Mozart Makes Microbes Work Faster
It has been purported that Mozart makes your baby smarter and that his music chases loiterers. Now it’s said that the master’s music encourages microbes to eat garbage, reports the German Web magazine Spiegel Online. Anton Stucki, Swiss-born chief operator of the sewage center in Treuenbrietzen, an hour southwest of Berlin, believes the chords and cadences of the compositions increase the speed with which the organisms work. His plant is proving that the score of The Magic Flute has the right vibrations and frequencies necessary to encourage the bacteria to work faster than normal. The method was first developed at a smaller sewage treatment plant in Austria whose owners said it helped reduce the cost of waste treatment.
Stucki said he was not a classical music fan and had to be convinced of the efficacy of the music before agreeing to listen to it all day long. “I prefer rock music,” he admitted.
www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/ 0,1518,698040,00.html
Lyric Opera of Chicago Ends Season in Black
In an era when the grandest opera companies are dipping deep into their endowments, the Lyric ended its season in black ink for the 22nd time in 23 years. It sold 86 percent of its available seating for 77 performances and it surpassed its $16.6 million fundraising goal, according to the Chicago Sun Times. The number of performances for the 2010-2011 season has been reduced by 10 percent, however. “Like every other business, Lyric must continue to be vigilant about spending and reduce costs wherever possible,” said general director William Mason.
www.suntimes.com/entertainment/music/2310888,CST-FTR-lyric25.article
Mac Laptop Orchestra Plays Chamber Music
If computers are used in the creation and performance of chamber music, can concert opera or oratorio be far behind? In early June, a dozen musicians with Mac laptop computers met in Stanford University’s Dinkelspiel Auditorium to perform a new piece, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. The Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk) performs music written by its various members using sounds that vary from plain bleeps to music played by newly invented instruments. The orchestra is a project supported by the university’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics.
articles.sfgate.com/2010-06-01/entertainment/21652313_1_laptops-music-computers
www.apple.com/pro/profiles/slork/
Spoleto Festival Music Director Steps Down
Spoleto Festival Music Director for Opera and Orchestra Emmanuel Villaume, who has been associated with it since 1990, has resigned, according to the Charleston City Paper.
The conductor said he is leaving at the end of this season because he can no longer devote an appropriate amount of time to the organization. General Director Nigel Redden expects Villaume to return as a guest conductor in the near future.
www.charlestoncitypaper.com/Spoletobuzz/archives/2010/05/31/emmanuel-villaume-calls-it-quits
The Ring Cast Throws a Curve
On May 13, 2010, the Los Angeles Times published an article in which British tenor John Treleaven and American soprano Linda Watson were quoted complaining about the conditions they experienced while performing Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Los Angeles Opera.
Two weeks later, Treleaven and Watson sent a letter to the L.A. Opera Board of Directors explaining that their remarks were taken out of context. They did not say they were misquoted, just that they had mentioned many positive aspects of performing the L.A. Ring, which were not printed.
classact.typepad.com/robert_d_thomasclass_act/2010/05/commentary-and-link-watson-treleaven-complain-about-la-operas-ring.html
classact.typepad.com/robert_d_thomasclass_act/2010/06/the-other-side-of-the-story.html
