Accelerando

Acoustic Engineering in music venues has a few basic rules that architects rely on: the size, the shape and the materials on the reflective surfaces. So planning ahead is crucial, but even after the hall is finished, acousticians can sometimes tweak the room by modifying the surfaces and even the shape. A proscenium may or […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other...

Putting words to music is a skill composers and songwriters address in their Operas, Cantatas, and anything that has a script. What is the process for these artists? Some start with the words, others like David Byrne prefer to start with the music but have switched the order depending on the project. Elton John and […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscrib...

Concert pianist Nanette Kaplan Solomon has been including women composers in her programming and presenting lecture recitals on the works of women composers for thirty years. In this episode we talk about her recordings, composers she’s met, works she commissioned and her passionate dedication to the subject which has taken her to forums all around […] This is a public episode. If you would like t...

How will you take your art to the 10x? Linear is out of fashion. Can music scale to the degree it can compete in a world that expects only exponential growth? More in the show notes at accelerandocast.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit accelerandopodcast.substack.com

Galileo’s dad Vincenzo was a noted Lutenist and composer from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Both father and son made inventions and progress in mathematics and physics. The family business of lute playing was shared by Galileo and his brother Michelangelo. Read more in the show notes at accelerandocast.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or...

If you want to create a music writing program that out performs Sibelius and Finale, you might want to examine the AI already written into graphics and text. Graphics are way ahead of music notation in computer programs. What can we look forward to in the future of music reading apps like ForScore? More in […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or ge...

The Orion Quartet announced their retirement this Spring, playing their last concert of a 36 year run. New quartets are rising, including the Beo Quartet-another one with Pittsburgh roots and again started by two brothers. The business plan for a string quartet is an unusual one. It relies on four equal partners, and each have […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with ot...

Every human voice is unique, and each singer has a range of notes that rings in their head strong like a bell. Pop stars and Opera divas/divos have made fortunes from these notes. In the classical recording industry while world class orchestras are doing less recording, Opera remains a consistant source of revenue. Singers change […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with...

With Google jumping into the AI music platform race, we can expect a lot of people will be signing up soon. Will it be disapointing? Or will people want the next plaything? Depends on whether you care about the tech or the music. If you just want to be in the know about everything new, […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus epi...

Music gets a bad rap in curriculums and in the hierarchy of evolution. Do we need music to survive? Has music ever saved anyone’s life? When studied specifically for it’s use, music is found adjacent to our most important instincts for survival. More in the show notes at https://accelerandocast.com/show_notes/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or ge...

The Scientist enjoyed making musical instruments more than doing his duties as an inventor for the Soviet Union, but he is remembered as an innovator and a genius for both. It was his tinkering with the musical instruments that lead to his sophisticated devices used to spy on the US Ambassador and others in Moscow […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribe...

Leon Theremin was a creative and curious soul who lived his life as a Russian Scientist but was a musician and entrepreneur. Had he left Russia like his biographer’s father before the outbreak of World War One maybe he would have enjoyed a peaceful and productive life- we’ll never know. His story is still compelling, […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscr...

The Opera America Conference comes to Pittsburgh next month and Pittsburgh Opera is gearing up with two very special Operas to be performed at the August Wilson Center and the Bitz Opera Factory. This episode about the marketing insight of creating an Opera season was written last summer. More in the show notes at https://accelerandocast.com/show_notes/ This is a public episode. If you would like...

Charles and Rachel Stegeman team teach violin and viola in their Boot Camp, but they also possess sightreading skills that make them extremely desireable players in some of the most competitive corners of the music industry. More in the show notes at https://accelerandocast.com/show_notes/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus epi...

No other idiom more than Bebop invites performers to invent and create while an audience watches and listens. Its a style that evolved during a hiatus in the recording industry when union musicians were concerned their livelihoods were disappearing. More in the show notes at https://accelerandocast.com/show_notes/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers o...

Some people want a complete map when they do things including listening to music, and others are content to wander through enjoying the musical scenery while journeying through the pieces. Either way is fine, but even the wanderer can enjoy a little mapping time to time. More in the show notes at https://accelerandocast.com/show_notes/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this wi...

The League of American Orchestras meets in Pittsburgh this June and they’ll give their Golden Baton Award to Deborah Borda, the New York Philharmonic’s President and CEO who steps down from the post just a few weeks after the conference. Borda brought vision and energy to the top orchestra(s) she led. Orchestras from around the […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with o...

Musicians can make cutting edge art, but is it going to hurt anyone if it goes badly? Cognative Scientists deconstructed the decision making process- we’ll take a deep look at what they found. More in the Show Notes at Accelerandocast.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit accelerandopodcast.substack.com

This month Verdi’s Il Trovatore returns to the Benedum, and its been almost a quarter century since we’ve seen this Grand Opera here in Pittsburgh. Mark talks about the work the Pittsburgh Opera Chorus is doing in the weeks and months ahead of opening night. More in the show notes at https://accelerandocast.com/show_notes/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subs...

Pop music has nearly abused the cadence formula that stems from our western roots in Gregorian Chant. Entire songs are comprised of the four chords (somethimes even less) that were used in Authentic and Plagal cadences. Developing good ears isn’t a quality unique to musicians. Other careers need the ability to focus and filter sounds. […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this...

Twitter and YouTube are both open platforms- where users can reinvent the purpose by uploading content from various sources. Its what makes them so vibrant and popular: The users do the creating. So think of an orchestra as an environment for creation and change beyond the parameters it was intended. The musicians bring expertise and […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this...

Edgewood Symphony Music Director Walter Morales brings a lifetime insight to the music of Spain and Latin America when he conducts the orchestra in March at the Katz Auditorium in Squirrel Hill. the concert features music of Piazzolla, Ginastera, De Falla and others with guests Amanda Russo Stante and Alejandro Pinzon. More in the show […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss thi...

When we search for answers about the Six Bach Cello Suites we get more questions than answers. Its a rabbit hole cellist Steven Isserlis dives into with his latest book The Bach Cello Suites; A Companion. More in the show notes at https://accelerandocast.com/show_notes/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit acceler...

In Steven Johnson’s book Where Good Ideas Come From, he points out how ideas collide and connect. Today’s show compares Darwin’s organizational methods with the set up of orchestras, and buildings that reconfigure to suit their needs. Also in this episode we take Steven Johnson’s assessment of a 9-11 memo that could have, or should […] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this wi...

Humans learn in linear or progressive patterns. And culture sparks trends in a linear fashion too. What’s getting the most popularity these days? Where is it coming from? More in the show notes at https://accelerandocast.com/show_notes/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit accelerandopodcast.substack.com