I'm going on vacation, and won't blog again till after Labor Day. Or, more evocatively, I'm going to treat myself to some time in my private art colony, aka my country home in Warwick, NY. Where I'll relaunch my book (the link takes you to old versions of it), and compose. (A cello piece.)Some thoughts, though, before I go. From time to time I send out a newsletter. Can't believe I haven't mentioned it in the blog, but if you click, you can read the latest issue. And if you click again, you can subscribe. In the fall, the newsletter will show … [Read more...]

I'm delighted -- amazed, thrilled, just over the moon -- about next season's programs at the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the first season under the orchestra's new conductor, Alan Pierson. Talk about the future of classical music! Pierson, an indie classical musician known for conducting Alarm Will Sound, a pretty astounding new music ensemble, is shaping the orchestra's season almost entirely around Brooklyn composers and Brooklyn communities:In this debut "reboot" season, the Brooklyn Phil features the work of generations of great Brooklyn … [Read more...]

I'm a little bemused at the debates that still seem to rage about whether classical music -- as an activity in our culture -- has declined. Seems to me that the only way you can think it hasn't is by bypassing some fairly clear data. So here's more, from a piece in the Washington Post on Wolf Trap, by my wife, Anne Midgette. Wolf Trap, of course, is the national park outside Washington which has been presenting arts events for 40 years. And I should stress that Anne wasn't looking for evidence, pro or con, for classical music's decline. … [Read more...]