Esther van Zyl as Alma Mahler in my play “The Marriage,” as performed at Colorado Mahlerfest two weeks ago. By 1849, when he fled Germany, Richard Wagner knew he had to end his marriage. His consequent letters to and about Minna are heart-breaking. “I soon saw that only silence and the repression of my true nature could enable us to live together without daily scenes of the … [Read more...] about Who Was Alma Mahler?
“The World’s Greatest Orchestra” — Take Two: Today’s Metropolitan Opera
I find myself still gorging on live recorded performances by the greatest orchestra I ever encountered – Yevgeny Mravinsky’s Leningrad Philharmonic. Last night, it was Bartok’s Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta – a 1965 reading more intensely engaged than what you’ll hear today from any American orchestra known to me. My previous blog has attracted many thousands of … [Read more...] about “The World’s Greatest Orchestra” — Take Two: Today’s Metropolitan Opera
The World’s Greatest Orchestra — Its Significance Then and Now
The decline in orchestral performance continues apace. A specimen: The main theme of the sublime pas de deux from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is a descending G major scale introduced by the cellos, then repeated in response by the first violins. I recently heard a performance by an American orchestra whose principal cellist is venerable. His section took ownership of … [Read more...] about The World’s Greatest Orchestra — Its Significance Then and Now
The Boston Symphony’s Castigated Blueprint Makes Sense
Today’s online “Arts Fuse” carries a piece of mine commenting yet again on the Boston Symphony firestorm, which pits enraged musicians against the management and board – and turns Andris Nelsons, the outgoing music director, in a martyr. Excerpts follow. The read the whole thing, click here. A 14-page “State of the Boston Symphony Orchestra” manifesto, dated April 17, 2026 … [Read more...] about The Boston Symphony’s Castigated Blueprint Makes Sense
“Are We Rotting Our Brains? Is This the End of Classical Music?”
I know the conductor Thomas Fortner, now based in Berlin, from his years as assistant conductor of the remarkable South Dakota Symphony. Thomas recently posted a 70-minute podcast posing earnest questions about the state of classical music. Excerpts follow. JH (1:55): People are not attentive to the arts. People don’t talk about the arts. And I think my understanding … [Read more...] about “Are We Rotting Our Brains? Is This the End of Classical Music?”