Classical music news: Despite the disasters of Japan’s earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, the NHK Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo performs in New York’s Carnegie Hall. James Levine drops some Metropolitan Opera dates. Joseph Conrad opera premieres. The beleagued Detroit Symphony Orchestra turns to Facebook.

By Jacob Stockinger

These days, the world seems plagued with calamities, from upheaval and violence the Middle East to the natural catastrophes in Japan (below) to terrorist attacks.

Yet for me it makes music and artistic beauty seem all the more relevant, not irrelevant.

Some events suggest I am not alone in that:

ITEM: Music in a time of woe. Despite the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear reactor problems, the Japanese NHK Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo (below) performed in Carnegie Hall as part of a festival. Here’s a review:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/arts/music/andre-previn-and-kiri-te-kanawa-at-carnegie-review.html

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Cdle8rC8w8wJ:www.wqxr.org/articles/wqxr-features/2011/mar/17/response-japan-disaster-lags-benefit-concerts-emerge/+classical+concerts+to+raise+money+for+Japan&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com

And other information about the orchestra:

http://wn.com/NHK_Symphony_Orchestra

And it isn’t true just for classical music:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/how-musicians-are-raising-money-for-japan-relief-20110322

ITEM: A time of terrorism brings an appropriate opera, with a libretto by American poet J.D. McClatchy, based on Joseph Conrad‘s novel “The Secret Agent” (Conrad is below top; the opera set is below bottom):

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/arts/music/the-secret-agent-at-hunter-college-review.html?_r=1&ref=classicalmusic

ITEM: Ailing conductor James Levine (below) first leaves the Boston Symphony, now drops some Metropolitan Opera dates:

http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/exhibitionist/2011/03/levine_drops_so.html

ITEM: Can Facebook solve labor disputes? The Detroit Symphony Orchestra players and management duke it out on social media:

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/16/134573165/symphony-discord-plays-out-in-facebook-fracas

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Posted in Classical music