KillingClassicalMusic

This picture is a big part of why things have been quiet for...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:25:57 -0500

This picture is a big part of why things have been quiet for quite a while here at killingclassicalmusic.com. But now that I’m more less settled in to my new home (see photo) and new position, things are going to get going again. :-)

LA Phil LIVE Take 2: Your Reactions

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 10:00:08 -0500

This past Sunday, the Los Angeles Philharmonic presented its second LA Phil LIVE broadcast into...

"Drop the Needle" Winners for 3.9-10.11

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:54:40 -0600

Despite the weird delay this Wednesday, the results are in! As always, thanks much to all of you...

LA Phil LIVE: Experience it and share your thoughts.

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:42:48 -0600

Back in January, the Los Angeles Philharmonic debuted its new LA Phil LIVE cinecast event. The...

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle”...

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:01:07 -0600

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle” Contest! - Updated to 60”

Something strange happened last night, and apparently the last clip for this week’s Drop the Needle contest disappeared. So here it is again. I’ll leave this up all day and share the correct answer tomorrow. Guess this gives some of you a second chance. :-)

Please do NOT respond in the comments section as that will ruin the fun for others, Rather, go here to fill out the entry form.

Good luck!

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle”...

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:06:59 -0600

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle” Contest! - Updated to 60”

Here is the final installment of today’s drop the needle competition. It’s a full 60 seconds long. If you don’t get it now…well, then you’ll have to check back tomorrow to find out what it is and hear the whole thing, because this is all you’re getting today!

Please do NOT respond in the comments section as that will ruin the fun for others, Rather, go here to fill out the entry form.

Good luck!

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle”...

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:31:47 -0600

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle” Contest! - Updated to 30”

Here is the second installment of today’s drop the needle competition. It’s just 30 seconds long. If you don’t get it now, you’ll get a 60 second clip later.

Please do NOT respond in the comments section as that will ruin the fun for others, Rather, go here to fill out the entry form.

Good luck!

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle”...

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 10:12:46 -0600

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle” Contest!

It’s too bad that all I’ve been able to get up here lately has been the contest. I’ve been swamped with lots going on, but I have no intention of missing the weekly Drop the Needle. So, here is the first installment of today’s drop the needle competition. It’s just 10 seconds long. If you don’t get it now, you’ll get a 30 second clip later, and later still you’ll get a 60 second clip.

Please do NOT respond in the comments section as that will ruin the fun for others, Rather, go here to fill out the entry form.

Good luck!

"Drop the Needle" Winners - or not - for 3.3.11

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:00:38 -0600

The results are in! As always, thanks much to all of you who participated in this week’s...

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle”...

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:40:12 -0600

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle” Contest! - Updated to 60”

Please do NOT respond in the comments section as that will ruin the fun for others, Rather, go here to fill out the entry form.

Good luck!

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle”...

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 13:28:53 -0600

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle” Contest! - Updated to 30”

Here is the second installment of today’s drop the needle competition. It’s just 30 seconds long. If you don’t get it now, you’ll get a 60 second clip later.

Please do NOT respond in the comments section as that will ruin the fun for others, Rather, go here to fill out the entry form.

Good luck!

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle”...

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 09:16:30 -0600

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle” Contest!

Here is the first installment of today’s drop the needle competition. It’s just 10 seconds long. If you don’t get it now, you’ll get a 30 second clip later, and later still you’ll get a 60 second clip.

Please do NOT respond in the comments section as that will ruin the fun for others, Rather, go here to fill out the entry form.

Good luck!

“The Clap” directed by Geoff Lindsey. This short was...

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 18:15:36 -0600

“The Clap” directed by Geoff Lindsey.

This short was submitted by David Bowers - who keeps the Blogthoven blogs here and here - as accompaniment to my previous post about keeping classical music insular through overblown etiquette. It’s worth spending a few minutes to watch, particularly given the context of the early applauder in London.

What do you think? Where is the line here? In all honesty I agree aesthetically with what Tom Service had to say about destroying the silence after a piece. Yet, I still had a strong counter perspective. How is it with you? Where is that etiquette line? Or does it even exist? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Using Etiquette to Keep Classical Music Insular

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 11:03:00 -0600

The Guardian’s Tom Service was upset at the end of a recent concert and the LA Times thought...

“Drop the Needle” Winners for 2.23.11 The results are in! As ...

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:48:00 -0600

“Drop the Needle” Winners for 2.23.11

The results are in! As always, thanks much to all of you who participated in this week’s “Drop the Needle” competition. The level of particpation this week was great. Please keep sharing the weekly Drop the Needle posts with your friends.

This time, 14 participants got everything correct, including the name of the the piece which was Vissi d’Arte, from Giacomo Puccini’s opera Tosca. Please enjoy the whole thing with the audio player above. This is a freshly release recording from Delos Production. As you know, on randomly selected winner will receive a free copy of this hard-to-get new disc.

(If you didn’t win the CD, you can order a copy of this brand new release at .)

The selected winner of the free CD thanks to Delos Productions is:

Elaine Fine

As a result of her finely tuned ears (and random selection), Elaine will receive a complimentary copy of the newly released album that contains this track and more.

The others who got everything correct are:

Thanks again to everyone who participated. I hope you like the new tradition in partnership with Delos the last Wednesday of each month.

If you have ideas for pieces you think would be particularly difficult for people to guess, please let me know.

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle”...

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 18:23:03 -0600

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle” Contest! - Updated to 60”

It’s the last Wednesday of the month and that means Drop the Needle gets serious. Today’s winner will receive a complimentary copy of the recording in question courtesy Delos Productions. For more details on that click here. And remember, if you get the right answer from the shorter clips, you’ll have a better chance of being selected as the final winner.

An important hint: This piece is from a major new recording, and I expect the winner will have to give as much detail as possible as to the name of the work, etc.

Please do NOT respond in the comments section as that will ruin the fun for others, Rather, go here to fill out the entry form.

Good luck!

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle”...

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:58:21 -0600

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle” Contest! - Updated to 30”

An important hint: This piece is from a major new recording, and I expect the winner will have to give as much detail as possible as to the name of the work, etc.

Here is the second installment of today’s drop the needle competition. It’s just 30 seconds long. If you don’t get it now, you’ll get a 60 second clip later.

Please do NOT respond in the comments section as that will ruin the fun for others, Rather, go here to fill out the entry form.

Good luck!

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle”...

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 08:13:24 -0600

Welcome to KillingClassicalMusic.com’s “Drop the Needle” Contest!

An important hint: This piece is from a major new recording, and I expect the winner will have to give as much detail as possible as to the name of the work, etc.

This is the first installment of today’s drop the needle competition. It’s just 10 seconds long. If you don’t get it now, you’ll get a 30 second clip later, and later still you’ll get a 60 second clip.

Please do NOT respond in the comments section as that will ruin the fun for others. Rather, go here to fill out the entry form.

Good luck!

Joining a Choir - A How To Guide, Part I

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:42:00 -0600

This is a guest post by Lawrence Abernathy. If you would like to submit an article for inclusion...

Where am I?

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:50:42 -0600

My apologies for not keeping up with the site this week. Illness has had me down while I’ve...