Greg Sandow on the future of classical music

I predicted my last post would stir up a storm, and it did. I linked to my latest book riff, in which I rough my way through half the chapter in my book in which I'm going to refute the myth of classical music superiority. And now I hope those who think I'm beating a dead horse will, first, read the comments on the post, and see that the horse -- the belief in classical music's superiority, especially over pop -- is alive and foaming at the mouth. Such anger, from people who want to put pop down! Such disdain!  And, I must say, such … [Read more...]

Aka a new book riff, or half of one -- the first half of the chapter in the book that fights the idea that classical music is better than other kinds of music. And especially that it's better than pop. (I can imagine the outrage! Maybe we'll have another visit from AC Douglas, showing us why he needs to do some work on anger management.)Not that everyone isn't free to think, on a personal basis, that classical music is the best music, which in the end means the best music for them. But to argue that it's the best music that exists, as if such a … [Read more...]

What follows came today as a comment on my post about pieces a whole community can play, from my friend John Steinmetz. It's well worth sharing with everyone. And it's another solutions post. I especially like John's descriptions of the pieces he's written, where professionals collaborate with the rest of the world. I'd love to hear them -- and watch them on YouTube. John ends, by the way, by saying he'd like to see more examples of these collaborations. So would I! Send them in, via email or blog comments, and I'll post them here. Since James … [Read more...]

On the League of American Orchestras' Orchestra R/Evolution blog, I posted something that won't exactly take my regular readers by surprise. I suggested that the most important thing orchestras can do is to see themselves as those who don't go to orchestra concerts see them. Or, more broadly, to start functioning in the larger culture that classical music fled from over the past two generations. I got a wonderful response in a comment from Rick Robinson, a bass player with the Detroit Symphony. I'm posting it here with his permission. Eloquent, … [Read more...]

This came in a comment to one of my solutions post, from Katy Clark, the Executive Director of the Orchestra of St. Luke's, in New York. Thanks, Katy! I feel free to post it here, because as a blog comment, it's already public:I'd love to have more reports, from more people.Here's what Katy wrote. It's another solutions post:Orchestra of St. Luke's just did a project that might be of interest here. As an Orchestra that has always been itinerant, this year we decided to do a musical "Subway Series". Five free concerts over five days in the five … [Read more...]

Worked, that is, to reach an orchestra's community. Or simply to make an orchestra more attractive to people who might go to its concerts. A solutions post. And also a crosspost from the League of American Orchestras Orchestra R/Evolution blog.Play music by Pulitzer Prize-winning composers. Delta David Gier did this in his first season as music director of the South Dakota Symphony. He wanted to play new music, a lot of it, but understood that his audience might not be as excited about that as he was. So he got the idea of featuring, on … [Read more...]

Another post I made to the Orchestra R/Evolution blog, again suggesting a way for orchestras to get more involved with their communities. Here it's another "solutions" post. Does anyone know Britten's marvelous opera, Noye's Fludde? It's the story of Noah and the ark, with a text from a medieval mystery play. And it's written for the musicians of an entire town to perform. Noah and Mrs. Noah need to be trained singers, Noah ideally an accomplished professional. The voice of God is a speaking part, and thus can be done by a community personality … [Read more...]

As I mentioned earlier, I've been taking part in the glitzily named Orchestral R/Evolution blog, run by the League of American Orchestras as a lead-in to their annual conference. I got tired of all the generalities being posted there, and decided to confine myself largely to specific suggestions. And I thought I'd share some of them here. Fits right in with my "solutions" series. Here's one of my posts, reacting to some thoughts from others about how orchestras should become more involved with their communities. How could they do that? … [Read more...]

Here's another view of the Alan Gilbert/Death videos that I raved about so strongly in an earlier post. To clarify the context -- and to put myself squarely in the bullseye of the criticism raised here -- I'll recall that liked these videos (which advertised the New York Philharmonic's performances of Ligeti's Le grand macabre) so much that I said this about them: If everyone in classical music put out material like this, the field might be reborn tomorrow.And now comes this comment to my post, from Phyllida Law, which says the following. … [Read more...]

Here's a viral YouTube story, from Kara LaMoure, a bassoonist who took my course on the future of classical music at Eastman last year. Kara's a member of The Breaking Winds, a bassoon quartet. They dressed in Lady Gaga wigs, played a Lady Gaga medley, put a video of it on YouTube -- and as of today had just over 135,000 views. Which is around 7000 more than they had a couple of days ago. So they've gone viral, as Kara happily emailed to tell me. And how did that happen?Easy assumption: that Lady Gaga made them a hit. Or, rather, that her name … [Read more...]

Or, rather, the problems of defining classical music, the subject of my last book riff, and many comments. Including some very passionate ones from a man I greatly respect (hi, Michael), who longs with all his heart for a definition of classical music that's based on our current classical music culture. Other commenters have correctly noted ambiguities in the definition I proposed (I specified that classical music is the music of the European tradition, and that it's written out in advance by a composer). Broadway musicals, for instance. … [Read more...]

Some places you can find me:In Symphony magazine, the publication of the League of American Orchestras. I've got a piece on the revolution that orchestras need. I think it's one of the best things I've done. Very hard-hitting, but optimistic. The spirit of rebirth (I'd like to think) in action. And then on a blog called Orchestra R/Evolution the League set up, as a lead-in to its annual conference. I'm one of the regular bloggers there, and the theme of my first post was Robert Burns -- how we in classical music have to learn to see ourselves … [Read more...]

Another "solutions" post, this week's entry in a series of posts that offer new ideas and, even better, new innovations -- successful ones -- in classical music.This one comes Leo Pot, who emailed me from the Netherlands. He's the director of Theaters Tilburg, a complex consisting of two theaters and a concert hall, in a town in the southern part of the Netherlands, with a population of 200,000. I'm quoting Leo's email with his permission, though at his request I rewrote some of it, because English isn't his first language. Thanks, Leo! What he … [Read more...]

Here's a link to the latest from my book, Rebirth: The Future of Classical Music. It's a riff on chapter four, in which I try to define classical music. (Check my outline of the book, to see where this fits.)And why would I want to define classical music? Because existing definitions come with fascinating baggage. They define classical music almost exclusively in terms of the masterworks of the past, and also include value judgments, about classical music's value, and even its superiority.I think these notions get in the way. And here's a … [Read more...]

Let's make this a little more formal. I said I'd give $50 to the favorite charity of the first publicist to show me that he or she has "stopped sending press releases, and instead sends the email I've described, linked to a lively webpage." And of course that's the email -- replacing a press release -- that I described in my post on why nobody should send out press releases.But now I think I should specify more detailed rules, so people will know what I'm looking for, and so my judgment won't seem arbitrary. To qualify for my gift -- which I'm … [Read more...]