Claude Debussy wrote: “But my poor friend! Do you remember the Javanese music, able to express every shade of meaning, even unmentionable shades which make our tonic and dominant seem like ghosts? . . . Their school consists of the eternal rhythm of the sea, the wind in the leaves, and a thousand other tiny noises . . . that force one to admit that our own music is not much … [Read more...] about Music from Paradise
Mark Twain, Charles Ives, and Race
In the current issue the quarterly review Raritan, I write that Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Charles Ives’s Symphony No. 2 “are twin American cultural landmarks, comparable in method and achievement.” They both transform a hallowed Old World genre – the novel, the symphony -- through recourse to New World vernacular speech. To read the whole piece, … [Read more...] about Mark Twain, Charles Ives, and Race
Did Wagner Exploit King Ludwig?
Did Wagner exploit King Ludwig? In Luchino Visconti’s magnificent four-hour film Ludwig, the king is ingeniously cast as an embodiment of the Wagnerian pariah; Visconti has transformed Ludwig’s story into a veritable homage to Richard Wagner. Is Visconti’s Ludwig a credible re-enactment of history? Doubtless it could be considered a whitewash job. But not be me. Wagner … [Read more...] about Did Wagner Exploit King Ludwig?
Dvorak, Harry Burleigh, and Cultural Appropriation — a “PostClassical” Podcast
Could Harry Burleigh -- Antonin Dvorak’s African-American assistant -- be considered an Uncle Tom? These days, the question comes up whenever Burleigh comes up: it’s a symptom of the times, and of our crazy obsession with “cultural appropriation.” And it is addressed head-on over the course of the most recent PostClassical Ensemble WWFM podcast, featuring a supreme … [Read more...] about Dvorak, Harry Burleigh, and Cultural Appropriation — a “PostClassical” Podcast
Lou Harrison and The Great American Piano Concerto — Reprised
Eight years ago, on the occasion of PostClassical Ensemble’s first performance of Lou Harrison’s Piano Concerto with Benjamin Pasternack as soloist, I wrote in this space: “The music of Lou Harrison represents a rare opportunity for advocacy. To begin with, he is unquestionably a major late 20th-century composer, and yet little-known. Also, he is both highly accessible and … [Read more...] about Lou Harrison and The Great American Piano Concerto — Reprised