Greg Sandow on the future of classical music
Some people have said they wished they could take my music criticism course. Conceivably, I could teach a version of it online. How that would work would have to be figured out. Maybe there could be a two-week immersion in what I teach. But I'm open to any ideas. I could do individual tutorials, too. And I'm available to visit schools, or other places, to speak about criticism. How can I help? Let me know! … [Read more...]
The fall moves onward. I've relaunched my blog, my website (need to do a little work on it!), and my book. And today my Juilliard course started. This is a graduate course about music criticism that I've been teaching for many years. You can read the same course overview the students get, and the same class schedule. On which you'll find all the assignments, with links, so you can sample the reading and listening the students will do. I have to say that the response I got to this on Facebook really warmed my heart. Students who took … [Read more...]
In the chunk of my book I posted here, you'll see I talk a bit about Christopher Small, a man we can't honor too much. I was saddened to learn that he died last week, aged 84. I wish I could find another photo of him I once had, sent to me years ago by a friend. On the left is that photo, showing Small and his partner, Neville Braithwaite. Radiating joy. (My friend read the post, and resent the picture. Thanks, Susan!) Small was a profound and humane writer and teacher, whose three books are essential reading for people who care … [Read more...]
[changes made since I first posted this] Late Friday night, maybe a little bit under the radar, I relaunched my book, Rebirth: The Future of Classical Music. I put a substantial chunk of it right here, at the end of this post. Shortly I'll make it available as a PDF download. Future plans? I'll keep posting chunks, until I have enough to sell as an ebook. I'm thinking there will be more than one ebook, and then maybe a larger, full-length book compiled from all of them. Not that I'd turn down a print publisher. But that's the future. … [Read more...]
No, that's not the disorder of my mind (which, as human minds go, is less tattered than usual these days). This is the railroad I take from my home in Warwick, NY to New York City, and to my other home in Washington, DC. After, that is, the tracks were destroyed by Hurricane Irene. Maybe the hurricane is old news by now. But what happened to the railroad -- New Jersey Transit's Port Jervis line -- is staggering. News reports said there were 1000-foot stretches that look like the photo, or worse. The trains won't run again for months. And … [Read more...]
Steve Ledbetter posted a comment I thought I'd share here in the blog. He's responding to my thoughts (in yesterday's "Relaunch" post) about classical music commerce, which will be my theme on the blog in October: You're on the right track considering commerce -- anyone who wants to make a living in music, whether as a sole practitioner or as a member of an ensemble needs to realize that being able to continue the work long enough to be worthwhile also means finding that market, which seems to have become so elusive. Seth Godin is a terrific … [Read more...]
My relaunch continues. I've got a new…well, a new home page. It's the beginning of a new website. I'll construct the site incrementally. Or (as I wrote on the page) by surprise. It'll take me awhile (of course). But I'll build it, I hope, in the rhythm of other parts of my relaunch. Want to help? I think of this as an interim site. Would anyone want to redesign it? Send me ideas! One thought I had -- if anyone cares to design a new home page for me, I can put it online, just for the fun of it. I could even use several, each for a while, … [Read more...]
Labor Day's over. The new season starts. And, after vacation, this is when I've always restarted my blog. But this year there's more. Not just a restart. This year it's a relaunch, not just of the blog, but of everything I do online. And much that I'll do in the physical world. To start with, the blog has a new look, thanks to new software, courtesy (and what happy timing) of my ArtsJournal hosts. A big improvement, I think, and not just in looks. The blog should now be more flexible, which I'll hope brings me closer to all of you. And … [Read more...]
This was the first in what turned out to be a long series of posts, in which I and many readers highlighted people, groups, and institutions making new departures in classical music, doing things in new ways. This wasn't even close to a complete … [Read More...]
“To be a musician in the service of music is not a job; it is a way of life.” –Isaac Stern, violinist (The Musician’s Way, p. 299) The music education community is swirling with talk about how best to prepare university-level students … [Read More...]
Here, as promised, are the key things we need to do, if we're going to give classical music a future. When I wrote this, I was thinking of people who present classical performances. But I think it applies to all of us — for instance, to people who … [Read More...]
[From Greg: A followup to Erica's guest post yesterday, about the performance of Winterreise she did in a small town. Here she tells us what she said before the performance, to introduce the piece to an audience that doesn't know classical music. … [Read More...]
Conventional wisdom: the classical music audience has always been the age it is now. Here's evidence that it used to be much younger. How young the audience was in 1937: Results of an audience study, showing a median age around 30 (from … [Read More...]
While we're still talking about CD covers, I thought I'd add a few likes of my own. Starting with this one, which I've loved ever since the recording came out on LP in 1962: Of course it's Siegfried, from the Georg Solti Ring. And there … [Read More...]
[Lara Downes was the first of our guest bloggers here, and she began with a post about classical CD covers she likes. And about how she came up with the cover for her own latest album. Her list -- along with mine, and others that I hope will come … [Read More...]
I've spent some time compiling a list of videos I think especially stand out from the very bland standard classical music videos (no easy task to find these!). Most bigger budget classical music videos are basically just documentations of … [Read More...]
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Greg Sandow on The Monday post
Louis, you're entitled to your opinion, but not to your own facts. Museums of contemporary art routinely exhibit realist work,...Greg Sandow on …for…
No need for an audience to be homogenous. I worked with the Pittsburgh Symphony on a concert series that was...Jeffrey Sultanof on The Monday post
Greg, Not only didn't the audiences like new music, but the critics.....It is fascinating to read their reactions to now-classic works...Louis Torres on The Monday post
The term "new" requires clarification. With regard to music, it had an entirely different meaning in 1860 than it does...bgn on …for…
" But if S4M did draw a NY-based event audience, would there be two not wholly compatible groups at the...