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Unanswered Question

Joe Horowitz on music

Will Europeans Curate Our Receding Cultural Past?

July 6, 2025 by Joe Horowitz 2 Comments

My 2022 book Dvorak’s Prophecy has just been published in German (by Wolke Verlag) with a new Foreword for German-language readers: “The European/American Transaction.” I take note that the recent Charles Ives Sesquicentenary “was mainly celebrated in Europe”; that it is in Europe “that every city boasts a jazz scene engaging Americans who cannot find American gigs beyond a few … [Read more...] about Will Europeans Curate Our Receding Cultural Past?

Combating American Isolationism with Cultural Diplomacy

July 3, 2025 by Joe Horowitz Leave a Comment

My unforgettable experience touring South Africa with the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra and their conductor Kenneth Kiesler is the topic of my most recent NPR feature and also of three previous blogs in this space. (Above: Karen Slack singing "My Man's Gone Now" in Cape Town, photographed by Patrick Morgan.) Today, “The American Scholar” publishes my further … [Read more...] about Combating American Isolationism with Cultural Diplomacy

“A Service to the Nation” — The University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra Tours South Africa

June 25, 2025 by Joe Horowitz 1 Comment

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office with United States President Donald Trump My most recent More than Music documentary on NPR ponders the South African tour of the remarkable University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, led by Kenneth Kiesler. The tour happened to coincide with inflamed relations between South Africa and President Donald Trump. I … [Read more...] about “A Service to the Nation” — The University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra Tours South Africa

“Aida” in South Africa: a Sonic Earthquake

May 31, 2025 by Joe Horowitz 3 Comments

Photo: Oscar O'Ryan Never in an opera house have I thrilled to such a sonic earthquake as the wall of sound produced by the Cape Town Opera in its current production of Verdi’s Aida. In the triumphal scene, the stage is packed with robust Black voices, all functioning at full throttle. A decibel more would be painful to the ears.  A crucial ingredient – the … [Read more...] about “Aida” in South Africa: a Sonic Earthquake

“A Tale of Two Cities” — Music and Race in Boston and New York

May 27, 2025 by Joe Horowitz 1 Comment

My latest installment of “More than Music” on NPR explores racial attitudes in Boston and New York at the turn of the twentieth century. During Antonin Dvorak’s historic American sojourn (1892-95), he was classified by Boston’s music critics as a “Slav” – a rung below Anglo-Saxons like Beethoven. The leading Boston critic, Philip Hale, also called Dvorak a … [Read more...] about “A Tale of Two Cities” — Music and Race in Boston and New York

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About Joe Horowitz

Joseph Horowitz is an award-winning author, concert producer, film-maker, broadcaster, and pianist/composer. He is one of the most prominent and widely published writers on topics in American music. As an orchestral administrator and advisor, he has been a pioneering force in the development of … [more] about Joseph Horowitz

About Unanswered Question

When a few years ago Doug McLennan invited me to write an ArtsJournal blog, I thought about it and said no. Having been born as long ago as 1948, I remain somewhat a stranger to the internet. And, as I am always writing a book (a form of therapy) when I am not producing concerts, I felt I didn't … [more] about The Unanswered Question

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  • Rick Benjamin on Will Europeans Curate Our Receding Cultural Past?
  • Brooks on Will Europeans Curate Our Receding Cultural Past?
  • Robert Berger on “A Service to the Nation” — The University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra Tours South Africa
  • Ariel on “A Tale of Two Cities” — Music and Race in Boston and New York
  • Larry Fried on “Aida” in South Africa: a Sonic Earthquake

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