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Greg Sandow on the future of classical music

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Archives for 2011

More trouble with outreach

October 31, 2011 by Greg Sandow

Why can't we get a young audience?

On Twitter I got a passionate objection to my previous post, in which I said that outreach and education -- as a focus for all of us in classical music -- should be replaced by a direct and passionate search for a larger, younger audience. The objection, from a terrific musician in the alt-classical world, was that by going into schools, and otherwise reaching younger people, we can show that being passionate about something, anything really - can change your life. It's about setting an example of passion-driven learning and hard work - and … [Read more...]

The problem with outreach

October 28, 2011 by Greg Sandow

All the people we could reach!

I hope this post gets some reaction. It's an important challenge -- or at least I think so -- to something many people in classical music deeply believe. We take for granted, in the classical music world, that we need to do outreach. That we need to go into schools and communities, and bring classical music to those who don't normally hear it. We also take for granted that we need to do education, that we need to educate the rest of the world about our beloved art. I won't say these things are bad. And they're certainly fundable. You may … [Read more...]

As I come back to earth…

October 25, 2011 by Greg Sandow

Me at Juilliard

…my music criticism course at Juilliard continues. I had to miss a week, for reasons my last post explains. And I'll be gone from the NY area a second week, so I'm continuing the class by email. Something, by the way, that interests me a lot, because I've been talking about teaching a course partly online at a university. Aand because I'm planning to do a lot of distance teaching in the business I plan to start, in which I help people write and speak about music. There are three things we do in each class meeting, in my Juilliard course. We … [Read more...]

Our new baby

October 20, 2011 by Greg Sandow

Newborn Rafa

I'm happy -- thrilled -- to say that Anne and I are adopting a little baby boy, born Saturday in San Antonio. Rafael Aron Sandow, six pounds at birth, 20 inches long. He's utterly adorable. And loved. You'll understand that I haven't posted to the blog since this happened. But I'll wean myself back to work, bit by bit, after we take Rafa home. There's so much more to say, but I'll leave it at this: We couldn't be happier. … [Read more...]

More testimony

October 12, 2011 by Greg Sandow

From a reader

More testimony to the power of what we've been talking about here: Lara Downes, a pianist, posted a comment, sharing her experience raising money on Kickstarter to fund what seems like a terrific CD. Again, it's a story of communication and community, with warm benefits for everyone involved. Thanks, Lara! Here's what she wrote: The experience of running a Kickstarter campaign last winter to raise funds for my new recording “13 WAYS of Looking at the Goldberg” taught me so much about channeling the creativity that goes into developing a new … [Read more...]

Institutions can do it, too

October 11, 2011 by Greg Sandow

Reaching out to your network

In the past week, people from two orchestras -- one in person, one by email -- have told me about a problem they've had. Both orchestras had some good news, something they felt (and rightly) was truly notable. But they couldn't get press coverage. One orchestra is one of the largest in the US, the other is smaller. I'm not mentioning their names, or what the good news was, because what these orchestras think internally is their own, private business. Their dilemma, though, is something everyone can think about. My answer, to both, was … [Read more...]

Another look at how to do it

October 10, 2011 by Greg Sandow

From a reader

My last few posts -- about musicians marketing themselves by using their core values, and about musicians finding their own audience -- have developed into lively conversations, as people comment. If these subjects interest you, and you haven't looked at the comments, you might want to do it. You'll find ideas, experiences, suggestions, and -- because there's more than one way to do all this -- disagreement. I've learned from all of it. And maybe what I like most is that people are sharing their experience. Which gives us case studies, about … [Read more...]

Walking the walk

October 7, 2011 by Greg Sandow

From a reader

Here's a comment from pianist Jeffrey Biegel, a long-time reader, on my "Who's Your Audience?" post. I'm putting it out front on the blog, for all to see. And there's not a word i'd want to add. Thanks, Jeffrey! I am so happy to see this topic–I have waited more than 20 years for someone to address this. Since the late 1980s, I have been actively doing what you share. While maintaining an active list of standard repertoire, always exploring neglected works and finally, commissioning new works for piano and orchestra since 1998. With the … [Read more...]

Who’s your audience?

October 5, 2011 by Greg Sandow

Your happy audience

How it usually works in classical music: You (a soloist or member of an ensemble) don't have direct contact with the people who come to hear you. The groups that present you find your audience. How it should be: You find -- and build -- your audience yourself. Or play a big part in doing that. Then you'll have an audience that's really your audience -- fans who'll reliably come to your concerts, donate money, and buy your recordings. Msybe they'll even finance your recordings before you go into the studio. And once you have fans like … [Read more...]

