“Dvorak’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music” is the topic of an April 12 concert/lecture at Princeton University. I’ll be joined by cultural critic John McWhorter of the New York Times, Princeton historian Allen Guelzo, and baritone Sidney Outlaw – with whom I’ll perform spirituals and songs by Harry Burleigh. It’s free of charge and you don't have to … [Read more...] about “Dvorak’s Prophecy” at Princeton April 12 with John McWhorter, Allen Guelzo, and Sidney Outlaw
“Mahler in New York” (April 4) — Tickets Now on Sale
One of Gustav Mahler’s most powerful New York experiences was a funeral procession he watched from a hotel window. A fireman had drowned in a burning building. It is often surmised that the stark military drum commencing the finale of Mahler’s unfinished Tenth Symphony was a result. Tickets are now on sale for “Mahler in New York” – an April 4 program combining music, … [Read more...] about “Mahler in New York” (April 4) — Tickets Now on Sale
Re-Thinking the Concert Experience in South Dakota and Minnesota
There was a time – the 1990s, when I was running the Brooklyn Philharmonic at BAM – when the practice of speaking from the stage at symphonic concerts was controversial, both among audiences and orchestra leaders. And people debated whether or not thematic programing was a good thing. Those days are finally over. But the next step – fundamentally re-thinking the … [Read more...] about Re-Thinking the Concert Experience in South Dakota and Minnesota
Bruckner and the Cellphone PS
Norman Lebrecht has picked up my blog on Bruckner and the Cellphone and posted it on Slippedisc. You will find a torrent of responses. But the most interesting response I have received was from Norman himself, who wrote to say that cellphones do not intrude at symphonic concerts in Europe. Something to think about. … [Read more...] about Bruckner and the Cellphone PS
Bruckner and the Cellphone
Last Sunday’s performance of Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony by Christian Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall was very possibly the peak concert experience of the New York season. And yet when it ended I discovered myself screaming. Here is what happened: Bruckner’s Eighth lasts eighty minutes and is exhaled in a single breath. It invites – it demands … [Read more...] about Bruckner and the Cellphone