July 31, 2023

At Taylor Swift’s Seattle tour stop last week, seismologists recorded seismic activity equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake.

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In this week’s email:

The big idea: The TikTok #classicalmusic challenge returns
Orchestra: Canadian orchestra gifted bow made from cancer patient's hair in memory of Bramwell Tovey
Opera: Italian conductor fired for conducting blindfolded to protest controversial production
Rare instrument of the week
Around the web: sounds from space, TV from the past, a website that helps you expand your knowledge, plus more curious internet finds.

CLASSICAL CHARTS

THE BIG IDEA

TikTok #Classicalmusic Challenge Returns For Round 2

TikTok has announced the return of its #ClassicalMusic challenge. This time around, organist Anna Lapwood will be the featured artist of #ClassicalMusic. The move was announced in advance of her performance with the BBC Proms on July 25 at Royal Albert Hall (and its 9,999 pipes).

Classical music has steadily been making inroads in terms of finding Gen-Z listeners on the popular short video platform. In July 2022, TikTok and Warner Classics teamed up to release an album, TikTok Classics — Memes & Viral Hits, with 18 popular tracks from the platform.

The TikTok Effect

Lapwood is already a bona fide TikTok star with more than 550K followers. The Sony Classical artist’s June video of Hans Zimmer’s score for the movie Interstellar has garnered 4 million views.

She commented in a statement. “One of my favourite things about TikTok is how it helps smash down perceived barriers between different genres. Since I started using TikTok I’ve worked with so many people from all sorts of musical backgrounds and realised what a glorious tool collaboration can be to bring classical music to a new audience. TikTok has really blown open my whole musical world and I can’t wait to see what collaboration the world throws at me next!”

Naturally, the BBC Proms is hoping for an expanded audience base.

Career opportunities outside the world of social media have been launched on the platform. Violinist Esther Abrami was named ‘Best Influential Star’ by Forbes Magazine in 2019 (and whose TikTok videos have currently amassed more than 107 million views). It led to live performances with the English Symphony Orchestra, among others.

It’s a phenomenon that extends to any genre of music. The majority of hit pop singles released today aim for a viral moment on TikTok, and many succeed.

#ClassicalMusic

#ClassicalMusic trended in November 2021 with more than 745 million views. TikTok launched it as a challenge a year later with even more success.

TikTok began to promote #ClassicalMusic in early November 2022 in partnership with legendary music composer (and TikTok fave) Hans Zimmer. After the release of Dune, Zimmer challenged TikTokers to create a #DuneMovieDuet, where they played with his music video of the song Paul’s Dream. The November 2022 launch included Zimmer’s playlist, featuring scores from The Lion King and his other iconic scores, along with music that has inspired him.

Zimmer commented in a statement, “I’ve always believed that the next generation has an extraordinary creative voice, and I’ve been fortunate enough to witness and experience this throughout my career. I’m thrilled to launch this playlist of specially curated songs on TikTok. I hope people will use the playlist to create content that inspires another generation of artists to continue evoking emotion through music.”

The goal of the launch is to create a tsunami of classical music videos featuring the hashtag, including performances, composition, or just practising, and dually, to expose that work to viewers, it worked like a charm. #ClassicalMusic quickly racked up more than 2 billion views from its November 2022 promotion and led to a breakout track by pianist and composer Dorian Marko.

Altogether, the campaigns have generated more than 4.3 billion views for #ClassicalMusic, and have included high-profile artists such as Lang Lang and Andrew Lloyd Webber, among others.

Long live #ClassicalMusic.

AW

TOUR DE HEADLINES

L-R from top Clockwise from top left: Alina Ibragimova, Andrey Gugnin, Angela Hewitt, Stephen Hough, Martyn Brabbins and Steven Isserlis (Image via Hyperion Records)

Hyperion Records Catalogue Available to Stream for the First Time — Hyperion Records, a legendary classical label, takes a leap into the digital age offering 200 albums for streaming for the first time. | Classical-music.uk

Stradivari Violin Caught at Ukrainian Border — Ukrainian border guards and customs officers recently halted the export of a 1730 Stradivari violin found in a bus cabin. | Ukrinform

Philadelphia Orchestra Scrap California Tour — The Philadelphia Orchestra has cancelled its four-concert California tour scheduled for next March, citing soaring cargo and travel costs. They remain optimistic about organizing future tours and rearranging the California journey. | Violin Channel

‘Maestro’ Set to Make World Premiere at Venice Film Festival With Bradley Cooper — Bradley Cooper's Leonard Bernstein biopic "Maestro" will premiere at the Venice Film Festival, featuring a star-studded cast. Netflix plans to release the film later this year. | OperaWire

Rolando Villazón Out of Opening Performance of Santa Fe Opera’s ‘Orfeo’ After Sustaining Injury in Rehearsal — Rolando Villazón had to pull out from Santa Fe Opera's 'Orfeo' opener after getting injured in the last rehearsal. In his place, Luke Sutliff will fill the title role, with Villazón expected to return on August 2, 2023. | OperaWire

ORCHESTRA

Catherine Dallaire, Concertmaster of the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, performs on a violin bow made from Chemotherapy Patient's hair. Photo: Orchestre Symphonique de Québec

Orchestra Gifted Bow Made From Cancer Patient's Hair in Memory of Canadian Conductor

Catherine Dallaire premiered a new bow donated by a woman battling cancer in a fundraising concert honouring the death of Orchestre Symphonique de Québec’s principal guest conductor, Bramwell Tovey.

