A general point: The larger issue in all of this is all the ways classical music gets written about, not just in reviews, but in advertising copy and press releases from mainstream classical music institutions, and much (but not all) scholarly work. Very little of this gets at what's really happening as we listen to the music -- or, to put it a little differently, doesn't get at why we'd want to listen. But returning to the thoughts in my previous post (in which I restated my overall point, and answered some objections to it)...I might mention … [Read more...]

First, I've taken out the "vs." -- as you might have seen it in the title of my previous post on this topic, which was "Classical vs. pop reviews." I've learned a lot from the comments that contentious (and controversial) post of mine got, and especially from the people who disagreed with me, sometimes very sharply. My thanks to all of you. You helped me understand exactly what point I was trying to make, and how to make it more sharply, and with more courtesy.So let me start again. There were two things I definitely was not meaning to say. I … [Read more...]

I want to recommend the newest ArtsJournal blog, "Life's a Pitch," written by my friend Amanda Ameer. Amanda's day job is her marketing and publicity company, First Chair Promotion, and the subject of the blog is marketing for the arts, which she rightly thinks could be far stronger than it is. Just read her entry about Carnegie Hall, or more broadly about how classical music venues don't create any sense that anything exciting is going on inside. Obviously that's something I might write myself, which is to say that Amanda and I are kindred … [Read more...]

With sadness, I want to mourn the death of Thomas M. Disch, who wrote the libretti for two of my operas, The Fall of the House of Usher and Frankenstein. The link takes you to his New York Times obituary. If you read it, you'll see that the last few years weren't happy for him. He had many misfortunes, and was upset about many things. I hope he now finds rest, and I extend all sympathy to his family, and anyone close to him. I hope, too, that his writing grows more and more admired as the years past, not only the novels he was famous for, but … [Read more...]

At intermission during Die Soldaten an old friend of mine, a sculptor I've known on and off for (can it really be?) 40 years broke into a conversation I was having to ask an urgent question. She's not a classical music person, and had read in the program book that the score is 12-tone music. And what she asked was: Is this 12-tone thing the reason why the piece is so horribly bad? Well, no, it's not, but I was grateful for my old friend's honesty (and her curiosity and sense of fairness), because the opera -- for all its great prestige, and … [Read more...]

There's no better way to understand why classical music doesn't speak to many people these days than by comparing pop and classical music reviews. I've chosen some from the New York Times, both because I read that paper every day and because the reviews on both sides of the fence are more than reputable. So the comparison, broadly speaking, is fair. So here's a bit of Ben Ratliff's review last Thursday of Gilberto Gil: His set was a deep fusion of pop and folk culture... The name of his band, Banda Larga Cordel, means broadband, and Mr. … [Read more...]

In the arts -- and certainly in classical music -- we spend a lot of time talking to each other, and I've just about typed myself blue in the face trying to say that we need to talk to people from the outside world. Especially if we want to reach a new young audience! One of the people I've long thought ought to be invited to talk to the classical world is J.D. Considine, a veteran pop and jazz writer whom I've known for some years, and currently writes about jazz for the Toronto Globe and Mail. He likes classical music (we used to talk about … [Read more...]

The comments so far on my post about the National Performing Arts Convention -- have been mostly very heartening. As is one private e-mai, which I hope to be able to share. The comments are well worth reading. One point that emerges from the comments is how silly it is -- to put this in plain English -- to assemble a group of well-meaning amateurs and ask them to solve a serious problem that needs the attention of professionals. Of course I mean amateurs in politics, promotion, and the planning of strategic campaigns. The democratic impulse … [Read more...]

I wasn't at the National Performing Arts Convention in Denver last week, but I've faithfully read the strategies for the future that the conference produced. (If you follow the link, keep scrolling down to read all the strategies that were proposed.) And the whole thing, I have to say, makes me a little sad. Everyone -- and this includes friends of mine, people I respect and have known for years -- got so excited. Which is natural. You meet in a supportive environment, you've all got the same goals (boost the performing arts!), procedures … [Read more...]

Because I've complained before that classical music organizations don't say or do do much about the environment (if they do anything at all), it's only fair to note something new from the New York Philharmonic. They're switching to e-mail-only press releases (except for "major items such as season announcements," to quote their e-mail). And at the bottom of every e-mail from anyone at the organization is this, in green type: "Please consider the environment before printing this email." And their annual parks concerts t-shirt is, they say, 100% … [Read more...]

A while ago, I talked about a lieder recital, at which I thought gentility stifled all meaning. My key example was a group of songs based on Baudelaire poems -- the uneasy meaning of Baudelaire didn't come through at all. For an antidote, try Gerard Souzay's performance of Duparc's song "L'invitation au voyage," which sets one of Baudelaire's most famous poems. (Dalton Baldwin is the pianist.) It's one of the art songs I love best -- no, one of the classical pieces of any kind I love most. And this performance defines it for me. Souzay goes … [Read more...]

From my wife Anne Midgette's terrific review on Musical America (you have to subscribe to the site -- well worthwhile -- to read the full text). I agree with all of this, but couldn't have put it this well: Show Boat," the 1927 musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, represents a turning point in the history of the American musical. And you'd better remember it; Carnegie Hall certainly did. The gala semi-staged performance it presented for its own benefit on Tuesday night wore its significance like the Pope his heavy golden robes: … [Read more...]

Last night I saw Showboat -- the grand old musical -- in what was supposed to be a gala concert performance at Carnegie Hall. I don't know how it can be very gala if hardly anyone in the cast can inhabit their roles. (Nathan Gunn was the big exception. He really knows how this music goes, and both sings and acts well enough to bring it off. He belongs on Broadway.) But let that be. What fascinated me -- and, I'll admit, made me a little sad -- was the orchestra. The musicians, in theory, were star quality, the A-list people from the … [Read more...]

I've gotten an audio recording of the commencement speech I gave at Eastman, back on May 17, and with the school's permission, I've put it online. Just click on the link to hear it. It's 24 minutes long, and if you don't want to sit streaming it for that long, you can download it. I'm sure many Windows users know the procedure -- right click and choose "Save Link As..." (or the equivalent). Sorry that I don't know the Mac procedure. Feedback welcome. I'm in the midst of writing an outline of what I said. I make notes, and then speak from … [Read more...]

Yesterday some friends came to visit, with their five year-old son. Their son likes a bird book we have, with big pictures of birds, each with a number. Punch out the number on a keypad on the side of the book, and you hear the bird's song.So the kid was playing with the book, and soon he started making up birds. He'd drape himself with a blue blanket we have, to give himself wings, and he'd announce what bird he was, and make up its song.Then he announced that he was going to do some "bird remixes," his exact words. He's wonderfully musical, … [Read more...]