A recent article on "Funding: The State of the Art" by my friend Andras Szanto makes for informative and depressing reading. "The search is on for a more compelling vocabulary" to rationalize and impel funding for the arts, Andras reports. The "latest linguistic developments" include applying "quality" not "as a mark of aesthetic sophistication," but "to denote a positive human … [Read more...] about The Uses of Culture
Archives for 2010
Ligeti, the New York Phil, and finding stage directors for opera
Alan Gilbert's first season as the New York Philharmonic's music director climaxed with a triumphant run of Gyorgy Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre - the New York premiere of a major late twentieth century opera (rare species), ingeniously semi-staged by Doug Fitch. The crux of this achievement, it seems to me, is a new ambience. Avery Fisher Hall, the Philharmonic's acoustically … [Read more...] about Ligeti, the New York Phil, and finding stage directors for opera
The NEA Music Critics Institute and a Cultural Sea Change
It's again my good fortune to be Artistic Director of the National Endowment for the Arts' Music Critics Institute, which -- as was recently announced -- will take place Oct. 9 to 19, hosted by Columbia University. I mention this partly in the hope that some readers of this blog may be interested in applying (email: nea.institute@gmail.com). We accept 25 applicants from all … [Read more...] about The NEA Music Critics Institute and a Cultural Sea Change
Jeremy Denk and the Non-Russian Stravinsky
Two days after the conclusion of Valery Gergiev's three-week New York Philharmonic "Russian Stravinsky" festival (cf. my Stravinsky blogs of March 23, May 3, May 9), I found myself listening to "Non-Russian Stravinsky": the Concerto for Piano and Winds as rendered by the singular American pianist Jeremy Denk and a terrific orchestra of young musicians - Ensemble ACJW - led by … [Read more...] about Jeremy Denk and the Non-Russian Stravinsky
Rehearing Stravinsky’s War Symphony
Readers of this blog will appreciate my keen interest in Valery Gergiev's performances of Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements on the final two days of the New York Philharmonic's three-week "Russian Stravinsky" festival (cf. my postings of March 29 and May 3). This work, so complexly monogrammed with the composer's layer upon layer of identity, is one of the most … [Read more...] about Rehearing Stravinsky’s War Symphony