How did this come about?: A woman named Karine, who is currently battling cancer, donated her hair to a luthier to be made into a violin bow for the orchestra’s fundraising concert for the Quebec Cancer Foundation. The orchestra is playing the concert to mark the anniversary of the death of Bramwell Tovey, their principal guest conductor, who died of sarcoma on July 12th, 2022.

Are human hair bows a thing?: Not really. For the past 400 years, violin bows have been made from 160-180 strands of horsehair. Human hair is slightly thinner than horsehair, although the two share similarities, according to the luthier who made Dallaire’s new “Bow of Hope.” Horsehair is often used in wigs, including those worn in British courtrooms.

Karine, now a cancer survivor, expressed that she felt filled with pride that her own struggle with cancer would be heard during the concert.

Listen to Karine’s story, watch the bow being made, and hear some Bach played with it [HERE].

SS

OPERA

Maestro Alberto Veronesi conducted opening night of Italy’s Puccini Festival wearing a blindfold to protest a production of Bohème featuring anti-fascist imagery. (Photo: NoiTv Lucca)

Italian Conductor Fired for Conducting Blindfolded to Protest Controversial Production

Maestro Alberto Veronesi conducted the opening night of Italy’s Puccini Festival wearing a blindfold to protest a production of Bohème featuring anti-fascist imagery.

Wait… what?: Christophe Gayral and Christophe Ouvrard’s production of La bohème transports Puccini’s work to Paris in the 1960s. It features scenes and imagery depicting the “French May,” a period of political unrest during which far-left student groups protested capitalism, fascism, consumerism, and American imperialism. Maestro Alberto Veronesi donned a blindfold to conduct during these scenes. Audience members reportedly shouted, “Buffone!” (clown) and “Scemo!” (imbecile) from their seats, to which Veronesi replied that he didn’t want to watch the production’s political scenes.

Why does it matter?: The Italian Secretary of State for Culture, Vittorio Sgarbi, reportedly asked Veronesi not to conduct the production, which Sgarbi called “not art, but a political rally to criticize the government.” (NB: Far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is currently also under pressure to fire Sgarbi for recent vulgar and sexist remarks.)

The Italian opera scene has been increasingly political as of late, with singers refusing to appear in the famed Arena di Verona Opera Festival following soprano Anna Netrebko’s appearances in blackface.

Veronesi, who reportedly still managed to successfully conduct the orchestra and singers, has been fired and replaced by Manlio Benzi. However, Veronesi still plans to show up at the podium and has threatened legal action if he’s not allowed to perform.

SS

QUIZ

Which of these terms describes the slowest tempo?

A: Presto

B: Vivace

C: Andante

D: Allegro

Scroll down for the answer…

AROUND THE WEB

📅 On this day: In 1886, Franz Liszt died of heart disease age 74.

📺 Retro: Watch actual TV from the ‘90s and other decades as far back as the ‘50s.

🎮 Cure Boredom: Can you match the pieces and get an “Ohh yeah!”.

📚 Useful: Meet your new favourite bookmark, Curious Peoples, a website that helps you expand your knowledge in history, science, and arts in just 5 minutes a day.

👾 Interesting: A website that lets you hear radio emissions Earth, comets, black holes, and more.

🐶 Aww: This dog and kid know how to have fun!

INSTRUMENT OF THE WEEK

Sarrusophone

The Sarrusophone is a wind instrument that was invented in the mid-19th century by Pierre-Louis Gautrot, under the direction of French bandmaster Pierre-Auguste Sarrus. It was designed to bridge the tonal gap between brass and woodwind instruments in military bands, thus offering a sound that combined characteristics of both. This double-reed instrument, resembling an oboe or bassoon, came in a variety of sizes, from soprano to contrabass. Despite its unique sonic potential, the Sarrusophone largely fell out of use by the 20th century, overshadowed by the saxophone. Today, it's mostly a historical curiosity, occasionally used in orchestral music or jazz to achieve a distinctive tone.

QUIZ ANSWER

C: Andante — A moderately slow tempo (walking speed).

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Today's email was brought to you by Anya Wassenberg and Sara Schabas with editing by Michael "Sarrusophone" Vincent.

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