught myself the piano, & I just started oboe last week!
