All through the US, classical music institutions are searching for relevance. They want to be more relevant to their communities. But I think the word "relevant" is itself a problem. It sends us down a path whose meaning and direction isn't clear. And it reinforces some of the attitudes about classical music and the wider world that got us into trouble in the first place. First problem: If we say we need to be relevant, then we're also saying that -- right now -- we think we're irrelevant. Which means we've defined ourselves as … [Read more...]
Not so refined
The problem with René Jacobs’ Handel recordings, says Stanley Sadie (the distinguished musicologist) is that their “rough and explosive sound” is “alien to the refined and elegant age to which the music belongs.” Or so I read on Sunday in a story about Jacobs' critical reception, in the Arts & Leisure section of the New York Times. And there we see much of the problem that classical music has these days -- it’s out of touch with reality. So many people want it to be refined and elegant, more so than the world we live in. But to do … [Read more...]