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☆ To the Conductor Claudio Abbado, the Orchestra Was a Collective
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( David Allen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Achieving that ideal was no simple task with orchestras of long traditions and routines, though Abbado remade the Philharmonic in his image, and lastingly so. Striving to fulfill that promise led him not only to embrace the energy of youth orchestras, but also to support and found ensembles of like mind: the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra Mozart. The most extravagant was the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, a coterie of colleagues and admirers with whom he gave critically sanctified summer performances from 2003 until just before his death. The breadth is extraordinary — what other conductor was as adept as Abbado in Rossini as well as in Webern and Ligeti? — yet it still excludes records he made for EMI, RCA and Sony, as well as most of his vaunted Mahler from Lucerne.

Persons: Abbado, Martha Argerich, Maurizio Pollini, Schell, “, ”, Karajan, Orchestra Mozart, Rossini, Webern, Ligeti, Mahler Organizations: Berlin Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Deutsche Grammophon, Decca, Philips, Universal Music Group, EMI, RCA, Sony Locations: Lucerne

Mr. Modi agreed to join Mr. Biden in the East Room to meet with journalists and will also address a joint session of Congress in the afternoon. Image The scene on the South Lawn in the morning underscored the rising role of Indian Americans in the United States. Image Mr. Modi suggested the two nations could tackle international challenges in tandem. They considered it a victory that the administration had persuaded Mr. Modi, who famously refuses to hold news conferences, to meet with reporters alongside Mr. Biden, as most major world leaders do when they visit the White House. Credit... Pete Marovich for The New York TimesMr. Biden pointed to the prevalence of Indian Americans in prominent positions.

Persons: Biden, Narendra Modi, Modi, “, ” Mr, ’, Mr, ”, Doug Mills, China’s, Atomics, Biden’s, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, “ Modi, Pete Marovich, Kamala Harris, Harris, Harris’s, Erin Schaff, Joshua Bell Organizations: White, “, New York Times, Artemis Accords, International Space Station, General Electric, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Boeing, Biden, New York Times “ Equity, United States, ”, Cortez of New York, Twitter, The New York Times, Mr, The New York, Penn Masala, University of Pennsylvania, U.S . Marine Locations: India, United States, Russia, China, U.S, Moscow, Beijing, American, Ukraine, Russian, New York Times India, New Delhi, Cortez of New, portobello, Asian

☆ Biden Welcomes Indian Leader With a 21-Gun Salute
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Mujib Mashal | Karoun Demirjian | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

Mr. Biden celebrated India’s rise with a lavish display of friendship marked by marching bands, honor guards and a 21-gun salute on the South Lawn, to be followed by an Oval Office meeting and a gala state dinner. Mr. Modi agreed to join Mr. Biden in the East Room to meet with journalists and will also address a joint session of Congress in the afternoon. Image The scene on the South Lawn in the morning underscored the rising role of Indian Americans in the United States. Image Mr. Modi suggested the two nations could tackle international challenges in tandem. Credit... Pete Marovich for The New York TimesMr. Biden pointed to the prevalence of Indian Americans in prominent positions.

☆ For Riccardo Muti, a Grand Sort-of-Finale in Chicago
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Zachary Woolfe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Muti has proved enthusiastic about performing in the community, including events at juvenile detention facilities. And after years of resisting, he even began to drop some of his complaints about appearing at endless donor events. In 2019, a musicians’ strike lasted nearly seven weeks; in an unusual move for a music director, Muti publicly sided with the players, and appeared with them on the picket line. “I’ve worked in a few other places,” said Alexander, the orchestra’s president, “where it’s much more common that the music director disappears, or they come back once every three or five years. — “If you choose somebody that really I don’t like, then I don’t know if I come back.”

Persons: Muti, —, Barenboim, Bernard Haitink, Pierre Boulez, I’ve, ”, Alexander, Maestro Muti, it’s Organizations: ’, “

☆ Islay: The wild remote island at the heart of a billion-dollar industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Islay’s single malt is known for its salty and smoky flavors, that transport you to the wild and windswept island. Part of the reason is that when it comes to an Islay single malt, the place and the taste are so deeply intertwined. The Glenmorangie CompanyIslay’s whisky industry has not always been a boon for the island. Islay has a population of around 3,000 people -- most are connected to the whisky industry. “Traditions are things that are handed down from one generation to another.”Everybody’s connected to the whisky industry.” Islay Heads, general manager at Kilchoman DistilleryLike most people on Islay, Heads has strong links to the spirit.

