Time well wasted #30

Although we had a blast at the "End-of-season party" last Friday, we were not really done with the 2013/14 season. In fact, we still have two concerts taking place tonight (the OPL's "Operconcert am Summer" and Regenorchester XV - join us if you can!). But then... Then we'll be on holiday! Well, sort of: some maintenance work will be done and the ticket office will remain open until July 28. What we're trying to tell you is that you'll have to learn how to waste your time wisely on your own in the next few weeks. We know you can do it! So for the last time this season: here are a few good links!

* Similar to LSO Play but this time for opera: The Royal Opera House presented the Opera Machine. You can not only watch what's going on in the orchestra pit but also have a closer look at what's happening at different corners of the stage (and even under the stage!) or at what the deputy stage manager is doing. The whole thing was caught on tape with 17 cameras during Act III of Wagner’s Die Walküre in 2013 and can be watched with three different sound mixes. Fascinating!

* Don Cheadle started filming Miles Ahead in Cincinnati this week, a movie based on the life and music of Miles Davis. "Miles Ahead is not just about the music," writes Cheadle on Indiegogo. "It’s about what we all face at one time or another in our lives; questions about who we really are, what we have to say and how will we say it. How will we ultimately be defined and who gets to say so?" Find out more about the movie and get a first look of Cheadle as Davis on Entertainment Weekly's website.

* To promote the concert section of its website ARTE created Mimopsis, a video series in which opera plots are simplified and explained with hands. To be honest, the hands don't really play a central role but the videos are short enough to keep the viewer interested and to get a clear idea of the plot. Here's Les Contes d'Hoffmann.

(BTW, ARTE Concert also has a pop/rock section that was expanded over the last weekend with gigs recorded at the Eurockéennes.)

* What do Beethoven and Rihanna have in common? The Diatonic Phrygian Tetrachord a.k.a. the World's Most-Used Musical Sequence. David Garland has assembled more than 50 recordings of music from over five centuries using this four-note progression. Listen to the podcast on WNYC's website, it has a killer playlist. (via @nprclassical)

That's it for this season, folks! I hope you've enjoyed the series. It may or may not come back on the blog in September, you'll have to live with the uncertainty all summer. Be strong! And don't forget to listen to music!

-- Julie