Right now, the most famous classical musician on YouTube is arguably Nora the piano-playing cat. She, sorry to say, probably isn't eligible for "YouTube Symphony Orchestra," a new competition from the Google-owned video-sharing site.
Musicians from around the world (legitimate ones: I'm looking at you, Modded Guitar Hero Controller Guy) are invited to audition by submitting videos of themselves performing "Internet Symphony No. 1," an original piece written specially for YouTube by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon composer Tan Dun, in addition to a "talent video."
Judges come from the London Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and a number of other high-end orchestras--they'll winnow the selections down to a set of semifinalists by February 14.
Then, YouTube members will vote on their favorite semifinalists, and winners will be announced on March 2. The prize? A trip to New York for three days of a "classical-music summit" with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and a performance at the legendary Carnegie Hall.
YouTube has sponsored competitions before, like the "Democracy Challenge" filmmaking competition, but this is the first one open to anyone from any country, the company said.
I hope that they at least invite Nora to watch. I'm sure she can sit still.
Pandora has added classical music to the Music Genome Project, the extensive music database and engine that powers its DIY Internet radio site.
If you were addicted to Pandora before, just wait until you can actually figure out what kind of classical music you like.
The addition is significant as more than any other DIY Internet radio site, Pandora is known for its ability to figure out what listeners like based on a musical genetic code for each song. Nowhere is a song's musical genetic code more relevant to figuring out what you like than in the complexities of classically composed music.
Pandora Classical, as the company refers to the addition, includes a collection of over 10,000 recordings by more than 500 composers spanning the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern, and Contemporary classical music genres.
"We think classical music enthusiasts will be delighted by the ability to explore any and all parts of the classical music universe in ways that have never before been possible. At the same time, we hope to make classical music more accessible and relevant to everyone," Tim Westergren, founder and chief strategy officer of Pandora, said in a statement.
In addition to stations based on one artist, listeners can choose to listen to one movement in a piece and then build a station that recommends other similar music pieces by other artists.
For the holidays, Pandora has also added a feature for playing holiday songs exclusively. As with all Internet radio stations, you can never call up an artist and song on demand, but Pandora has found a way to get you close to that. Typing in "Frosty the Snowman" brings up a list of covers of the song from many different artists. Choosing one of those brings up songs that sound like that particular artist, or brings up that artist singing a different holiday favorite. Alternatively, you can also type in the name of an artist and the word "holiday" to get holiday recordings with their sound.
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