Sell what you are

October 4, 2011 by Greg Sandow

Greg Sandow by a cairn in England

Here's a project I'd like to do, with classical soloists or ensembles. I'd like to help you brand yourselves, and then figure out a marketing strategy based on your branding. But here's the key to this -- your branding and marketing have to be based on who you are, in your deepest core. Let's bury forever the idea that marketing is about bullshit, about finding some lowest-common-denominator version of yourself that you can get people to buy. That'll just destroy you. This is the start of something I want to stress on my blog this month: … [Read more...]

Cabaletta indulgence

September 30, 2011 by Greg Sandow

A caricature of Donizetti

A surprise in Anna Bolena -- the same melodic climax shows up in both the slow part of one duet, and in the cabaletta. As far as I know, that's unique in the bel canto repertoire. To understand more what I mean (and, by the way, the duet is the one for Enrico and Giovanna in the first act), just think of the delectable way of shaping dramatic scenes that just about defines the music of bel canto opera. Every musical/dramatic unit -- an aria, an encounter between two people, a mob scene for the entire cast -- will fall into several sections. … [Read more...]

From another age

September 28, 2011 by Greg Sandow

An early performance of Anna Bolena

What follows is long. But I didn't try to cut it down. It's about bel canto opera, which I love with a wild passion. It might be my favorite kind of music. So I just let myself go.  This -- my indulgence, my blogger's sweet tooth -- is all you might have from me for a few days. I'll be traveling to see family.  Anna Bolena, opening the Met Opera season, was pretty much a dud. And though that's not what I want to focus on here, I can't help thinking of another prominent Met production, last year's Die Walküre, which was also a dud. More or … [Read more...]

How I can help you write and speak

September 27, 2011 by Greg Sandow

taking my course

I've mentioned that I'm thinking I should launch a business, in which I help people to write and talk about music. At the end of this post, I'll offer links to previous posts that touch on this, in various ways. But for now, in advance of any formal launch of the business, let me lay out the outline of what I can offer. First: who might benefit? People who want to be music critics, and would like to work on how to describe what they hear. Musicians, who want to talk more effectively at rehearsals, or talk more effectively to audiences, … [Read more...]

My book, improved

September 25, 2011 by Greg Sandow

Rebirth, my book

Here's a revision of the first chunk of the final version of my book, Rebirth: The Future of Classical Music. After the end, I've said why I revised it. With examples, which maybe will help those learning to write.  I think this post is important, because the book is important. We all -- me included -- need a map, a guide to what's happened to classical music, and to where it's going. Many people have said that they want that. For years I've tried to provide it. And now (knock on wood) I'm providing it.  What follows is just the beginning. … [Read more...]

Beautiful musicians

September 23, 2011 by Greg Sandow

Christopher Small and Neville Braithwaite

I love these photos -- there's another one on an earlier post -- of Christopher Small and his partner. As I said in that post, the two men radiate joy. And, as I wrote, Small was a joyful voice, looking toward the future of classical music. Here's a site with many tributes from him (including one from me, which you can also read in my earlier post). And here's another tribute: Erica and I have been reading "Musicking: The Meanings of Performing and Listening" by Christopher Small. Mr. Small challenges his readers to consider leaving … [Read more...]

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Greg Sandow

Though I've been known for many years as a critic, most of my work these days involves the future of classical music -- defining classical music's problems, and finding solutions for them. Read More…

About The Blog

This started as a blog about the future of classical music, my specialty for many years. And largely the blog is still about that. But of course it gets involved with other things I do — composing music, and teaching at Juilliard (two courses, here … [Read More...]

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How to write a press release

As a footnote to my posts on classical music publicists, and how they could do better, here's a post I did in 2005 -- wow, 11 years ago! --  about how to make press releases better. My examples may seem fanciful, but on the other hand, they're almost … [Read More...]

The future of classical music

Here's a quick outline of what I think the future of classical music will be. Watch the blog for frequent updates! I Classical music is in trouble, and there are well-known reasons why. We have an aging audience, falling ticket sales, and — in part … [Read More...]

Timeline of the crisis

Here — to end my posts on the dates of the classical music crisis  — is a detailed crisis timeline. The information in it comes from many sources, including published reports, blog comments by people who saw the crisis develop in their professional … [Read More...]

Before the crisis

Yes, the classical music crisis, which some don't believe in, and others think has been going on forever. This is the third post in a series. In the first, I asked, innocently enough, how long the classical music crisis (which is so widely talked … [Read More...]

Four keys to the future

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...]

Age of the audience

Conventional wisdom: the classical music audience has always been the age it is now. Here's evidence that it used to be much younger. … [Read More...]

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