Boston’s “Arts Fuse” today carries my thoughts on “Furtwängler in Wartime” occasioned by Ian Buruma’s new book “Stay Alive.” Excerpts follow. You can read the whole thing here. One learns from Ian Buruma’s Stay Alive: Berlin 1939-45 – an absorbing study of what it was like to live in the German capital during World War II – that on December 12, 1944, a concert was conducted … [Read more...] about Furtwängler in Wartime – Reflections on Ian Buruma’s “Stay Alive”
What Next for the Boston Symphony? — Lessons from the Past
The current Boston “Arts Fuse” carries my thoughts about the pertinence today of Henry Higginson, who invented, owned, and operated the Boston Symphony until 1919. You can access the full article here. Excerpts follow: About a dozen years ago I was invited, impromptu, to address a gifted youth orchestra at Boston’s Symphony Hall. I mounted the podium and asked how many … [Read more...] about What Next for the Boston Symphony? — Lessons from the Past
Chopin Waltzes as a Cycle — A Triumph for Seong-Jin Cho
That Chopin’s 24 Preludes are commonly performed as a set makes sense. They are individually short and concise, they vary greatly in mood and texture, they suggest a trajectory beginning with a clearing of the throat and ending with a firestorm. That Chopin’s waltzes are not commonly performed as a set makes equal sense. Individually, they are more repetitious than the … [Read more...] about Chopin Waltzes as a Cycle — A Triumph for Seong-Jin Cho
“In Constant Motion for its Own Sake” — the Met’s New “Tristan”
Conrad L. Osborne’s detailed assessment of the new Met “Tristan und Isolde,” a definitive critique of Yuvan Sharon’s obtrusive production, is compulsive reading for all remaining Wagnerites. Even more distressing than this version’s shortcomings is the acclaim it has received and the influence it may exert on opinion and practice. Osborne writes: “The [production’s] … [Read more...] about “In Constant Motion for its Own Sake” — the Met’s New “Tristan”
Why Did the Boston Symphony Decide Not To Hire Leonard Bernstein? Did that Decision Change the Course of American Music?
Today’s Boston's "The Arts Fuse” carries an investigative piece of mine exploring how the Boston Symphony trustees decided not to hire Leonard Bernstein as the orchestra’s Music Director in 1949 even though he was the chosen successor of Serge Koussevitzky. This story is not irrelevant to the current controversy over the termination of Andris Nelsons, or the Chicago Symphony’s … [Read more...] about Why Did the Boston Symphony Decide Not To Hire Leonard Bernstein? Did that Decision Change the Course of American Music?