Reviewing my new novel “The Disciple: A Wagnerian Tale of the Gilded Age,” the British critic Clive Paget writes in “Musical America” that it’s “a richly detailed depiction of [New York] at the apogee of the Gilded Age and its embrace of all things Wagnerian.” His review reads in part: Horowitz sees Seidl’s sudden death at the age of 47 as a national and cultural calamity. … [Read more...] about “Blows Off the Dust of History”
Was Richard Wagner a “Monster”?
In Verdi, the elephants are in Aida. In Wagner, the elephant in the room is a pamphlet: “Judaism and Music.” It seems the Rosetta Stone of Wagner scholarship, the central text that lays bare what lurks hidden in his life and work. Beyond a doubt, it is an egregious text, unforgivable and dangerous. Less egregious is a necessary preliminary topic: Wagner’s actual relationships … [Read more...] about Was Richard Wagner a “Monster”?
Wagner’s “Tristan” at the Met — Then and Now
I am in Ann Arbor, participating in a Mahler project with Ken Kiesler and his fervent University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra – the group with which I memorably toured South Africa a year ago (and about which I blogged and broadcast). Addressing a class of young conductors this morning, I was reminded by one of them of a promotional video that I stumbled upon a few days … [Read more...] about Wagner’s “Tristan” at the Met — Then and Now
Shostakovich: His Time Has Come (Alas)
Leonard Bernstein celebrated Dmitri Shostakovich’s sixtieth birthday by proclaiming him “an authentic genius” – “and there aren’t too many of those around anymore.” That took courage in 1966, when Shostakovich – the leading Soviet musician -- remained a Cold War cartoon of the stooge and simpleton. As Bernstein appreciated earlier than others, Shostakovich’s ultimate genius was … [Read more...] about Shostakovich: His Time Has Come (Alas)
How AI Terminated 1,477 NEH Grants: A Naive Exercise in Casuistry
From 2010 until its sudden termination by DOGE last April, I directed Music Unwound, an NEH-funded national consortium of orchestras and universities. A letter from Michael McDonald, the acting NEH chairman, informed me that the demise of Music Unwound represented “an urgent priority for the administration.” It was ended “to safeguard the interests of the federal … [Read more...] about How AI Terminated 1,477 NEH Grants: A Naive Exercise in Casuistry