Classical Notes: October 13, 2008 Archive

Sacred Music Banned in China

Posted at 2:08 PM on October 13, 2008 by Gillian Martin (1 Comments)

As for business and athletics, China has been a growth market for Western-style classical music in recent years. (See my previous post, "Piano Fever" in China.)

But choral pieces with sacred (usually Christian) texts are now banned there, as the Academy of Ancient Music found when it was invited to sing Handel's Messiah in Beijing (they still performed, but the concert was changed from open-to-the-public to invitation-only).

The Sinfonica Orchestra di Roma had planned to perform Mozart's Requiem in Sichuan, where so many thousands were killed in the earthquake, but they had to change their program.

Read the London Telegraph article here.

Comment on this post

You and Yo-Yo: A Contest

Posted at 5:13 PM on October 13, 2008 by Gillian Martin

I came across this on Yo-Yo Ma's website the other day: a contest, for which the first prize is a chance to record with Mr. Ma.

It's a tie-in with his new CD, Songs of Joy & Peace:

In celebration of his album's upcoming release, Yo-Yo would like to share the joy of collaboration with Indaba's international community. To get you started, he has recorded the melody of the traditional song, "Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace)". Collaborate virtually with Yo-Yo by adding your own counter-melody or record an entirely new set of variations.

Find out more at the official contest website here. (FYI, in my experience, the site loads slowly.) The deadline is December 31st.