The Philadelphia Orchestra has announced that next year, in their
centennial season, they will program exclusively 20th-century music
(including a number of new commissions).  Of course, this does not mean
a steady diet of dry-as-dust atonality (i.e., committing suicide), since
they will feature works identified with the history of the orchestra,
especially the Stokowsky and Ormandy eras, so that there will be plenty of
easy-to-take Sibelius, Rachmaninoff, Elgar, Strauss, etc.  Nevertheless,
I would say that this is a rather dramatic move.

In other news, the New York Times reports today that Cecilia Bartoli broke
her right ankle when she slipped on the ice outside the Zurich Opera house
after a rehearsal last week, but is nevertheless determined to appear on
crutches in Don Giovanni when it opens Sunday.  The Times head-lines the
article: "Hip-Hop Mozart."

Jon Johanning // [log in to unmask]