07.11.2010

Musician Barenboim signs with Universal labels

BERLIN (Reuters) – Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim has signed a new recording deal with classical labels Deutsche Grammophon and Decca Classics, parent company Universal Music announced on Tuesday.

The Argentinian-born musician, renowned for his work with the West-Eastern Divan youth orchestra which unites Arabs and Israelis, will make his first ever recordings of the Chopin and Liszt piano concertos under the agreement.

The 67-year-old will also lead the Berlin Staatsoper, where he is music director, and Italy's La Scala, where he is guest conductor, in a new production of Wagner's Ring cycle.

The first release on Deutsche Grammophon, early next year, will be devoted to Chopin and mark the 60th anniversary of Barenboim's performing debut.

(Writing by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Kid Cudi putting his troubles behind

NEW YORK (Billboard) – Kid Cudi has had an eventful year. Brawls with fans allegedly led to being booted from his opening spot on Lady Gaga's tour, he was busted for possession of cocaine and criminal mischief, he beefed with Wale, and he became a father to a baby girl named Vada.

But oddly, none of those topics is addressed on his upcoming sophomore album, "Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager" (G.O.O.D. Music/Dream On/Universal Motown). "It's not like 'Cudi's problems with fame, chapter two,' " the 26-year-old says of his forthcoming set. In fact, the album, while still "aggressive and dark and energetic," as he describes it, is a reflection of where Cudi, born Scott Mescudi, is in his life right now.

"I'm a lot happier -- things are in better order and there's peace within my crew and within myself," Cudi says. "I feel I had to go through the fire to get here and I wouldn't change my experiences for the world. At this point, I'm locked in. I definitely got my shit together."

Now that his life's in order, Cudi, who says he's been off drugs for a few months now, is ready for the November 9 release of "Man on the Moon II," which features guest spots from Mary J. Blige, Cage, GLC and mentor/G.O.O.D. Music label head Kanye West. To promote the album, Universal Motown partnered with music video site Vevo's "Go Show" viral events to premiere the first single, "Revofev." Cudi also performed at New York's Bape clothing store, where he once worked, with Vevo and YouTube broadcasting the concert. According to Universal Motown senior director of marketing Billy Zarro, the video garnered "over 8.7 million views in 10 days, immediately becoming the most popular Go Show to date."

However, "Revofev" failed to chart. But second single "Erase Me," featuring West, bowed at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September. Follow-up "Mr. Rager" will be released in a couple of weeks.

According to manager/producer Plain Pat, the new album is a sign of Cudi's growth. "It's more mature on all angles--the production, himself. He really lays it on the line on this album and it's a lot more cohesive," he says.

Cudi is on a college tour and planning a worldwide trek for 2011. He's also designing a collection for Bape, including a "Rager" T-shirt that will be available on the album's release date, and is set to shoot the second season of HBO series "How to Make It in America" early next year. Additionally, he has struck branding partnerships with Converse, Vitaminwater and Heineken, while "Erase Me" appeared in the season premiere of CW's "90210," according to Zarro.

Now that he's found peace, Cudi hopes to remain grounded -- in his own newfound, overconfident way. "I really just find that life is fucking funny," he says. "You have to take shit as it comes and man up. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger -- that's a fact. Even in death no one will stop me from being great. That's all I know."

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American dancers in homage to Cuban ballet legend

HAVANA – America's premier ballet company paid tribute in Havana to Cuban dance legend Alicia Alonso as two cultures separated by a half century of political animus came together — for an evening at least — behind a mutual appreciation for art.

The U.S. dance troupe is in Cuba for the 22nd International Ballet Festival of Havana, convened this year in honor of Alonso, who continues to lead Cuban ballet despite being nearly blind for decades.

Alonso will turn 90 on Dec. 21. She remains an extremely demanding teacher known for her fiery temper, but also for a preternatural understanding of dance and an unparalleled sense of talent.

The American company performed before some 5,500 people at the sprawling Karl Marx theater on Wednesday night, and was scheduled to make another appearance Thursday.

The last time the dance company was in Cuba was 1960 — for the inaugural Havana festival.

The American outfit includes two Cuban-Americans, Jose Manuel Carreno and Xiomara Reyes. Both appeared Wednesday as the U.S. troupe performed scenes from Siete Sonatas, Fancy Free and Theme and Variations, a ballet created in 1947 by George Balanchine — specifically to be danced by Alonso.

Reyes, a prima ballerina, was making her first visit to Cuba since leaving the island as an 18-year-old in 1992.

She spent part of Wednesday visiting a dance school run by Alonso's daughter, Laura, who was one of her earliest teachers. Laura Alonso said she knew from the moment she saw Reyes as a three year old that there was something special about her.

"It was in her eyes, even then," she said. "A passion."

Asked what the weeklong tribute to her mother meant to her, Laura Alonso was less forthcoming.

"Well, my mother, as you know, is nearly 90 years old," she said. "So this homage means she is old. Very old."

Before and during Wednesday night's performance, the audience was treated to long video homages to Alicia Alonso, with footage from the 1950s interspersed with a more recent interview with the grande dame herself.

The entire evening was broadcast live on Cuban television to a public that remains mad about ballet, and the arts in general. Ballet dancers are household names in Cuba, and audiences cheer wildly during performances.

As Reyes walked around Havana, even after 18 years away, she was recognized and approached enthusiastically by passersby.

The U.S. ballet company's visit is the latest in a surge in cultural exchanges since President Barack Obama took office in 2008. Last month, American trumpeter Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra came to Havana. Cuban musicians including Silvio Rodriguez, Los Van Van and Chucho Valdes have toured the United States in recent months.

The cultural exchanges have not been accompanied by any meaningful sign that the Cold War enemies are ready to put their political differences behind them. The U.S. has maintained a 48-year trade embargo on Cuba, and has demanded political and economic openings before it lifts sanctions.

Cuban leaders say America has no business telling them what kind of government they should have. They complain that Washington is quick to criticize the island's human rights record, and slow to acknowledge what they see as America's less than stellar rights record, particular regarding the fight against Islamic extremism.

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