Archives for February 2010

Of the distinguished refugee composers chased to the US by Hitler, two - Kurt Weill and Arnold Schoenberg - so memorably responded to Pearl Harbor that one is tempted to surmise that no American-born composer could have reacted with such exigent fervor to the Japanese attack. The two works in question are Weill's Walt Whitman Songs and Schoenberg's Ode to Napoleon. I have now … [Read more...] about Pearl Harbor music: Weill and Schoenberg

The featured pianists in Post-Classical Ensemble's two-day "Interpreting Liszt" festival, in collaboration with Georgetown University, were Mykola Suk and Kumaran Arul. Suk's performances are all about risk - interpretively, emotionally, his art is one of inspired brinkmanship. He embodies a spirit of improvisation. Arul actually improvises. In my experience, Suk's readings of … [Read more...] about Liszt and Improvisation

With the waning of modernism, and of the high value once placed on conspicuous complexity and originality, the topography of twentieth century music is rapidly changing. One of the chief American beneficiaries is certain to be Bernard Herrmann. Everyone appreciates Herrmann for his singular achievements as a film composer. Without him, there would be no Psycho, North by … [Read more...] about Bernard Herrmann and Musical Topography

Worries that classical music isn't "visual" enough have produced concerts embellished with film, photographs, and video. Obviously, this form of enhancement risks shrinking the musical experience rather than expanding it. A symphony linked to a visualized story or motif is likely to mean less, not more. To date, I have produced two "visual presentations" with the video artist … [Read more...] about Visuals in the Concert Hall

In a recent New York Times dance column (Jan. 15), Alastair Macaulay takes Christopher Wheeldon to task for the obtuse choreography he has inflicted on the Met's new Carmen. As Macauley truly observes, Wheeldon's decision to cast the act three entr'acte -- a fragrant flute and harp piece, one of Bizet's most beloved miniatures -- as an erotic pas de deux defies … [Read more...] about Choreographing Carmen: Wheeldon vs. Mamoulian