No images? Click here March 20, 2023 An impending giant blob of seaweed heading for Florida has state officials in a panic. The sargassum bloom is twice the width of the United States and is believed to be the largest in history. Floridians along the state's southwest coast have complained about burning eyes and breathing problems. +++ In today’s email:
CLASSICAL CHARTS THE BIG IDEA The Violin Capital of ChinaMore than 950,000 violins are crafted each year in the small Chinese city of Huangqiao Town, earning it the nickname the “Cremona of the East”. That staggering number makes it the world’s largest violin-making centre, supplying about 70 percent of China’s market, and about 30 percent of the global supply, according to local officials. Of that total, annual export sales have reached 720,000, accounting for 53 percent of China’s violin exports. The instruments are shipped to markets in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and South Africa, among other regions. Annual exports from the town are valued at about 1 billion yuan ($196,524,226.60 CAD). In a city of about 200,000 residents, 30,000 work for violin companies, which number well over 230. Some companies also produce violas and cellos. Why Huangqiao Town?Huangqiao Town has a thousand-year-old history, with an old centre constructed during the rule of Emperor Shenzong of Northern Song Dynasty, between 1048 and 1085. It was once best known for its sesame cakes. During the 1960s, there was a sudden spurt of violin-making in China, which led to the construction of factories in Beijing and Shanghai. The latter was once China’s violin-making capital, and drew workers in the industry from far and wide. Some of them came from Huangqiao, such as Li Shu. Now in his 70s, he was an apprentice violin-maker in Shanghai. Along with another businessman from the area, he brought that violin-making experience home in 1962. In 1971, after establishing Huangqiao’s first factory, he crafted the very first violin in Huangqiao Town. The Huangqiao factory went from making accessories for makers in Shanghai, as a branch of the Shanghai Violin Factory, to producing their own instruments. By 1995, Li’s company went independent, and produced 60,000 instruments in its first year. Today, he’s chairman of Fengling Musical Instruments Co., the Town’s largest violin maker. The Chinese government’s policy of opening up business to the West benefited local manufacturers, and led to the quick development of the industry at the manufacturing level. “The policy has opened the door to the world for Chinese companies, providing a platform to learn from overseas advanced technology as well as promoting cultural exchange,” Li told Global Times in February 2023. But, first, they had to convince outside markets of their product. “It’s no easy thing to have Chinese-made “Western musical instruments” enter the overseas market,” Li remarked in a statement in 2018. But, he and other local manufacturers gradually won over the American and European markets with reliable quality and delivery. In part, it’s accomplished by being able to supply whatever each market demands, from high-end instruments to affordable options. Fengling, for example, produces 120 different types of violins. “We can produce large quantities of violins in a short period of time with a price lower than the international market,” Li says in an interview with Global Times. In other respects, it’s advancing in technology is creating an advantage. Typically, a high-quality violin uses wood that has been aged and dried anywhere from a decade to 50 years. It reduces the volatile elements in the wood, such as water and sugars, making it more stable. Fengling invented a proprietary process that uses microbiological technology to remove those impurities, which speeds up the drying process considerably. Over time, the focus on affordability has expanded to include the middle and high end of the violin market. Some makers, for example, only produce a dozen or so ultra-high-end instruments a year. Becoming a music cityThe violin industry has changed Huangqiao Town. Studying the violin is compulsory in grades one and two, after which students are free to choose whether to continue. Many of them do. There is a culture and arts centre, and a local opera troupe. There are more than 6,000 trained musicians who live in the Town. There are plans for a massive musical theme park to attract tourists. Huangqiao plays host to International Instruments Playing Day of China. In 2022, more than 50 bands and 4,000 musicians performed for 60,000 audience members. It has held the title of the violin capital of China since 2009. THE LATEST Samuel L. Jackson stars in Netflix's upcoming film, "The Piano Lesson." Based on August Wilson's play, the drama explores family legacy, race, and self-worth, with a 1930s Pittsburgh setting. Jackson portrays piano owner Boy Willie, facing conflict with his sister over selling the family heirloom. Produced by Denzel Washington and directed by Barry Jenkins, the movie is expected to be a powerful adaptation. | What’s on Netflix A Guarneri del Gesu violin known as the "Baltic" was sold for $9.44 million action. Sold via Christie's in New York, this marks among the most expensive violins ever sold. The instrument was made in 1734 and has been owned by several prominent musicians throughout history, including Isaac Stern and Pinchas Zukerman. The buyer of the violin has not been publicly disclosed.| Classical-music.com Girls join Montserrat's Boys Choir for the first time in its 1,000-year history. The Escolania de Montserrat, a prestigious Catalan boys choir, has welcomed seven girls aged 9 to 14, breaking a millennia-old tradition. The decision, praised for promoting gender equality, aims to enhance the choir's musical quality and safeguard its future. | Classical FM SCIENCE SAYS The Best Music to Sleep ByThe practice of listening to music to fall asleep is a longstanding and very common one that crosses cultures. Up until recently, however, the mechanisms of how and why were not examined by scientific study. Researchers at the Aarhus University & The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg in Denmark recently published a paper in PLOS ONE, an interdisciplinary journal that looks at that very question. The audio features of sleep music: Universal and subgroup characteristics was published on January 18, 2023. Music to sleep bySince time immemorial, parents and caregivers have sung lullabies to little ones to help them fall asleep. Nowadays, with music, more and more accessible to anyone via streaming, and a vast pool of existing recorded music, the habit of using music to help fall asleep, and even improve sleep, is more common than ever before. But, just what characteristics in a particular piece of music help us to sleep? The answer, as it turns out, is more complicated than it seems. The researchers used Spotify playlists compiled for sleep, more than 225,000 to be exact, in order to extract common characteristics. They compared the tracks chosen to help people sleep to the average characteristics of music in general. To begin with, it was more often:
Those elements coincide with most assumptions about the kind of music that would relax and help people slide into slumber. Among the usual suspects were classical gems like Debussy’s Claire de Lune, Pachelbel’s Canon in D, and Brahm’s Lullaby, along with Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and other nursery rhyme favourites. At the same time, the results of the analysis included some characteristics that would seem counterintuitive. Six distinct subgroups emerged in the analysis of sleep-inducing music. The largest subgroup was Ambient music, as would be expected, which corresponded to all the expected characteristics.
