Very Modern Reinterpretations of the Classics – A South Korean dance group is doing a movement of Dvorak’s New World Symphony in sets replicating an aquarium, a stadium and some typical Korean apartment interiors. Michelle L’amour has re-envisioned Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony with pulsating images that go with the orchestral sounds. The Colorado Symphony even has an upcoming group of programs titled “Classical Cannabis: The High Note Series,” which will be a bring-your-own-cannabis event. It will maximize the sensual elements of the music. Of course many will criticize this as selling out classical music, but even Shakespeare had to consider financial needs and demands and it’s difficult for those in the fine arts to completely ignore money.
Gibson Brands Acquiring Philips’ Audio & HT Business – Gibson Brands, based in Nashville, has acquired Onkyo and TEAC as part of an ambition to become a global leader in music and sound. They have now signed an agreement to acquire the audio, video, multimedia and accessories business of Royal Philips for $135 million. This will increase their market presence in the U.S. and Japan. WOOX Innovations handles Philips products in China, Europe, Latin America and other growth geographies. They are headquartered in Hong Kong and have about 1900 employees worldwide. The video business will stay with Philips until a transfer in 2017.
J&R Closes E-Commerce Site – J&R Music and Computer World has closed its web site and its 43-year history, with also closing its Lower Manhattan physical store. The store never recovered from the 9/11 WTC attack, which thinned their traffic for years. EBay and Amazon continue to list their products , which are supplied and fulfilled by other distributors.
TV App Developers Team Up – TV App Agency and smart-TV systems developer Foxxum, both based in Europe, had teamed up to “bring further value to their offerings and strengthen their standing in the smart-TV space.” The Foxxum smart-TV platform will be part of the smart TVs, set-top boxes and having consoles from Samsung, Panasonic, LG, Sony, Roku and Opera TV, and they will integrate apps provided by TV App Agency in addition to their existing international smart-TV premium content. A representative said “Our goal is to provide our customers with worldwide reach across as many platforms and devices as possible through our TV App Engine.”
Rockford Gets Car Audio Level-Matching Patent – A patent for the CLEAN level-setting technology, available in Rockford Fosgate Punch and Power audio amps, has been awarded. CLEAN stands for Calibrated Level Eleminates Audible Noise, and it helps installers match the voltage of a vehicle’s head unit to an aftermarket amp to optimize power output. It uses onboard input/output clipping indicators to precisely tune the amp’s gain setting.
