“I can recall walking eastward on the Chicago Midway on a summer evening. . . . Under [the elms] drivers had pulled over, parking bumper to bumper, and turned on their radios to hear Roosevelt. They had rolled down the windows and opened the car doors. Everywhere the same voice, in old Eastern accent, which in anyone else would have irritated Midwesterners. You could follow … [Read more...] about FDR, Radio, and What’s Wrong Today
The Pandemic and the Arts: A “Climate of Fear” and “Radical Upheaval”
The current American Scholar includes my 8,000-word essay on the impact of the pandemic on the arts in the US. It seems to me a terribly important topic -- please find time to read the whole thing. Here’s a readers’ guide: I begin by contrasting the European rush to “rescue our cultural institutions” to an eerie American silence. I write: “Why is no one in Congress or … [Read more...] about The Pandemic and the Arts: A “Climate of Fear” and “Radical Upheaval”
Bernard Herrmann’s “Whitman” — A Subversive Yet Inspirational Entertainment for Today
In 1944, Bernard Herrmann collaborated with the producer Norman Corwin on “Whitman,” a half-hour dramatic presentation invoking America’s iconic poet to rally the home front during World War II. It was heard by millions of listeners. It’s a classic exemplar of a forgotten creative genre: the radio drama. The clip at the top of this column samples a moment of hypnotic … [Read more...] about Bernard Herrmann’s “Whitman” — A Subversive Yet Inspirational Entertainment for Today
“Nothing Left to Lose” — My First Orchestra Job, etc.
I was delighted today to join my friend Donato Cabrera for his latest “MusicWise” youtube show. We talked about Dvorak and Revueltas, about PostClassical Ensemble's “More than Music” films – and about my own professional odyssey, which I traced back to feeling “disillusioned” and “betrayed” as a young New York Times music critic in the 1970s. After that, as I told Donato, I … [Read more...] about “Nothing Left to Lose” — My First Orchestra Job, etc.
Dvorak and the American Experience of Race — An Antidote to “Checkbox Diversity”
“I know there has been a lot of discussion about how we can make a difference by programing one African-American composition per concert,” says Lorenzo Candelaria, the incoming dean of Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. “I call that ‘checkbox diversity.’ What I’ve found to be far more impactful is to take a piece and really live with it for a while, … [Read more...] about Dvorak and the American Experience of Race — An Antidote to “Checkbox Diversity”