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Unanswered Question

Joe Horowitz on music

Did Kurt Weill “Look Back”?

September 11, 2022 by Joe Horowitz 2 Comments

My favorite recording of any Kurt Weill song – as I have occasion to remark at the close of my recent NPR documentary on Weill’s immigrant odyssey – is Weill’s own rendition of “That’s Him.” Re-encountering this remarkable performance, with the composer accompanying himself at the piano, I feel a need to ponder what makes it so special. As I observed on … [Read more...] about Did Kurt Weill “Look Back”?

Kurt Weill’s Immigrant Odyssey on NPR

September 6, 2022 by Joe Horowitz 1 Comment

Kurt Weill, a refugee from Nazi Germany, turned himself into one of Broadway’s leading composers – an amazing feat of assimilation. After the war, he only returned to Europe once, in 1947  – and reported: “Strangely enough, wherever I found decency and humanity in the world, it reminded me of America.” How does that sentiment play today? It’s a question posed and … [Read more...] about Kurt Weill’s Immigrant Odyssey on NPR

Mocking Freedom? What To Do With the “Star-Spangled Banner”

July 5, 2022 by Joe Horowitz 4 Comments

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”

“How I Wish We Had Something Like That Today”

May 31, 2022 by Joe Horowitz 1 Comment

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

May 24, 2022 by Joe Horowitz 14 Comments

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

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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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