The higher energy, danceable tracks (the most popular of which was Dynamite by K-pop band BTS), tended to be medium-low tempo, often with half-time speeds, and an emphasis on melody with spare instrumental arrangements. Familiarity breeds relaxationIn addition, people’s motivations for listening to music when they sleep also incorporated four different subgroups.
The researchers posed the theory that it was the familiarity of the tracks that made them suitable for sleeping and relaxation. Predictive coding is one of the more popular theories of brain function. It means that your brain is constantly predicting what will happen next, based on the sensory input it receives. If something happens that’s different from the prediction, we pay more attention, as the brain processes it for future reference. When a piece of music (or other stimuli) becomes more and more familiar, we pay less and less attention, and our energy level drops. That may lead to relaxation, although the study’s authors stress that the theory has yet to be tested. Why is it important?The end goal of the study wasn’t idle curiosity. A better understanding of the varied ways that music can help people to sleep adds to our overall understanding of the ways that music can modify human behaviour. There are implications for expanding the use of music not only in therapy but for everyday use. Lack of sleep, and poor quality of sleep, are common problems in today’s fast-paced society. Music can be an effective way to help. OPERA Anna Netrebko on the 'magenta carpet' at Life Ball 2013 at the square in front of the city hall of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. (Manfred Werner/Creative Commons) The New York Times has reported Anna Netrebko, Russian soprano and Putin supporter, has been awarded $200,000 after the Metropolitan Opera cancelled 13 of her performances last year. What happened?The Met demanded that Netrebko denounce Putin over Ukraine, but she refused. Arbitrator Howard C. Edelman ruled in her favor, stating her political beliefs were her right and not grounds for dismissal. Netrebko cited a "pay or play" agreement, which mandates payment even if performances are canceled. The Met argued that she violated the company's conduct clause. Netrebko originally sought $400,000 for future performances, but the arbitrator found no official contracts in place. Additionally, she received a $30,000 penalty for making "inappropriate" statements about the invasion. More backlashNetrebko faced backlash last year for wearing blackface makeup during a performance of Verdi's "Aida" in Italy. Leading soprano Angel Blue condemned it as "offensive, humiliating, and outright racist." The Met's general manager, Peter Gelb, expressed disappointment in losing Netrebko but acknowledged the majority of the audience wouldn't tolerate her presence. What about Yusif Eyvazov?The Met announced Friday that it was firing Netrebko's husband, tenor Yusif Eyvazov, from the upcoming March 30 production of "Tosca." Judging from Netrebko, we can expect the MET may be liable to compensate him as well. Zoom-outNetrebko has also faced a series of cancellations worldwide due to her ties to Putin. As tensions between Russia and Ukraine escalated last year, many Russian celebrities were pressured to publicly condemn the conflict, with varying levels of compliance. LISTEN UP Chicken Plays “America the Beautiful” On Piano Because, Why Not?Leonard Bernstein Conducts an Orchestra Using Only His Eyebrows To get the Vienna Philharmonic to play well, Leonard Bernstein didn't even need to use his baton. Listen as Bernstein directs the orchestra through Haydn's Symphony No. 88, using only his eyebrows (and the occasional smile and grimace) to convey his intentions for pace and dynamics. Very cool stuff: AROUND THE WEB 📅 On this day: in 1948, the first live televised symphony performances: Eugene Ormandy led Philadelphia Orchestra on CBS, followed 90 minutes later by Arturo Toscanini leading the NBC Orchestra on NBC. 🧑⚖️ Politics: 4-day work week being pushed in Congress. 🏗️ Interesting: Watch how a tower crane operator ends his shift. 🔥 Opps: A Russian fifth grader put out an Eternal Flame with a fire extinguisher in Mozhaysk, Moscow. The eternal flame had (previously) been burning since 1985. 🧠 Cure boredom: ChatGPT vs humans: who can do a better job? 🐶 Aww: This guy saves a thirsty wolf in the desert. PHOTO OF THE WEEK Aaron Copland doing yard work. How did you like today's email? |