October 28, 2024

👋 Guess who's playing second fiddle to Trump... The former president's latest campaign video features a surprise guest star: Dutch violinist Andre Rieu. Plot twist: Rieu didn't exactly volunteer for this gig. His son called the unauthorized cameo "horrible". No legal action is planned — but maybe next time, ask first?

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The big idea: The Internet Archive's $621M legal battle
Talking points:
— New opera about Alma Mahler premieres in Vienna
— Canadian violinist forced to end career following injury
Laugh of the week

CLASSICAL CHARTZ

Weekly selections are based on sales numbers and albums we simply love and think you NEED to hear!

For the complete top 20, tune into Classical Chartz with the New Classical FM’s Mark Wigmore every Saturday from 3-5 pm EST!

THE BIG IDEA

The Internet Archive's $621M Legal Battle

Did you know the Internet Archive operates out of an old church in San Francisco? Well, it does — and it's at the centre of a massive lawsuit that could determine the future of digital preservation.

The story starts with shellac... Remember those old 78 rpm records? They're brittle discs made from insect resin (yes, really) that were the main way people listened to music in the early 1900s. Not exactly high-fidelity stuff — think pops, hisses, and crackles galore.

Enter the Great 78 Project... The Internet Archive has digitized over 400k of these historical recordings. Great project, right? Well, major record labels don't think so.

Here's where it gets messy:

Universal, Sony, and other big labels are suing for $621M
They're upset about 4,142 specific recordings (think Sinatra, Holiday, Elvis)
Each song could cost the Archive $150k in damages

The labels say:

"This is theft, not preservation"
These songs are already available elsewhere
Nobody needs crackling old versions when remastered ones exist

The Archive argues:

We're a nonprofit library, not a pirate ship
These scratchy originals are totally different from modern remasters
Someone needs to preserve this stuff

Plot twist: The same labels suing over "preservation concerns" lost countless master recordings in a 2008 Universal Studios fire. Ironic, no?

The bigger picture: This isn't just about old records — it's about who controls access to our cultural history. The Archive is also fighting book publishers over its digital library practices.

Not-so-fun fact: If the labels win, it could shut down more than just the 78 project — it might kill the Internet Archive entirely. — MV

TOUR DE HEADLINES

Des McAnuff production of “Faust” featuring Mezzo-soprano Wendy White

🎭 Met Opera reaches settlement in dramatic stage fall lawsuit: Mezzo-soprano Wendy White has finally reached a resolution with the Metropolitan Opera, ending an 11-year legal battle over injuries sustained during a 2011 performance of "Faust." White fell 8 feet through a gap in the set, effectively ending her prestigious opera career. The settlement terms remain confidential, but the case highlighted ongoing concerns about performer safety in grand opera productions. Read more at OperaWire

💼 "Opera is just another business," says festival chief: Wexford Festival Opera's CEO Randall Shannon brings a refreshing corporate perspective to the art form, emphasizing that survival requires both artistic excellence and financial savvy. The Irish festival, celebrating its 73rd year, has evolved its business model while maintaining artistic integrity — a delicate balance many opera companies struggle to achieve. Full story at Independent.ie

🎵 Breaking classical music barriers: BBC's new documentary "Classically Black" features cellist-singer Ayanna Witter-Johnson, who's challenging traditional boundaries by fusing her Guildhall School training with Caribbean influences. Her story highlights classical music's ongoing diversity conversation and the evolving face of contemporary classical performance. Full interview at The Independent

MORE CLASSICAL & OPERA NEWS

Robot Conductor makes its orchestral debut, leading musicians through complex pieces with surprisingly human-like gestures. While it won't be replacing human conductors anytime soon, the AI-powered bot demonstrates how traditional classical music is embracing technological innovation. More at Classic FM

Maria Callas returns to the silver screen, with Angelina Jolie starring in the upcoming biopic "Maria," chronicling the legendary diva's turbulent life and career. Watch the trailer at OperaWire

Virtual Reality lets music lovers step into a conductor's shoes with a new game that puts players in front of a full orchestra. The full version includes masterworks from Mozart to Mahler. Details at 80.lv

TALKING PIONTS

Alma Mahler c. 1908 (Photo from the Austrian National Library)

New Opera About Alma Mahler Premieres in Vienna

Ella Milch-Sheriff’s opera Alma opened at the Vienna Volksoper this Saturday. The opera tells the story of Alma Mahler-Werfel, composer and muse to fin-de-siècle Vienna’s greatest artists.

Driving the news: On Saturday, October 26th, Israeli composer Ella Milch-Sheriff’s opera Alma premiered at the Vienna Volksoper. With a libretto by Ido Ricklin, the opera Alma Mahler-Werfel (née Schindler)—the composer, muse, and wife to Gustav Mahler, Walter Gropius, and Franz Werfel—and her experiences as a mother. It stars soprano Annette Dasch in the title role.

A bit of context: Alma Mahler-Werfel (1879-1964) has been the subject of countless novels, biographies, films, and paintings. However, this opera is the first to centre the complicated historic figure. Mahler-Werfel is notorious for her antisemitism (despite marrying and having relationships with various Jews) as well as her decision to doctor letters from her husband Gustav before publishing them. Her enigmatic contributions to music history have led musicologists and historians to coin her output “The Alma Problem.”

The Vienna Volksoper advertises Alma as an opportunity to explore one of Vienna’s great female personalities through the eyes of a female composer. It promises to be full of intrigue, to say the least. — SS

Angèle Dubeau Photo: courtesy of the artist

Canadian Violinist Forced To End Career Following Injury

After five decades on stage, Canadian violinist, broadcaster, and conductor Angèle Dubeau announced her retirement last week due to a debilitating finger injury.

Quoi de neuf?: Last week, the Québécois violinist Angèle Dubeau announced her retirement due to permanent nerve damage in her right index finger. After consulting numerous specialists, Dubeau learned that her finger had suffered permanent damage caused by the pressure of her instrument. The prominent violinist addressed the public in a letter in Le Journal de Montréal as well as in a video published on Facebook announcing her retirement.

Playing catch-up: Angèle Dubeau was born in Saint-Norbert, Quebec in 1962. She performed her first concert at the age of 6, won numerous competitions, and pursued studies at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, the Juilliard School, and in Romania with the violinist Stefan Gheorghiu. A household name in Quebec, Dubeau hosted a series of broadcast programs in the 1990s for Radio-Canada. She founded the Tremblant Music Festival as well as the all-female string group La Pietà, with whom she has released numerous albums and toured internationally. Dubeau’s albums have sold more than 65 thousand copies.

Angèle Dubeau is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Knight of the Order of Quebec. Her 1733 “Des Rosiers” Stradivarius Violin was classified as a national heritage item by former Quebec premier René Levesque. We wish her all the best in her bittersweet retirement and in the next phase of her career. Merci pour la belle musique. — SS

GAMES

Nothing says Monday like a mini-crossword .

LAUGH OF THE WEEK

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