February 12 marks the 100th birthday of Rhapsody in Blue. Via NPR, the daily newsmagazine “1A” is re-airing my “Gershwin Moment” documentary from last February; it highlights my favorite Rhapsody in Blue recording, by Alexander Tsfasman and Gennadi Rozhdestvensky (Moscow, 1960). And I’m taking part in additional Gershwin radio features on NPR … [Read more...] about Happy Birthday to the “Worst Masterpiece”
The Boston Symphony In Trouble
[Above: Boston's Symphony Hall, built by Henry Higginson and opened in 1900.] Last week I heard the Boston Symphony perform Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth at Carnegie Hall. The conductor was their music director since 2014: Andris Nelsons. I had planned to write a blog but instead emailed my impressions to a dozen friends in the music business. The emails that came … [Read more...] about The Boston Symphony In Trouble
Rachmaninoff in Exile: “Implacable Poise and Sovereign Humanity”
Reviewing Fiona Maddocks’ beautiful new book on Sergei Rachmaninoff in exile for The American Scholar, I write: “With the waning of modernism, Rachmaninoff’s stock began to rise; for the first time, he became an object of serious scholarly inquiry. Today, he ranks with Igor Stravinsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Serge Prokofiev as one of four great Russian composers … [Read more...] about Rachmaninoff in Exile: “Implacable Poise and Sovereign Humanity”
“Tannhäuser” — Take Four
Conrad L. Osborne has now chimed in with a typically riveting review of the Met Tannhäuser, bristling with insights into the opera and its performance last December 12. Read it. As a brief postscript to my three previous Tannhäuser blogs, and Conrad’s blog, would like to draw particular attention to his observations about the current condition of the Met … [Read more...] about “Tannhäuser” — Take Four
“Tannhäuser” — Take Three
The Ride of the Valkyries, from Francois Rochaix's Seattle "Ring" The emails continue to roll in, responding to my two Tannhäuser blogs. Here’s one from a former member of the Met orchestra: “Your two articles pretty much describe what I observed at the Met during my 40-plus years with the Met Orchestra. The best performances I had a chance to … [Read more...] about “Tannhäuser” — Take Three