Readers of this blog might (or might not) be wondering what's become of me. There have been no postings in recent weeks because with the conclusion of the concert season I found it necessary to write half a dozen grant applications. This left little time for anything else other than complaining about it. I am now in Pittsburgh, where I'm directing an NEH teacher-training … [Read more...] about In the Ear of the Beholder
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Gershwin, Stravinsky, Harrison festivals
During my tenure as Executive Director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic at BAM, I was handed an opportunity to refashion the orchestra's mission. In the course of two years, it had been abandoned by more than two-thirds of its subscribers: there was nothing left to lose. I proposed making all the programming thematic and inter-disciplinary. Harvey Lichtenstein, BAM's mastermind, … [Read more...] about Gershwin, Stravinsky, Harrison festivals
The Uses of Culture
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
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