[contextly_auto_sidebar] An oratorio about lynching! About one of the great horrors of American history. Premiered by the New York Philharmonic in 1940. And now, as far as I can see, largely forgotten, though there’s a recording. And you can hear it all on YouTube. (The link takes you to the first movement, where you'll find links to all the others.) The composer was William Grant Still (1895–1978)(Wikipedia here, website for him here). Still was the first African-American composer with a major career, the first to have an opera performed … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] In my Juilliard course on the future of classical music, we’ve been looking at how classical music was in the past. Why? Because it was looser, more flexible, with the audience applauding during the music, and musicians improvising. This can inspire us today. Not that everything from the past needs to come back, but studying the past can free us from preconceptions about classical music now. Nothing about our present tradition is written in stone. Things were very different when many of the great composers … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] Or, worse,  if it has more empty seats than people, as appeared to be the case at the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s concert at the Kennedy Center on Monday… But wait! The concert, on the whole, was blah, a disappointment, since on home turf this is, from everything I’ve heard, one of the most imaginative orchestras around. But they thrilled me with their encore. In which they sang! The entire orchestra stood up, and — led by their music director, Ivan Fischer — beautifully sang a Russian liturgical piece, in a … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] Here's an indispensable book — Black Classical Musicians in Philadelphia: Oral Histories Covering Four Generations, by Elaine Mack. It brings to life what once was a thriving community of classical musicians in the Philadelphia black community. We forget, I think, that such things existed, that in the past there was active, eager interest in classical music among African-Americans. Which, of course, was part of an active, eager interest in the U.S. population as a whole. Though there's an irony. As Michael Morgan, … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] I’m sure we’d all say that, if we’re musicians, or producing musical performances, that art is the focus. The music is what matters. Everything else — marketing, how the ushers behave, how we dress for our performances — all that is secondary. But is it? Here’s a recording of a presentation I gave a month ago, in which I argued just the opposite. I suggested that your art should infuse all aspects of performance, to deepen the experience, to help you brand yourself, and (quite important) so promotion for your … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] I thought I’d do a few blog posts to honor Black History Month. Which I don’t think is honored enough in the classical music world. And where better to start than with Roland Hayes, a tenor born in 1877 who in the 1910s and 20s became the first African-American classical star. He died in 1977, a greatly honored man. His parents were former slaves. He worked to support his family, even though his talent was recognized when he was young. He sang in silent movie theaters — from offstage, so no one could see he was … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] Here are four links, to some fabulous music. Even if you don’t read further in this post, even if you just follow listen to what I’m linking here, I’ll be happy. Sarah Vaughan, stupendously singing “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” Ettore Bastianini, the mighty baritone, going all out in a 1957 performance of Verdi’s Ernani. Mario Del Monaco, the huge-voiced and hugely passionate tenor, just about jumping out of his skin, in the same performance.  (Start at around 2:15 to skip the recitative the track starts with, and go … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] I was having a preliminary session with a possible client. Someone I could really help, but who — and I completely respect this — may not have the money to pay me. This is someone who, like me, has what’s called a portfolio career. He does many things. He’s a performing musician and a composer, and he also does something that’s not music, in another kind of art. He’s had notable success in all three areas, but would like more. The preliminary session, for which I don’t charge, is a chance for a possible client … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] Here’s something I’ve mentioned before. But now it’s time to get serious. My reemergence as s composer is just two and a half months away, with an evening of my work on April 14, at the Strathmore Performing Arts Center, just outside Washington, DC. Details? They’ll come in future posts. But you can peek now at the concert program, and at Strathmore’s webpage for me. For now, I’ll just say this. After so many years, doing so many things in classical music — being a critic, teaching; consulting, being a point … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] As we head into 2016, we — meaning we in classical music — have to focus more than ever on the future. We have to! Because here are some truths, truths that can’t be said strongly enough: The old audience is going away. It won’t be replaced. We need a new audience. And: The new audience isn’t coming to old-style events. Not in numbers large enough to keep things going. The world has changed. People have changed. We have to do something new. If you think I've said those things before, it’s because I’ve said them … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] My spring semester Juilliard course has started — "Classical Music in an Age of Pop," about the future of classical music. And, wow…this is the 20th year I’ve taught it. Which is one way to tell how long the crisis in classical music has been going on. At least 20 years, because if there hadn’t been a thought, back then, that classical music was in trouble, then why would they have invited me to teach the course? Though of course the crisis dates back even earlier. You can read a course overview here, and a … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] Belatedly, concerning David Bowie… I was very much moved by his final album, Blackstar. Made while he was dying, though no one knew he was. Now we know its subject was his death. It’s dark and powerful. So deeply connected to life, because so deeply entwined with death. There’s nothing quite like it, if only because making an album involves so many people, and is thus a public event. And artists making art about their death — to the extent that art like that ever happens — would normally not do it with so many … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] Dancing violinist! Pandemonium in the audience! Here's a story from my friend David Snead, formerly Vice President of Marketing, Brand and Customer Experience at the New York Philharmonic. And now President and CEO of the Handel and Haydn Society, the plainly terrific chorus and period instrument orchestra in Boston. David and I were emailing about what classical concerts could be. And in response to something I said, he emailed this: OK, true story.  I was on tour in California with H+H during my first week … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] So many memories came to me when I read that Pierre Boulez had died. One was something he did when I saw him conduct once at Carnegie Hall. Can’t remember which piece it was. I was sitting fairly far forward in an orchestra seat, so I could see him clearly. At one point, a section of the piece was ending. Boulez led the ending with his right hand. While with his left, he prepared the start of what came next, showing — simultaneously with the right hand — music in a different tempo, with a different time … [Read more...]

[contextly_auto_sidebar] Happy new year, everyone! And a quick suggestion. If you’re in New York on Thursday, why not join Marketing Chamber Music: A SAVVY Strategy for Success? This is an intensive marketing workshop, created for pre-conference day at the Chamber Music America national conference, and produced by the same people who do the Savvy Musician in Action entrepreneurship workshop every June in South Carolina. I taught in it last year, and wow…a peak experience for me, and just about everyone else, students and faculty alike. … [Read more...]