I find myself still gorging on live recorded performances by the greatest orchestra I ever encountered – Yevgeny Mravinsky’s Leningrad Philharmonic. Last night, it was Bartok’s Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta – a 1965 reading more intensely engaged than what you’ll hear today from any American orchestra known to me. My previous blog has attracted many thousands of … [Read more...] about “The World’s Greatest Orchestra” — Take Two: Today’s Metropolitan Opera
The World’s Greatest Orchestra — Its Significance Then and Now
The decline in orchestral performance continues apace. A specimen: The main theme of the sublime pas de deux from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is a descending G major scale introduced by the cellos, then repeated in response by the first violins. I recently heard a performance by an American orchestra whose principal cellist is venerable. His section took ownership of … [Read more...] about The World’s Greatest Orchestra — Its Significance Then and Now
The Boston Symphony’s Castigated Blueprint Makes Sense
Today’s online “Arts Fuse” carries a piece of mine commenting yet again on the Boston Symphony firestorm, which pits enraged musicians against the management and board – and turns Andris Nelsons, the outgoing music director, in a martyr. Excerpts follow. The read the whole thing, click here. A 14-page “State of the Boston Symphony Orchestra” manifesto, dated April 17, 2026 … [Read more...] about The Boston Symphony’s Castigated Blueprint Makes Sense
“Are We Rotting Our Brains? Is This the End of Classical Music?”
I know the conductor Thomas Fortner, now based in Berlin, from his years as assistant conductor of the remarkable South Dakota Symphony. Thomas recently posted a 70-minute podcast posing earnest questions about the state of classical music. Excerpts follow. JH (1:55): People are not attentive to the arts. People don’t talk about the arts. And I think my understanding … [Read more...] about “Are We Rotting Our Brains? Is This the End of Classical Music?”
“Pre-Eminent among the American Newspaper Critics of his Generation”
My review of “Defending Music: Michael Steinberg at the ‘Boston Globe’ -- 1964-1976” (Oxford University Press) is today published online by “The American Scholar.” The kicker, at the end, reads: “Michael Steinberg was never intended to make a career writing concert reviews. He was ever courageously drawn to what would do the most good.” You can read the whole thing here. … [Read more...] about “Pre-Eminent among the American Newspaper Critics of his Generation”