Lost in space

For the last week or so, I haven't been able to blog. A work crunch hit -- this is the time of year when I write marketing blurbs for major orchestras, trying to describe next season's concerts in ways that both respect their artistic intentions and will attract an audience. You'd think this wouldn't be a new idea, or that there shouldn't be any contradiction between the two goals. But in fact orchestras are only starting to learn how to talk to their audience, and (sad but true) the way the artistic staffs of orchestras talk to musicians and to each other might not mean much to the good people who buy tickets.

So I've been lost in that for a week -- and haven't even lifted my head from the sand long enough to wish the warmest, happiest holidays to all of my readers! My apologies for that. I'll be gone for a week, starting Christmas Eve, happily traveling with my wife to visit her parents. I've posted a couple of music-related thoughts below, but otherwise I'll resume the blog early in January, with a different approach, at least for a while. I'd like to focus on some of the main problems classical music seems to have, taking them one at a time, starting with the most basic one -- what kind of trouble do we think classical music is in? (Thanks to Andrew Taylor for suggesting I tackle that one, quite a while ago.)

Until then, best wishes to everyone. May your days, nights, and new year be wonderfully bright.