Around The Classical Internet: May 13, 2011

Enlarge Guillermo Perales/iStock

Your weekly classical music news fix.

Guillermo Perales/iStock

Your weekly classical music news fix.

The week in classical news:

• The Library of Congress unveiled the National Jukebox: some 10,000 early recordings available for free streaming, including George Gershwin and two different versions of a Fritz Kreisler favorite.
• The first-ever Spring for Music festival at Carnegie Hall got off to a roaring start: several of the orchestras have made terrific Carnegie Hall debuts.
• The Philadelphia Inquirer's Peter Dobrin on his hometown orchestra's problems: "What we have here is a labor negotiation masquerading as a bankruptcy case."
• He also wonders whether or not the Philly Pops will make it to next season.
• The Philadelphia Orchestra Association is now escrowing money from ticket sales, in case performances are canceled.
• According to a 2008 US Census Bureau survey, 27% of children with at least one college-educated parent have never taken an arts class of any type. For children of high school graduates, that figure zooms up to a really depressing 66%.
• In Detroit, ticket prices are going way, way down: The most expensive seats will be $50, while the cheap seats are just $15.
• Northern Ireland's Ulster Orchestra has appointed its first female ? and first American ? conductor: JoAnn Falletta.
• Not only is James Levine not going to Japan this summer with the Met, neither are Jonas Kaufmann nor Olga Borodina.
• San Diego's KPBS has jettisoned its overnight classical music broadcasts.
• A charming interview with Danielle de Niese, the new chatelaine of Glyndebourne.
• Be on guard, youth orchestra cellists: Yo-Yo Ma just might slip into your section to play along during rehearsal.
• It must be true if it was decided at Cambridge University: classical music is not irrelevant. (Stephen Fry: "The idea that classical music is the province of white-wigged old farts shows a failure of imagination and rank snobbery.")
• Notwithstanding the previous observation, the Album of the Year award at the Classic Brits went to ... Andre Rieu. (Yes, "Waltz King" Andre Rieu.) And the Artists of the Decade are Il Divo. This is the world we live in, people.
• Keith Miller had two bags packed: one if chosen to sign with the Denver Broncos, another if he were to pursue life as a bass-baritone. He just made his debut as Sarastro at Seattle Opera.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2011/05/13/136280916/around-the-classical-internet-may-13-2011?ft=1&f=10003

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