I was chatting with Vladimir Feltsman last Spring about PostClassical Ensemble’s 2017-18 immersion experience, “The Russian Experiment,” when the conversation took an unexpected turn. I had broached the topic of “cultural community,” and invited Feltsman to compare musical life in the US with the policed Soviet musical milieu he fled in 1987. We agreed that Western … [Read more...] about “The Difference Between Quality Art and Crap”
The Arts in the Age of Trump (continued)
The Age of Trump has rapidly changed the American cultural landscape in many ways. In the silo of classical music, there is suddenly a felt need to ask: What’s it for? Why are we doing this? How can the arts affect social or political change? How can concerts help us understand who we are as a nation? What we’ve been or want to become? These questions are newer than … [Read more...] about The Arts in the Age of Trump (continued)
Copland and the Cold War
PostClassical Ensemble’s most recent WWFM “PostClassical” radio show is “Copland and the Cold War” – aired last Friday and now archived. Our two-hour program includes Aaron Copland’s prize-winning New Masses workers’ song “Into the Streets, May First” as well as a re-enactment of Copland’s 1953 grilling by Senator Joseph McCarthy starring myself and Bill McGlaughlin. And … [Read more...] about Copland and the Cold War
Milstein vs. Szigeti
My frustrations with a recent performance of Brahms’ Violin Concerto sent me to youtube in search of something different: an act of therapy. A foible to which violinists are prone (pianists are immune) is lingering upon or otherwise savoring a beautiful note. That’s OK in Bruch or Tchaikovsky but does no favors to Brahms or Beethoven. After half an hour of Menuhin, … [Read more...] about Milstein vs. Szigeti
Kurt Weill in 2017
“Wherever I found decency and humanity in the world, it reminded me of America.” That this observation – recorded by Kurt Weill in 1947 – rings hollow in 2017 does not diminish the fascination and pertinence of Weill’s extraordinary creative saga, perhaps the most elusive charted by any major composer. In Berlin, Weill’s caustic signature was The Threepenny Opera, created … [Read more...] about Kurt Weill in 2017