What happened to Stravinsky in the West? What to make of his “neo-classicism”? These are questions I’ve many times pondered in this space. The superb Soviet-trained musicians who belatedly discovered Stravinsky’s post-Russian odyssey have certainly heard his music with different ears. The most extreme case I know is that of my great friend Alexander Toradze, for whom … [Read more...] about The Russian Stravinsky
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The Arts and Social Justice — Bedfellows?
Today’s online edition of The American Purpose – an indispensable centrist voice pondering the contemporary condition of government, politics, and the arts – includes a piece of mine inviting dialogue on a topic people don’t dare talk about – the insistence that arts institutions necessarily serve as instruments for social justice. You can read the whole article here. What … [Read more...] about The Arts and Social Justice — Bedfellows?
Dvorak’s Prophecy — A “Systematic Curatorial Effort”
The author most recently interviewed by Richard Aldous, in his always lively “Book Stack” series for The American Purpose, happens to be me, talking about Dvorak’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music. You can hear our 30-minute chat here. At one point, 22 minutes in, Richard in a surge of effusion pronounces: “Your time has come.” He … [Read more...] about Dvorak’s Prophecy — A “Systematic Curatorial Effort”
John McWhorter on “Dvorak’s Prophecy”
In his New York Times column two days ago, John McWhorter wrote of Dvorak’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music: “Horowitz has taught me a new way of processing the timeline of American classical music. . . . His lesson should resound.” Attending Porgy and Bess at the Met, McWhorter continued, “I experienced the opera for the first time … [Read more...] about John McWhorter on “Dvorak’s Prophecy”
DVORAK’S PROPHECY on NPR — Are the Arts Still a “Fit Topic” for Historians?
At the conclusion of the National Public Radio feature I’ve produced about “The Fate of Black Classical Music,” Jenn White – who so graciously hosts the daily newsmagazine “1A” – asks me: “In the Foreword to your new book Dvorak’s Prophecy, George Shirley – the first Black tenor to sing leading roles at the Met -- writes: ‘Because of our current conversation about race, … [Read more...] about DVORAK’S PROPHECY on NPR — Are the Arts Still a “Fit Topic” for Historians?