Persons: Distillery Jackie Thomson, ”, Thompson, “, Jackie Thomson, Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, Kilchoman, Ardnahoe, Port Ellen, NELL LEWIS, Anthony Wills, Wills, Kilchoman’s, Blair Bowman, Bowman, ’, Islay Organizations: CNN, Distillery, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Whisky Association, Asia –, Diageo, Louis, Islay, Kilchoman, Tourism Locations: Islay, Scotland’s, Kennacraig, Glasgow, Ardbeg, Australia, Ukraine, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Taiwan, Asia, Port, Scotland, Aberdeen Angus, Kilchoman, Machir

Here are the meanings of the least-found words that were used in (mostly) recent Times articles. 1. tomtit — any of several small birds:The Audubon Society would file a complaint in defense of tomtit virility. But, such is the state of Massenet’s reputation, I doubt that many sophisticated operagoers would rush to defend him. When I have busy days and am running around, I throw some on an avocado with tamari as a quick snack. — Cheap(ish) Thrills: Gwyneth Paltrow’s Favorite Everyday Things (June 8, 2022)And the list of the week’s easiest words:

Persons: tomtit, Massenet — Minor, moratoria, —, rototill, torii, David, Julia Wolfe’s, “, ”, tallit —, Liverman’s, Crane’s, Chili Crisp, I’ve, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Organizations: Audubon Society, ”, David Geffen Hall Locations: California, Mycenae, Greece, Brandenburg

☆ I'm a former Google engineer who founded an AI startup. Here are the AI tech skills to learn and the tech roles AI will replace.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AI will overtake many tasks, and some roles, he says, leaving people free for more creative work. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Zach Smith, founder of Nova AI. But the path to my dream career – founder of a newly launched startup called Nova AI – wasn't straightforward or easy for me. And the people who do them should prepare themselves to be shifted towards different, more creative tasks. While I don't think that QA engineers are going to be entirely replaced, all of the manual functions they do will be automated.

Persons: Zach Smith, Gayle McDowell, I've, there's, it's Organizations: Morning, Nova, Google, Georgia Institute of Technology, Nova AI

CNN —Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto, who in her 20s recorded “The Girl from Ipanema” and became an international star, has died, according to social media posts from her granddaughter and on behalf of her son. “I just got word from her son Marcelo that we have lost Astrud Gilberto. She later released the critically lauded album “Astrud Gilberto Plus the James Last Orchestra” in 1987. Their duet “Desafinado” was released in 1996, and Gilberto became known for exposing the bossa nova genre to a pop music-loving, mainstream audience. Gilberto released her last album “Jungle” in 2002, and went on to be inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame the same year.

Persons: Astrud Gilberto, “, João Gilberto, Astrud, ” Gilberto’s, Sofia, Paul Ricci, Gilberto, Gilberto’s, Marcelo, ”, Stan Getz, Eartha Kitt, Frank Sinatra, Cher, Amy Winehouse, “ Getz, ” Gilberto, Quincy Jones, Chet Baker, –, Bass, James, George Michael, Desafinado ” Organizations: CNN, James Last Orchestra, Hall of Fame, Latin Recording Academy Locations: Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, United States

☆ Miriam Silverman Is ‘Unafraid of Embracing the Darkness’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Rachel Sherman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Isaac recalled an experience one evening of “utter alienation” as he sat next to Silverman onstage. He felt as if he had been pulled out of the orchestra seats as an observer, and momentarily wondered if he’d be able to remember his lines. “I feel like I am a lucky member of the audience,” he said. (Alongside stage acting, Silverman has also had small parts in TV shows like “Blue Bloods,” “The Black List,” “Fleishman Is in Trouble” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”)“I’ve always felt like there were so many different paths that I could have taken, or maybe still could take,” Silverman said. “But to me that’s related to what I love about acting, which is an endless curiosity for different things.”

