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How to talk and write about music

October 9, 2012 by
blue ear blog

That's what my Juilliard course this semester is about. And it's what the course should be called, though this year we adopted a title that's a hybrid of what the course used to be and what it is now: "Music Criticism: How to Talk About Music." Because for many years this was a course about music criticism. But then two things happened. First, fewer and fewer students seemed interested in criticism. I might guess that's because they — like so many people under 40 — don't read newspapers, and thus don't encounter music reviews. But as my … [Read more...]

10/9/12 1:50 PM | filed under: entrepreneurship, my projects, my talking/writing business, teaching branding |

Four keys — be yourself

October 1, 2012 by
be yourself blog

Don't believe anyone who tells you not to be your own artistic self. That follows from the third of my four keys to the future, "Be yourself." I explained this in terms of pandering: Your urgency, your joy, and your passion will draw people to you. But you can't be joyful if you don't love the music that you perform. So never pander. Never struggle to be relevant. Perform music that makes your heart sing. Trust your new audience. Trust it to be smart, to be curious, and to respond with joy when it sees how joyful you are. And that's true. … [Read more...]

10/1/12 12:55 PM | filed under: entrepreneurship, finding a new audience, Preparing for the future |

Actively finding an audience

September 28, 2012 by
megaphone blog

Here I'll expand just a little on the second of my four keys to the future (which I offered in an earlier post): "Work actively to find your [new] audience." What this means, specifically, is that it's not enough to do what was done in the 20th century, to advertise your concerts, or put up flyers and posters. Or even to jump into our new century, and send out email or put videos on YouTube. Or start a blog, make a website, or create a Facebook page. The new audience we want to find isn't a classical music audience. The people in it … [Read more...]

09/28/12 1:20 AM | filed under: entrepreneurship, finding a new audience, Preparing for the future |

Programming for a new audience — things that worked

July 24, 2012 by
mysterium blog

So why does Lincoln Center's White Light festival matter? I mentioned it in my last new audience post, and listed next season's programs: U.S. premiere of Rian, performed by Ireland’s Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre  Virtuoso Wang Li plays jaw harps and calabash flute N.Y. premiere of choreographer Akram Khan’s Vertical Road Cameron Carpenter plays Bach on the Alice Tully Hall organ Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, arranged for chamber orchestra, conducted by Matthias Pintscher, and  performed by pianist Emanuel Ax, members of … [Read more...]

07/24/12 10:05 AM | filed under: changes, contemporary/new classical music, entrepreneurship, finding a new audience, the position of classical music today |

Programming for a new audience — more examples

July 20, 2012 by
blindear blog

As I wrote in my last post (at greater length): I'm not saying that every moment in every classical performance has to be new and eclectic. I'd expect a wide-ranging mix. All-Schubert one night, Les Noces the next weekend, Shuffle.Play.Listen midweek, and then a student-crafted concert happening down the street. Then a Stockhausen retrospective, and then my friend Stewart Goodyear playing his Beethoven marathon, all the sonatas in a single day.  That said, here are more examples of what can be done. Of what has been done. I label … [Read more...]

07/20/12 10:05 AM | filed under: contemporary/new classical music, entrepreneurship, finding a new audience, Preparing for the future |

Programming for a new audience — Shuffle.Play.Listen

July 17, 2012 by
ShufflePlay blog

Shuffle.Play.Listen -- that's the title of a Matt Haimovitz/Christopher O'Riley double CD, which I should have blogged about ages ago, especially after I heard Chris and Matt play a version of it live. Among much else, it revolutionizes the cello/piano repertoire. (Here's a Spotify link  if you want to hear it.) When I heard it live (at George Mason University in Virginia), the pieces were announced as (or after) they were played, rather than being listed in order in the program. So I had no idea what the first piece was. Clearly 20th … [Read more...]

07/17/12 1:19 PM | filed under: contemporary/new classical music, entrepreneurship, finding a new audience, Preparing for the future |

Building a young audience (proof of culture change)

July 2, 2012 by
nea data chart

Well, proof is a strong word. But I'd think that the aging of the classical music audience -- over just about a 50-year period -- is a very strong sign that our culture has shifted. And shifted away from classical music. But first a step backward. I'm writing more posts in my current series than I expected to. So to get reoriented: My main thesis is that building a new, young audience for classical music ought to be our most urgent priority. Why? Because we're losing the audience we have, and there will never be another audience -- or at least … [Read more...]

07/2/12 11:07 AM | filed under: classical music data, entrepreneurship, finding a new audience, the position of classical music today |

Building a young audience (more on the culture change)

June 28, 2012 by
tat again

There's a quite a lot to read on the changes in our culture, the ones I've been saying that leave classical music behind. For instance: The section on nightlife from Richard Florida's well-known book, The Rise of the Creative Class.  Florida describes people whom he thinks are central to any city's economic growth, young, smart, curious, creative people, the people corporations would most like to hire. Florida's thesis about how crucial to economic growth they are has been disputed, but his description of them sounds exactly right to … [Read more...]

06/28/12 12:49 PM | filed under: about, contemporary/new classical music, entrepreneurship, finding a new audience, Preparing for the future, the position of classical music today |

Building a young audience (more on new music)

June 27, 2012 by
tat crop blog

I know that much that I'm saying is hard for some people to accept. And I sympathize.  Change can be difficult. Major change can be more difficult still. And fundamental change -- radical change -- can be wrenching. So when I say that the repertoire classical musicians play will have to change, I can see why many of us might be upset. I'm thinking now of people deeply engaged with classical music as it is now. We all -- I'm very much including me in this group -- got into classical music because we loved it. And what that meant, … [Read more...]

06/27/12 11:44 AM | filed under: contemporary/new classical music, entrepreneurship, finding a new audience, Preparing for the future |

Building a young audience (second part)

June 24, 2012 by
tats blog

Back in the '90s, I was music editor of Entertainment Weekly, which meant I was plunged into pop music. I had a girlfriend who worked at the magazine, someone with no classical music background, and also without any fancy taste in pop music (which I don't mean as any kind of criticism). She listened to what everyone else like her listened to. No art rock, no challenging indie bands.  One Sunday morning, we were at my apartment, and she asked if I'd put on some classical music. So I put on something Baroque, maybe Handel's Water Music. She … [Read more...]

06/24/12 10:58 PM | filed under: contemporary/new classical music, entrepreneurship, finding a new audience, Preparing for the future, the position of classical music today |
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