When I filed my eulogy for Alexander Toradze, one of the emails I received was from David Hyslop. The former CEO of the Minnesota Orchestra, he knew Lexo at home in Minneapolis and on tour. Hyslop remembered Toradze as a great talent – and an even “greater person.” I was reminded, after a fashion, of a malicious review filed by a colleague during my New York … [Read more...] about Remembering Lexo
Alexander Toradze 1952-2022
The pianist Alexander Toradze, who died yesterday of heart failure at the age of 69, was much more than a friend. Lexo enjoyed telling the story of our first encounter – a story of American naivete. This took place in a small room at Carnegie Hall. He was touring as a Soviet artist; the year must have been 1979. The meeting was arranged by Mary Lou Falcone, the publicist of … [Read more...] about Alexander Toradze 1952-2022
Silvestre Revueltas, Arthur Farwell, and the “New Paradigm”
Every once in a while a review comes along that eloquently affirms the convictions inspiring a book or recording – even though the convictions in question may not be widely known or held. I’m thinking -- gratefully -- of two Naxos CDs I’ve recently produced, as received by Nestor Castiglione in Music Web International and by Curt Cacioppo in the same publication … [Read more...] about Silvestre Revueltas, Arthur Farwell, and the “New Paradigm”
The Brevard Project — A Call to Action
I frame my book Dvorak’s Prophecy and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music as a call to action. It ends: “If American classical music -- our performers and institutions of performance, our conservatories, our agencies of philanthropy -- can awaken to the moment at hand, classical music in America may yet acquire a vital future, at last buoyed and directed by a … [Read more...] about The Brevard Project — A Call to Action
Marian Anderson, Soundbites, and “Dvorak’s Prophecy”
The Conclusion to my book-in-progress When the Arts Mattered: An Exhortation begins: “No viewer could possibly glean the hypnotic impact of Marian Anderson from watching the 2022 public television documentary ‘The Whole World in Her Hands.’ Over the course of one hour and 53 minutes, she is rarely permitted to perform or speak for as long as a minute without some … [Read more...] about Marian Anderson, Soundbites, and “Dvorak’s Prophecy”