There was a time – the 1990s, when I was running the Brooklyn Philharmonic at BAM – when the practice of speaking from the stage at symphonic concerts was controversial, both among audiences and orchestra leaders. And people debated whether or not thematic programing was a good thing. Those days are finally over. But the next step – fundamentally re-thinking the … [Read more...] about Re-Thinking the Concert Experience in South Dakota and Minnesota
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R. I. P. : The National Endowment for the Humanities (1965-2025)
Since 2010 I have administered Music Unwound, a national consortium of orchestras and educational institutions funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. I assume that Music Unwound no longer exists – nor does more than $150,000 in Congressionally approved MU funding as yet unspent. To my knowledge, there has been no formal notification. The forces in play are … [Read more...] about R. I. P. : The National Endowment for the Humanities (1965-2025)
Native America and American Music on NPR: “A Battleground”
This Hamms Beer commercial, which I vividly remember from childhood and our brand-new black-and-white TV, signals “Indian music” with a steady tom-tom beat. The tune (and its tom-tom) adapts the Dagger Dance in Victor Herbert’s opera Natoma. The words – “From the Land of Sky Blue Waters” – reference a once popular concert song by Charles Wakefield Cadman. Both Herbert’s opera … [Read more...] about Native America and American Music on NPR: “A Battleground”
Mahler in Sioux Falls (with yet another glance at Klaus Makela)
I have just returned from a trip to Sioux Falls, where I heard Delta David Gier lead the South Dakota Symphony in Mahler’s Symphony No. 3. As readers of this blog know, I regard the SDSO as an American cultural institution that must be studied and emulated. When I arrived at my balcony seat I was addressed by a couple of young men sitting just in front of me. They had heard … [Read more...] about Mahler in Sioux Falls (with yet another glance at Klaus Makela)
The Chicago Symphony Lands Klaus Makela
It’s now official: Klaus Makela will become the next music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, beginning in 2027-2028. He’ll conduct fourteen weeks of CSO concerts of which four will be on tour. He’ll concurrently become music director of Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw Orchestra. He’ll retain relationships with the Oslo Philharmonic and the Orchestre de Paris. He’ll be … [Read more...] about The Chicago Symphony Lands Klaus Makela