Persons: Isaac, Silverman, he’d, ”, “, ” Silverman, Rizzo, Tom Stoppard’s, Annie ”, “ Electra, Maisel, “ I’ve Organizations: Brown Locations: Manhattan, Providence, R.I

☆ The New York Philharmonic’s Season of Mixed Boons
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Zachary Woolfe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

David Geffen Hall, the New York Philharmonic’s gut-renovated home at Lincoln Center, isn’t perfect. The decorating tends cheesy and clashing — even if seating that wraps around the stage has done wonders for intimacy. But for the orchestra, which ends its first season in what is essentially a new hall this weekend, Geffen has been a kind of talisman. Sales have been robust all season. In February, another talisman appeared: the star conductor Gustavo Dudamel, who was named the orchestra’s next music director.

Persons: David Geffen, Geffen, Gustavo Dudamel, Dudamel won’t, won’t Organizations: David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, Geffen Locations: York

☆ Brian Eno is planning his first-ever solo tour
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —At the age of 75, legendary musician and producer Brian Eno is planning to embark on his first-ever solo tour. “‘Ships’ features an orchestral adaptation of Eno’s acclaimed 2016 album, ‘The Ship’ as well as new and classic Eno compositions,” the post reads. Known for his ambient compositions, Eno was a founding member of British art rock band Roxy Music, which shot to fame in the early 1970s. He will appear alongside Baltic Sea Philharmonic, with Estonian-American conductor Kristjan Järvi orchestrating and conducting a performance commissioned by the Venice Biennale, the Instagram post adds. “This performance marks Brian Eno’s first live tour in a five decade solo career and also his first appearance with orchestra,” it continues.

Persons: Brian Eno, “, Eno’s, Eno, Laurie Anderson, James, Jane Siberry, Kristjan, Brian Eno’s Organizations: CNN, Venice Biennale Musica, Music, Coldplay, Baltic Sea Philharmonic, Estonian, Venice Biennale, biennale Locations: Berlin, Paris, Dutch, Utrecht, London, American, Venice

☆ Kremlin says Ukrainian NATO membership would cause problems for many years
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pressed his case on Thursday for Ukraine to be part of the NATO military alliance and urged the alliance to provide security guarantees if membership were not possible for now. "Ukraine's membership in NATO, of course, is one of the main irritants and would be a potential problem for many, many years," Peskov said. NATO leaders agreed at a summit in Bucharest in 2008 that Ukraine and Georgia would one day become members of NATO. So far, however, no concrete steps or timetable has been published that would actually bring Ukraine closer to NATO. "The Russian Federation... will ensure its interests and its security," Peskov said.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: Ukraine, NATO, European Union, Kremlin, EU, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, United States, Ukraine, EU, Bucharest, Georgia, Europe, Russia

☆ Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck that Trala, a startup offering virtual violin lessons, used to raise $8 million from investors like Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

TralaTrala is a startup that helps adult violin students learn to play from virtual lessons. Now, the company has raised $8 million in Series A funding led by Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six. For Trala cofounder and CEO Sam Walder, music has always been a huge part of his life. That app, called Trala, allows students to take virtual violin lessons with an instructor, and follow a practice and lesson plan. Check out the 18-slide pitch deck that edtech startup Trala used to raise $8 million in Series A funding:

Persons: Vishnu Indukuri, Sam Walder, Alexis Ohanian's Seven, Alexis Ohanian, Trala, Indukuri Organizations: University of Illinois, Seven Locations: University of Illinois Urbana, Champaign

☆ Lincoln Center Names Conductor for Reimagined Mostly Mozart Orchestra
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Javier C. Hernández | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jonathon Heyward, the rising young conductor who this fall will become the first Black music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, has been tapped to lead Lincoln Center’s summer ensemble, a reimagined version of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, the center announced on Wednesday. Heyward, 30, will start a three-year contract with Lincoln Center next year. His appointment is part of the center’s changes to the revered Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, by giving it a new name, embracing a wider variety of genres and bringing more racial, ethnic and gender diversity to the stage. “It has everything to do with accessibility and presentation.”Heyward succeeds the orchestra’s longtime music director, Louis Langrée, whose contract expires this year. During Langrée’s 21-year tenure, he has helped rejuvenate the ensemble and cement its reputation as an acclaimed interpreter of the music of Mozart and the Classical repertoire.

