Musical America Blogs

Mark Morris’s After You, a new commission from American Ballet Theatre, is textbook pleasant and thus a convenient opener for a company wishing to present a thirty-minute ensemble work. Performed by 12 dancers and set to a composition by Johann Hummel (Septet in C-major, Op.114 “The Military”), the ballet’s title, After You, refers to what is said when two people nearly collide. One person gives permission for the other to take the lead. Thus the ballet, seen October 27 at the former New York State Theater, evokes an abnormally civilized world of dance—especially for Morris, who has been celebrated for making ballets to classical music that dabble in physicalized human faux pas

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein has enjoyed great recording successes; her estimable career was launched by her recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Here, Simone talks with Noted Endeavors founders Eugenia Zukerman and Emily Ondracek-Peterson about the importance of artists owning their own masters and the process of licensing recordings. American pianist Simone Dinnerstein is a searching and […]

Star composer Nico Muhly has blogged about his struggles with depression. Here, Nico talks with Noted Endeavors founders Eugenia Zukerman and Emily Ondracek-Peterson about mental health issues in classical music. Nico advocates for a destigmatization of depression and mental illnesses (and their treatments) and a divorce of mental illness from analysis. Nico Muhly (b. 1981) […]

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq.    Dear Law and Disorder In reviewing an engagement contract for one of my artists, I was surprised to see that the presenter wants the right to record the artist’s performance as a “work-for-hire”. The Presenter says that this is a standard requirement and also that its reasonable because my […]

Basil Twist’s “Sister’s Follies: Between Two Worlds,” commissioned for the 100th anniversary of the Abrons Playhouse, is a testament to how camp can save performance history from oblivion. Dance and theater works of yore are notoriously difficult to stage because they often look hopelessly old fashioned. But in “Sisters’ Follies,” Twist—a newly minted MacArthur Genius and a third generation puppeteer—casts Joey Arias, the celebrated drag queen chanteuse, and Julie Atlas Muz, the burlesque performance artist, to play the titular sisters: Alice and Irene Lewisohn, who founded the Playhouse in 1915. Muz and Arias are stars of satire, but they aren’t real-life divas (like the Lewisohn sister were). Under Twist’s direction, Muz and Arias often flip and dangle from wires, which divas don’t do. They prance and preen, belt and belittle each other in the jewel-box size theater, which is made spectacular through the efforts of 11 behind the scenes performers, who manipulate large and small puppets in costumes that range from camels to biblical figures. The Lewisohn’s Playhouse becomes Twist’s camp marionette theater.

By: Frank Cadenhead The opera companies of Marseille and Greater Avignon have opened talks to explore a rapprochement. Another word used was mutualisation. The two companies are considering being partners and sharing productions and other resources. The annual budget for Marseille is currently 21.6 million euros and, for Grand Avignon, 13.2 million. How closely they […]

It’s easy to get stuck in a practice room. But, don’t stop exploring opportunities for self-promotion. Break of Reality cellist Patrick Laird talks with Noted Endeavors founders Eugenia Zukerman and Emily Ondracek-Peterson about the importance of getting your music to listeners. Patrick Laird is a much sought-after cellist and composer/arranger. He is widely recognized as […]

By Brian Taylor Goldstein, Esq.    Dear Law and Disorder: A presenter is refusing to pay one of our artists who has an O-1 visa, but does not have a Social Security Number. Does a foreign artist who is performing in the U.S. under an O-1 also have to get a Social Security number in […]

You’ve heard that record sales have fallen drastically. But, can effective strategies buck that trend? Break of Reality cellist Patrick Laird talks with Noted Endeavors founders Eugenia Zukerman and Emily Ondracek-Peterson about strategies for successful record sales. Patrick Laird is a much sought-after cellist and composer/arranger. He is widely recognized as the cellist, founding member, […]

By ANDREW POWELL Published: October 5, 2015 MUNICH — Members of the Munich Philharmonic, positioned as the “orchestra of the city,” have privately raised money for work and supplies in the refugee crisis here. Together with colleagues at the Philharmonischer Chor München, their management teams, and new MPhil chief conductor Valery Gergiev, the musicians amassed […]