My July 4 "More than Music" special for National Public Radio seems to me the hottest radio show I’ve ever managed to produce. The topic is The Star-Spangled Banner – as an instrument for exploring issues of race and national identity. You can hear it here. The Star-Spangled Banner is controversial today for three reasons. The first is that Francis … [Read more...] about Mocking Freedom? What To Do With the “Star-Spangled Banner”
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“How I Wish We Had Something Like That Today”
Fill in the blanks: “This was performed and broadcast to millions of people. And something that should resonate with all of us today is the confluence of fine art and popular art and a mass medium – something we’ve lost in this era, when we’re being sliced into ever narrower shards of demographics. The brilliance of what xxx and xxx did was to embrace all of us, in … [Read more...] about “How I Wish We Had Something Like That Today”
What Museums Can Do and Orchestras Cannot Do
I keenly anticipated the Metropolitan Museum’s current Winslow Homer retrospective. Titled “Cross-Currents,” it comprises 88 oils and watercolors, a 200-page scholarly catalogue, a “visiting guide,” an audio guide, and docents readily at hand. The driving aspiration is to newly frame a major nineteenth century American painter, with due regard for our current … [Read more...] about What Museums Can Do and Orchestras Cannot Do
Remembering Lexo
When I filed my eulogy for Alexander Toradze, one of the emails I received was from David Hyslop. The former CEO of the Minnesota Orchestra, he knew Lexo at home in Minneapolis and on tour. Hyslop remembered Toradze as a great talent – and an even “greater person.” I was reminded, after a fashion, of a malicious review filed by a colleague during my New York … [Read more...] about Remembering Lexo
Alexander Toradze 1952-2022
The pianist Alexander Toradze, who died yesterday of heart failure at the age of 69, was much more than a friend. Lexo enjoyed telling the story of our first encounter – a story of American naivete. This took place in a small room at Carnegie Hall. He was touring as a Soviet artist; the year must have been 1979. The meeting was arranged by Mary Lou Falcone, the publicist of … [Read more...] about Alexander Toradze 1952-2022