Persons: Jonathon Heyward, Lincoln, Heyward, ” Heyward, Louis Langrée, Mozart Organizations: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra, Lincoln Center Locations: Charleston

One of the most significant developments in American classical music so far this century has been the ascendancy of the Los Angeles Philharmonic: a showcase of talent, inventive programming and strong finances that has become the envy of other orchestras. First, Gustavo Dudamel, the orchestra’s popular music director, announced that he would leave in 2026 to become the next music director of the New York Philharmonic. A few months later, Chad Smith, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s chief executive officer, who championed and drove its inventive programming, announced he was resigning to run the Boston Symphony Orchestra. When Frank Gehry, the architect who designed the Los Angeles orchestra’s futuristic steel-clad home, Walt Disney Concert Hall, first heard the news that Smith was leaving, he initially said, quite bluntly, that he was “scared” by the double hit of departures. But he then explained that he remained hopeful, given the orchestra’s track record of successful reinvention.

Persons: Gustavo Dudamel, Chad Smith, Deborah Borda, Frank Gehry, Smith, I’ve, ” Gehry, “, ” Organizations: Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic’s, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Walt Disney Concert Hall Locations: Angeles

☆ Elina Svitolina and husband Gaël Monfils are having quite a time at the French Open
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Thomas Schlachter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Elina Svitolina came from behind to beat Storm Hunter at the French Open – just one day after watching husband Gaël Monfils win a mammoth game against Sebastián Báez. Monfils’ game going the distance meant that Svitolina’s preparations were slightly more unusual than normal, but this didn’t impact her performance. Ibrahim Ezzat/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesThe pair got married on July 16, 2021, and welcomed their daughter Skaï Monfils in October 2022. It’s really, really special,” Svitolina said after her win. I had, like, really heaviness in me.

Persons: CNN — Elina Svitolina, Storm Hunter, Gaël Monfils, Sebastián Báez, Svitolina, Monfils, Báez, Frenchman, Monfils ’, “, ” Svitolina, Ibrahim Ezzat, Skaï Monfils, Skaï, It’s, ”, Tim Clayton, Corbis, I’m, Garros, Holger Rune Organizations: CNN, Skaï, Ukrainian Army, Air Force, Roland Locations: Ukrainian, Paris, Ukraine, Odessa, Mexico, Monterrey

☆ Broadway Musicians Object to David Byrne’s ‘Here Lies Love’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Michael Paulson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians says its contract with the Broadway League requires the use of 19 musicians for musicals at the Broadway Theater. (The number of musicians required under the contract varies based on theater size.) The union says it is seeking to preserve jobs for musicians and quality for theater lovers. “We’re not going to stand by and let this happen,” said Tino Gagliardi, the local’s president and executive director. The request is to be assessed by a panel that includes neutral observers as well as representatives of the Broadway League and the musicians’ union; it is not clear how long that process will take, and the ruling can be appealed to arbitration.

☆ Henry Threadgill’s Musical Spring Is Varied and Extreme. Like He Is.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Seth Colter Walls | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Even as a child, Henry Threadgill liked to experiment. In this Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and saxophonist’s new memoir, “Easily Slip Into Another World,” he recounts a youthful attempt to fly from a window using a “contraption” of his own devising. He managed to escape the ensuing, predictable crash without breaking any bones, but the young Threadgill did earn a reputation for daring in his Chicago neighborhood. His mother’s response — “Henry, why do you have to be so extreme?” — became, as he writes, “the refrain of my childhood.”That same question may have occurred to a few listeners. He has also led some of the most widely acclaimed ensembles in the past half-century of American jazz.

☆ Beans and violins - orchestra blends classical roots with modern Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Members of Vesta Orchestra and Opera Foundation perform during a concert they organized at the Alliance Francaise de Lagos / Mike Adenuga Centre in Lagos, Nigeria May 20, 2023. It was the latest show staged by the Vesta Orchestra, founded in 2017 by violinist Rosalyn Aninyei, which has enlivened the classical music scene in Lagos by performing new works by contemporary Nigerian and African composers. The music had clear connections with the classical repertoire rooted in Europe, but the choice of the Yoruba language and the story anchored the performance in Nigeria. "I am so happy that there are events like this in Nigeria," said Kayode Oshundun, who was attending his first performance by Vesta. "My flat was actually behind the opera house and it was always a dream of mine to come home ... and discover our own classical music," she said.

