The resignation of Esa-Pekka Salonen as Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony is dominating classical-music news because Salonen made no secret why he quit: a falling out with the board over his elaborate artistic plans and their cost. I have no first-hand knowledge of any of this. What I do know is that Salonen is not merely a conductor; rather, he is – a rare species … [Read more...] about What’s an Orchestra For? — Mulling Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Resignation from the San Francisco Symphony
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The Boston Symphony In Trouble
[Above: Boston's Symphony Hall, built by Henry Higginson and opened in 1900.] Last week I heard the Boston Symphony perform Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth at Carnegie Hall. The conductor was their music director since 2014: Andris Nelsons. I had planned to write a blog but instead emailed my impressions to a dozen friends in the music business. The emails that came … [Read more...] about The Boston Symphony In Trouble
Mahler, Bernstein, and “The Marriage”
What did Gustav Mahler and Leonard Bernstein have in common? As is well known, Bernstein was a triumphant advocate of Mahler’s symphonies at a moment when they had yet to enter the mainstream repertoire. And both were outsiders – Mahler as a Jew in Vienna, and Bernstein as someone trying to resolve the oxymoron “American classical musician.” But in my NPR interview yesterday … [Read more...] about Mahler, Bernstein, and “The Marriage”
How to Ignite a Standing Ovation for a Stravinsky Symphony; or: When is it OK to Project Moving Images During a Concert?
Readers of this blog, and listeners to my NPR shows, will recall that a South Dakota performance of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony last February unforgettably galvanized a Sioux Falls audience. A major factor was a 40-minute preamble, with live music, exploring the symphony’s relationship to the Siege of Leningrad and the depredations of Joseph Stalin. I came away from that … [Read more...] about How to Ignite a Standing Ovation for a Stravinsky Symphony; or: When is it OK to Project Moving Images During a Concert?
Klaus Makela Conducts the Philharmonic — Take Two
I am of course grateful for the torrent of comments I have received in response to my previous blog about Klaus Makela conducting Tchaikovsky with the New York Philharmonic. Some of you, however, have misconstrued my meaning. I am certainly not suggesting that Klaus Makela would be an ideal music director for the New York Philharmonic (or for that matter for the Cleveland … [Read more...] about Klaus Makela Conducts the Philharmonic — Take Two