The American Repertory Theatre's new Porgy and Bess, with its claims that Gershwin's is a crippled opera that needs fixing, is controversially in the news. I read that "Gershwin purists" are expected to thunder their objections. While I cannot agree that Porgy and Bess is any more crippled than, say, Fidelio or Der Rosenkavalier (very uneven works, it seems to me), I would … [Read more...] about Gershwin Impurities
The Ives Project
In 1942, Edith Ives, age 28, wrote her father a 1,700-word letter for his 68th birthday -- decades after Charles Ives had ceased composing. It read in part: "Dear Daddy, "You are so very modest and sweet Daddy, that I don't think you realize the full import of the words people use about you, 'A great man.' "Daddy, I have had a chance to see so many men lately -- fine … [Read more...] about The Ives Project
Rachmaninoff in Texas
In Twentieth Century Music, an admirable and much-used survey written in 1974, Eric Salzman devotes 13 pages to Stravinsky, 11 to Schoenberg, and 6 to Berg versus 2 for Ravel, 2 for Shostakovich, 1 for Sibelius, and 1 for Richard Strauss. To Sergei Rachmaninoff, he allots a single sentence, consigning him to the "older Romantic tradition" of Russian music. Today, 37 years … [Read more...] about Rachmaninoff in Texas
Mahler in Texas
For last Saturday's performance of Mahler's Ninth Symphony at the Round Top Music Festival, an orchestra of 88 gifted young musicians rehearsed for 22 hours over the course of six days; there were also more than four hours of sectional rehearsals. A splendid young Austrian conductor, Christoph Campestrini, used every minute of his allotted time, correcting and exhorting with … [Read more...] about Mahler in Texas
Improvising Stravinsky
One of my standard rants - typically inflicted on young pianists - is called "The Piano in the 21st Century."I begin by asking if anyone can name an important pianist before 1900 who was not also a composer and/or conductor. It's supposed to be a trick question - all the names that come to mind (Liszt, Thalberg, Rubinstein, Pabst, von Bulow, Busoni, etc.) support my point that … [Read more...] about Improvising Stravinsky