☆ Oil falls as Russia downplays additional OPEC+ cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An oil pumpjack pulls oil from the Permian Basin oil field on March 14, 2022 in Odessa, Texas. Oil prices fell on Thursday after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak played down the prospect of further OPEC+ production cuts at its meeting next week. In the previous session, oil prices were supported by a warning from Saudi Arabia's energy minister that short-sellers betting oil prices will fall should "watch out" for pain. U.S. crude inventories fell by 12.5 million barrels to 455.2 million barrels as imports declined. Gasoline inventories dropped by 2.1 million barrels in the week to 216.3 million barrels, the EIA said, while distillate stockpiles fell by 600,000 barrels to 105.7 million barrels.

Persons: Alexander Novak, Novak, MUFG, Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden Organizations: Brent, . West Texas, Organization of Petroleum Exporting, Democratic, White, Energy, Administration, EIA Locations: Odessa , Texas, Saudi, Russia, OPEC, .

☆ The ‘Succession’ Soundtrack Is Fit for a Concert Hall
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Joshua Barone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And in “Succession,” he evokes a classical music tradition in which a composer doodles at the piano to improvise on a theme, putting it through permutations based on mood and form. This could serve as good parlor entertainment, but also the basis for inventive, kaleidoscopic works; Britell’s soundtrack, in its pairing of piano and orchestra, has an ancestor in Rachmaninoff’s concerto-like “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.” He would do well to adapt his score into a similar piece. With his theme and variations, Britell offers a parallel of the show itself: an idée fixe established at the start — a patriarch’s departure from the top of his business empire is more of a when than an if — and a circular (some would say static) plot about the ways in which three of his children maneuver to take over. It is a premise that carries on even after the father’s death early this season; the most recent episode, about his funeral, demonstrates the psychological hold Logan Roy still has over his children and how, united in grief, they nevertheless continue to scheme.

☆ Summer Movies 2023: Here’s What’s Coming to Theaters and Streaming
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Ben Kenigsberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

WHITE BIRD R.J. Palacio’s novel “Wonder” was adapted into a movie nearly six years ago. In this film, based on a follow-up book, the bully (Bryce Gheisar) of the first story learns about intolerance from his grandmother (Helen Mirren), a Holocaust survivor who shares her wartime experiences with him. (Aug. 25 in theaters)SCRAPPER A girl (Lola Campbell) is resourcefully getting by on her own after her mother’s death when her father (Harris Dickinson) returns. Charlotte Regan wrote and directed. (Aug. 25 in theaters)

☆ Review: Gustavo Dudamel Leads His New York Philharmonic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Zachary Woolfe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Gustavo Dudamel began his reign at the New York Philharmonic on Friday with an ending. The program was planned long before Dudamel’s appointment, but it turned out to be ideal for this moment. Nearly an hour and a half long, Mahler’s Ninth fills a concert on its own. On Friday it provided a long, focused communion between a conductor and the players he’ll be leading in the years to come. (Dudamel’s predecessor, Jaap van Zweden, finishes next season and, because of classical music’s ludicrously slow planning cycles, Dudamel, currently at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, won’t officially start his five-year contract until 2026.)

☆ Gun-loving Texas, where most households own a firearm, has become an epicenter of mass shootings
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Emma Tucker | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +23 min

CNN and the GVA define a mass shooting as a shooting that injures or kills four or more people, not including the shooter. They argue that more firearms and higher gun ownership increases public safety – a stance that continues to be at odds with gun violence experts and data. The area around the Robb Elementary School signs has become a memorial dedicated to the victims of the May 24 mass shooting. Mass shootings are just a piece of that, and the strategies that we’re laying out will impact mass shootings. They’ll also impact a lot of other types of gun violence and that’s absolutely critical to saving lives,” Horwitz said.

☆ Black Sea grain deal: A crucial pact aimed at averting a global food crisis has been extended
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Sophie Tanno | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —A crucial deal aimed at averting a global food crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been extended for two months. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday an agreement has been reached with Russia and Ukraine to extend the Black Sea grain deal. Murat Kula/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesWhat is the Black Sea grain deal and why is it important? The Black Sea grain deal was first reached in July 2022. The Black Sea grain deal was an agreement made between Russia and Ukraine – however, it was not a direct agreement.

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