Click on Classical: Prince's strings, a Jurassic laugh, and classical careers

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Every Monday morning at 9:15, I join John Birge on Classical MPR to talk about some of the stories we're featuring on our website. Here are the stories we'll be discussing today.

Remember that discredited AP report that Prince had recorded a track with the Minnesota Orchestra? This week I got to the bottom of that rumor for a post on the Local Current blog: members of the orchestra recorded with Prince as STRINGenius, a local project that enlists musicians from the Minnesota Orchestra, the SPCO, and other groups to play with pop and jazz musicians.​ I talked with the leaders of STRINGenius and learned about how they've worked with Prince, Aretha Franklin, and other pop stars.

Jeff Goldblum's growling laugh from the 1993 film Jurassic Park​ has taken on a life of its own, being incorporated into electronic dance music. It's now been transcribed in musical notation, so it can be played on any instrument. Can the Goldblum Variations be far behind?

Musicians are often told to "follow their passion" — but what does that mean in the real world? David Lindquist wrote about how he's working to balance his musical activities with a secure non-musical career, and he points out that he's not the first classical musician you've heard of who's successfully done so.