THE LITTLE LABEL THAT COULD: "This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of Naxos, the once dowdy little budget record company that is now the biggest independent classical label in the world. Back in 1987, Naxos’s founder and CEO Klaus Heymann decided to record 100 popular classical music titles as a sideline to his main business of distributing sound systems in Asia. From that humble beginning Naxos grew into an international conglomerate with 250 employees and a catalogue of over 2400 CDs... Today Naxos dominates classical music sales in the UK, Germany, and Scandinavia with 30%-80% of the per unit classical market." La Scena Musicale 09/01/02

LIONEL HAMPTON, 94: It's a good bet that, absent Lionel Hampton, the world would never have come to think of vibraphone as a great jazz instrument. But Hampton, who "until recently continued to tour the world with his own immensely popular big band, was an extremely important figure in American music, not only as an entertainer and an improvising musician in jazz, but also because his band helped usher in rock 'n' roll." Hampton died in a New York hospital this weekend. The New York Times 09/01/02

THE NEW BERLIN: Conductor Simon Rattle takes over direction of the Berlin Philharmonic next week. And already he's sending strong signals that he plans to shake things up and revitalize a decidedly traditional institution. "A lot of our work is as much urban regeneration as anything else. If you believe that in any sense music is a moral force then part of our job is to help to deal with the state of the city. This is, after all, the most famous divided city in the world apart from Jerusalem." The Guardian (UK) 08/30/02

BETTER - BUT AT WHAT COST? What's that? A new music format? So good it'll revolutionize the way you listen? "To many people, word that the music industry is launching a newer, shinier music disc when they have only just mastered opening a double-CD jewel case without the contents braining the cat, is not a cause of unalloyed joy. The sound is 3D, thrilling and — of course — thoroughly depressing." The Times (UK) 08/30/02

CHARISMA FAILURE: It seems almost inexplicable that the human race, with its ravenous appetite for entertainment, should have failed over quarter of a century to produce another Callas and Elvis. Neither Pavarotti nor Madonna come close, nor ever will. The desperate efforts of a universal music industry have yielded nothing more enduring than Cecilia Bartoli, the mini-voiced mezzo who tops the opera charts, and the high-kicking, faintly archaic Kylie Minogue, who belongs more to the smiley era of the Andrews Sisters than to the grim virtual reality of Bill Gates." London Evening Standard 08/28/02

TONE DEAF REMEMBRANCE: Songwriters so far haven't been very eloquent around the subject of 9/11. Many have tried, and "it's understandable that successful songwriters (as well as scores of aspiring ones) feel compelled to express themselves in a time of trauma. They have been blessed with the ability to communicate and feel it is their duty to make music, the same way a firefighter feels it's his or her duty to go into a burning building. In the process, it is easy to lose artistic discipline and judgment. The biggest mistake is trying to write an anthem that addresses the topic head-on rather than with a poetic distance." Los Angeles Times 08/28/02

BAD NEWS FOR CLASSICAL MUSIC: A new study of UK and US music habits "found that concert attendances by British people under 47 had plummeted since 1990. Young audiences 'distrusted' cultural institutions, including orchestras, which they perceive as 'authoritarian'. The report found that over one third of British people had attended a classical concert, and only 12% did so in the past year. This was a sharper fall-off rate than theatre, visual arts or festivals, suggesting people who went into a concert hall did not like what they found and did not go back." The Guardian (UK) 08/28/02

THERE HAVE BEEN STRANGER LIBRETTOS: The sudden death of Princess Diana may not seem like the perfect subject for a fully staged opera, but that's exactly what composer Johnathan Dove has made of it. Even more surprisingly, the made-for-TV opera, which premieres this weekend on a cable network, is pretty good stuff, according to Olin Chism. "Mr. Dove's music is tonal and unusually attractive without being simplistic. His use of the orchestra is highly effective, giving added point to many dramatic scenes. A solid group of performers enhances the whole." Dallas Morning News 08/28/02

I HEAR GHOSTS: TV show deadlines are so hectic, more and more composers are delegating work to ghostwriters. "It's definitely one of the dirty little secrets of the film and television music industry." But what happens when royalties are paid out? The composer listed on the credits gets paid, but not the ghostwriter, who often doesn't have a contract. Now a prolific ghost is suing, and the system of paying for TV music is under attack. Detroit Free Press 08/27/02

TROMBONE IN TROUBLE: So few students are taking up study of the trombone (and a few other unpopular instruments) that some experts say there will be a shortage of players in years to come. The British "government's youth music advisers are so concerned that they are preparing a national campaign to rescue the trombone and other 'endangered' instruments such as the bassoon and double bass, warning that British orchestras might soon have to look abroad for players." The Guardian (UK) 08/26/02

MUSIC SALES DOWN: Sales of CDs are down 7 percent in the first half of this year compared to last year says the Recording Industry Association of America. That, says the RIAA is evidence that internet filetrading is impacting music sales. "I would not argue that downloading and copying are the only factors at work. But we have clear evidence that downloading and copying do not have a favorable effect on record sales." Wired 08/26/02

The 20th Next Wave Festival begins on October 1 and end on December 22.  Here is our selection of the musical highlights. To read more about each individual event, click on the image. 

Previous Articles/
Busoni The Visionary
The Composer of the Moment:  Mark-Anthony Turnage
Electronic Music
Voices: Henze at 75
Henze Meets Emenim
On Finding Kurtag
Charles Ruggles:  When Men Were Men
Ballet Mécanique
The Adams Chronicles
 
 

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