Though as usual most of the feedback to my recent blogs comes via private emails rather than public responses, a flurry of interesting posted responses here and via Facebook spurs me to rant some more. Re: “quality art” versus “crap,” Joe Patrych – someone who knows what pianism once was -- writes: “Part of the problem is the audience – in order for a … [Read more...] about “The Difference Between Quality Art and Crap” Take Three
“The Difference Between Quality Art and Crap” Take Two
My exchange with Vladimir Feltsman about “quality art” versus “crap” was posted on youtube and elicited this response: “Two oldies bemoaning that they have had their day and are confined to the dust bin of history. It is always the no talents that wave their own banner of knowledge as to what is true art.” Feltsman referenced a performance of Rachmaninoff's transcription … [Read more...] about “The Difference Between Quality Art and Crap” Take Two
“The Difference Between Quality Art and Crap”
I was chatting with Vladimir Feltsman last Spring about PostClassical Ensemble’s 2017-18 immersion experience, “The Russian Experiment,” when the conversation took an unexpected turn. I had broached the topic of “cultural community,” and invited Feltsman to compare musical life in the US with the policed Soviet musical milieu he fled in 1987. We agreed that Western … [Read more...] about “The Difference Between Quality Art and Crap”
The Arts in the Age of Trump (continued)
The Age of Trump has rapidly changed the American cultural landscape in many ways. In the silo of classical music, there is suddenly a felt need to ask: What’s it for? Why are we doing this? How can the arts affect social or political change? How can concerts help us understand who we are as a nation? What we’ve been or want to become? These questions are newer than … [Read more...] about The Arts in the Age of Trump (continued)
Copland and the Cold War
PostClassical Ensemble’s most recent WWFM “PostClassical” radio show is “Copland and the Cold War” – aired last Friday and now archived. Our two-hour program includes Aaron Copland’s prize-winning New Masses workers’ song “Into the Streets, May First” as well as a re-enactment of Copland’s 1953 grilling by Senator Joseph McCarthy starring myself and Bill McGlaughlin. And … [Read more...] about Copland and the Cold War