I have often extolled Lou Harrison’s Piano Concerto as quite possibly the most formidable concerto by any American. And I have often extolled the South Dakota Symphony as a national model. This Saturday night at 8:30 pm ET, the South Dakota Symphony performs the Harrison concerto – a concert that will be livestreamed (but not archived), if you … [Read more...] about A Saturday Night Livestream: Lou Harrison’s Piano Concerto in South Dakota
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Mahler, Bernstein, and “The Marriage”
What did Gustav Mahler and Leonard Bernstein have in common? As is well known, Bernstein was a triumphant advocate of Mahler’s symphonies at a moment when they had yet to enter the mainstream repertoire. And both were outsiders – Mahler as a Jew in Vienna, and Bernstein as someone trying to resolve the oxymoron “American classical musician.” But in my NPR interview yesterday … [Read more...] about Mahler, Bernstein, and “The Marriage”
“The Propaganda of Freedom” — A Podcast
When was the last time an American President cited the arts as a vital component of the ‘”state of the union”? John F. Kennedy did, in 1963. That’s the starting point of my new book The Propaganda of Freedom: JFK, Shostakovich, Stravinsky and the Cultural Cold War (currently available at a 30 per cent discount via University of Illinois Press). It’s also the … [Read more...] about “The Propaganda of Freedom” — A Podcast
“Celebrating Harry Burleigh” on October 14
I’ll be joining the baritone Sidney Outlaw – an exceptional artist – in songs and spirituals by Harry Burleigh on Saturday, October 14, at the Newark School of the Arts. It’s a one-hour presentation, at noon, followed by a master class. It’s free but you need to reserve tickets at pmolina@newarkschoolofthearts.org Burleigh – once Dvorak’s assistant in New York -- is … [Read more...] about “Celebrating Harry Burleigh” on October 14
“Shosakovich in South Dakota” P. S.
I cannot resist this postscript to my 7,000-word manifesto, in the current American Scholar, about the South Dakota Symphony. If you happen to watch the live-stream [embedded above] of their Shostakovich 7 concert, with its 40-minute preamble, you will discover at the end an expression of pride and accomplishment the likes of which I have never … [Read more...] about “Shosakovich in South Dakota” P. S.