Sydney Opera House Lands Deal with Airline Sponsor

The Sydney Opera House is denying claims that the World Heritage-listed arts complex will be renamed after it signed a three-year, multimillion-dollar deal with Etihad Airways.

''No, it doesn't involve renaming of the Sydney Opera House," Australia’s tourism minister George Souris said at a press conference on Monday.

But the agreement is likely to result in Etihad's branding being placed in and around the iconic venue. In return, the airline, based in the United Arab Emirates, will provide transportation for performers as well as financial support. A source told The Australian that the airline's contribution is "less than $10 million.”  More

Honoring 'Our Will To Live': The Lost Music Of The Holocaust

For the past two decades, in a small town in southern Italy, a pianist and music teacher has been hunting for and resurrecting the music of the dead.

Francesco Lotoro has found thousands of songs, symphonies and operas written in concentration, labor and POW camps in Germany and elsewhere before and during World War II.

By rescuing compositions written in imprisonment, Lotoro wants to fill the hole left in Europe's musical history and show how even the horrors of the Holocaust could not suppress artistic inspiration.  Read more

Meet The Musical Mendelssohns: Felix And Fanny

Musical talent tends to run in families. Think of Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Colin and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, or The Jackson 5.

But long before those musical siblings, there were the Mendelssohns — Felix and Fanny, the subjects of a new album by the versatile Ebène Quartet from Paris.

The Mendelssohns grew up making music together in Berlin at the beginning of the 19th century. Felix, younger by four years, became one of history's most brilliant composers. Fanny, a strong-willed pianist but worried about her worth as a composer, has been neglected. Still, as Felix's career soared and Fanny struggled to publish her pieces, the two remained close.  Read more

One Man's Trash is Another Man's…$35,000 Violin

A man who found a violin among some trash by the side of the road in San Antonio, TX, has learned that the instrument is a 1922 Giuseppe Pedrazzini violin.

Peter Shaw of Houston dealers Amati Violin Shop appraised the violin for an episode of the PBS show "Antiques Roadshow." The program was recorded in Corpus Christi, TX last August and aired on Monday night, as reported on the website of The Strad magazine.

The finder took the instrument to a dealer in San Antonio to authenticate the instrument and assess its value. “My wife has a violin that belonged to her grandfather and we thought that we could use it for parts to repair it,” he said. The dealer initially offered him $1,000 for the instrument.  Read More

Simon Rattle to Leave Berlin Philharmonic in 2018

BERLIN (AP) –

Simon Rattle will leave his post as chief conductor and artistic director of the Berlin Philharmonic when his contract ends in 2018, he said Thursday.

The British conductor said he would be 64 by then and wanted to make room after 16 years for someone else to take the helm at the German capital's renowned orchestra.

"As a Liverpool boy, it is impossible not to think of the Beatles' question, `Will you still need me.., when I'm 64?'" he said in a statement.

"This was not an easy decision," he added. "I love this orchestra and therefore wanted to tell them my decision as early as possible."  More

Best Original Score Nominations Include Presidential Biopic and Fantasy Adventure

The nominees for the 85th Academy Awards were announced Thursday morning with John Williams once again up for a Best Original Score statuette.

Williams is nominated for his very Copland-esque score for the Steven Spielberg-directed biopic “Lincoln,” which is up for a total of 12 Oscars, the most of any film this year.

Other nominees for Best Score are Dario Marianelli for "Anna Karenina," Alexandre Desplat for "Argo," Mychael Danna for "Life of Pi" and Thomas Newman for "Skyfall."  More

Complete list of the Nominees for the 85th Academy Awards

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A single search of international charting albums and singles from Billboard, the Official Charts Company. ACO allows you to interpret, graph, analyse, compare and contrast musical trends and interactions at the touch of a button. Check it out here!