News and music to start your week!
Marin Alsop, pictured above, is preparing to step down from her position at the Baltimore Symphony. She spoke to The Washington Post about her history with the orchestra, the glass ceilings that she broke along the way, and the work that still needs to be done towards equality and representation in the field of music.
The ‘open secret’ of sexual abuse in El Sistema, the Venezuelan youth orchestra program, is being brought to light. Geoff Baker and William Cheng write about the systemic abuse in The Washington Post.
Composer Julia Adolphe’s latest installment in her podcast, LooseLeaf Notebook, discusses the attraction of the tortured artist myth. Adolphe’s work has addressed the topics of mental health as they relate to creativity in general and music specifically. If you’ve missed the past episodes, catch up on SoundCloud.
The BBC Proms are back for 2021! Read about the shortened season (52 concerts over 6 weeks) at The Guardian – and stay tuned this week on our blog for an in depth analysis of who is being represented this year.
The venerable German music publisher Furore has been honored by Hessen Publication Prize. The Minister of Art and Science of the state of Hessen released this announcement. (In German, but use Google translate!) “Furore Verlag, which specializes in sheet music by female composers, is unique worldwide and therefore justly awarded.” … “An extraordinary music publisher that has sheet music, books and CDs exclusively by women in its program, is celebrating its 35th anniversary. …It offers unknown exceptional artists a platform, and that with great success.” Learn more about the prize and Furore’s work on their website.
Don’t miss the newest recording of songs by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, as sung by Elizabeth Llewellyn. Erica Jeal has a review for The Guardian.
What did we miss? What are you reading? Drop us a line and let us know! [email protected]