News

Vinyl junkies who missed the first official Vinyl Record Day celebration last summer should mark their calendars for Saturday, August 16. On that date, the faithful will again converge in San Luis Obispo, CA's Mission Plaza to gawk at LPs, memorabilia, vintage gear, and to meet classic album cover notables.

Saturday, February 11, 11am–4pm: Audio High (165 Moffett Boulevard, Mountain View, CA) will host a vinyl sale to benefit the Friends of Palo Alto Library. Hundreds of vinyl LPs ranging from rock to jazz to classical to “just plain weird” will be available, with prices starting at $2.00. An original pressing of Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue will be offered.

Following the tragic events of September 11 last year, Audio Asylum and Audiogon co-sponsored a charity auction of audio equipment to benefit the NY Firefighters' Fund and other related charities. Manufacturers, dealers, magazine writers and editors, and audiophiles donated equipment, recordings, and memorabilia for sale, and as reported on this website, the auction ultimately raised almost $175,000 for 9/11-related charities.

The world is mourning the passing of Yehudi Menuhin. The 82-year-old violinist, conductor, author, educator, and humanitarian died of heart failure at Berlin's Martin Luther Hospital on Friday, March 7. He was in Berlin to conduct performances of Brahms and Mendelssohn by the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra.

Virginia retailer Command Performance A/V—115 Park Ave. Suite #2, Falls Church—is having a Grand Opening on Saturday November 8 from 11am to 5pm. The day will feature Constellation Audio's new Inspiration Series (above), presented by Irv Gross, Director of Sales for Constellation Audio.

I'm a great fan of the musical theater: musicals, operetta, and opera, more-or-less in that order. A typical summer vacation for my wife and me involves driving from Toronto to the East Coast, stopping off to see musicals (and some plays) at places like the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, MA, the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT, the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ, , and the Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, ME. The Glimmerglass summer opera festival, near Cooperstown, NY, is not far from the route we usually take, but I never thought of visiting it because my impression has been that they specialize in performances of modern and obscure operas, which are not quite our cup of tea.

My discovery of the fact that Glimmerglass has greatly expanded the range of its offerings came about through sheer serendipity. . .

It's sometimes amazing how courtroom adversaries can become bosom buddies. This week's example: on May 21, Vivendi Universal SA agreed to acquire Internet music portal MP3.com Inc. for $372 million (423 million euros) in cash and stock—or $5.00/share for MP3.com stockholders. The announcement followed Vivendi's April 5 acquisition of Emusic.com for $24 million. The targeted companies' boards of directors unanimously approved both deals. MP3.com will continue to offer music from non-Universal labels, according to a company press release.