Join us on another link roundup adventure, this time through Renaissance cutlery, Maurice Sendak's opera sets, and a swim in a Norwegian lake. Let's go!
1. At a dinner in Renaissance England, your cutlery might have instructed you to, quite literally, sing for your supper. These 16th century knives have hymns and prayers engraved on them, encouraging diners to sing together before a meal.
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2. In an insightful interview with VAN Magazine, conductor Alan Gilbert discusses new music, the Elbphilharmonie, and expanding his own musical horizons.
3. What is genre, really? A host of new ensembles are cropping up that expand the definition of what musical genres can be, like The Living Earth Show or the Re:Sound New Music Festival.
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4. Author and artist Maurice Sendak also designed opera sets -- and a new exhibit in New York is displaying his set design work starting June 14.
5. Why do we like certain kinds of music and not others? A new report has some answers that might surprise you.
6. The first all-African American opera, Scott Joplin's Treemonisha, is getting a revival, complete with a reworked libretto that gives women a central role.
7. A lock of Beethoven's hair is expected to sell for 15,000 pounds at a London auction this month.
8. Look, haven't we all wanted to take a dip in a fancy outfit once or twice, just to see what it's like? Violinist Hilary Hahn has, and she made it happen:
