What is the function of the conductor in ballet performance? Never in my (limited) experience has this question been more provocatively posed than during the Mariinsky Ballet’s recent residency at BAM. This is because two of ballet’s most stirring symphonic scores – Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Prokofiev’s Cinderella – were purveyed in the pit by a world-class orchestra under … [Read more...] about What Are Ballet Conductors For?
Can a Music School Be Re-Invented?
There is a powerful consensus that music schools and conservatories have to rethink the education of 21st century musicians, but no one, so far as I know, has implemented a new template. This is what Mark McCoy is up to at the DePauw University School of Music. He calls it the “21st-Century Musician Initiative” and it isn’t window dressing. My own harangues on this topic … [Read more...] about Can a Music School Be Re-Invented?
“The Chasm Between Doing Music and Thinking About It”
The most resonant sentence in Robert Freeman’s highly quotable new book The Crisis of Classical Music in America reads: “It is my own strong conviction that, in the years ahead, music will need all the help we can give her. To my way of thinking, that means the development of collegiate musicians who are dedicated at least as much to the future of music as they as are to the … [Read more...] about “The Chasm Between Doing Music and Thinking About It”
On the Future of the Metropolitan Opera (continued)
Reviewing a new history of the Metropolitan Opera in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, I write: “The Met has never enjoyed the services of a shrewd and practical visionary. There is no one in the company's annals to set beside Henry Higginson, who created the Boston Symphony in 1881; or Oscar Hammerstein, whose Manhattan Opera combined integrated musical theater, new repertoire … [Read more...] about On the Future of the Metropolitan Opera (continued)
The Elephant in the Room at the Met Opera Negotiations
According to my Op-Ed in today's Wall Street Journal, the Metropolitan Opera House -- physically and metaphorically -- signifies a notion of "grand opera" that is increasingly unsustainable. To read the rest: http://online.wsj.com/articles/joseph-horowitz-union-trouble-isnt-the-mets-only-problem-1407537082?mod=rss_opinion_main … [Read more...] about The Elephant in the Room at the Met Opera Negotiations