7.27.2006
Strangest choice of the Summer
Milton Babbit and Elliot Carter, two of the great figures of serialism, get together in Tanglewood to perform... Stravinsky? What am I missing here?
7.22.2006
Opera, Take 1 - Ironic conducting
Lately, through my chronological survey of the 19th century, I've been listening to Tannhauser and La Traviata. When I studied conducting in college, La Traviata was one of my great frustrations. One of our early assignments was the prelude to Tristan, a piece that I own 6 recordings of; that I'd owned in score and reduction for several years; that I'd learned on the piano; and that I'd studied every measure of in theory class. I've even studied the never heard and largely unknown concert ending. And yet, I struggled mightily with it when I took up the baton. I know it's a maddeningly difficult score, but after weeks of practicing, I felt like I was getting nowhere.
So when I was assigned Violetta's first act arias from La Traviata, which I'd never encountered before, and which I don't really care for, I was a bit disappointed to discover that, in the words of my teacher, I had an aptitude for it. Funny how that works -- of all the different pieces I'd studied over my semesters of conducting, I was best at the piece I cared about least. I put effort into trying to like early and middle Verdi, but I never get anywhere. If anything, I resent Verdi after my experience in conducting class.
I also just watched Boris Goudonov on DVD. Somehow, I never noticed how much Gershwin owes Mossourgsky before.
So when I was assigned Violetta's first act arias from La Traviata, which I'd never encountered before, and which I don't really care for, I was a bit disappointed to discover that, in the words of my teacher, I had an aptitude for it. Funny how that works -- of all the different pieces I'd studied over my semesters of conducting, I was best at the piece I cared about least. I put effort into trying to like early and middle Verdi, but I never get anywhere. If anything, I resent Verdi after my experience in conducting class.
I also just watched Boris Goudonov on DVD. Somehow, I never noticed how much Gershwin owes Mossourgsky before.
7.04.2006
Independent Music
I'll never understand why the centerpiece of the Pops [Esplanade] 4th of July Celebration is a piece of Russian propaganda music.
6.27.2006
Good news for the third best classical radio station in Boston
If all goes as planned, local classical music fans will be able to keep listening to their favorite radio programming on WCRB-FM.That's the opening sentence of the story in this morning's Globe about a plan to switch WCRB's classical programming to 99.5 when 102.5 switches to a country format.
Here's how I would have written that sentence:
If all goes as planned, local classical music fans will be able to keep listening to the radio programming they settle for while WGBH and WHRB have different programming, assuming they don't have a fancy enough radio to get WGBH HD2.
6.25.2006
Schubert hurts his own cause
Schubert wrote too much music for his own good.
As I work, I'm cycling through all my music from the 19th century in chronological order. I hit the year 1822 this week, and with it Schubert's b minor symphony D 759. I've just been listening to Beethoven's late piano sonatas and Die Freischütz. The Diabelli Variations and Dichterliebe are in deck.
As I listened, I couldn't help myself. I started laughing. Measures 36-44 are the culprit. The first theme ends with a forceful cadence -- a syncopated, tutti dominant 7th chord returning to the b-minor sforzando chord. But the third hangs on -- the d is sustained by the horns and bassoons. The d quickly turns into a cadence in G(?), and like that, we're on into the melodic theme (nevermind that it's in the wrong key). That's a grand total of four measures of transition between themes, three of which are a unison pedal d.
That's a pretty typical Schubert move in his instrumental music. (With a few direct substitutions, we could be talking about the "Great" C-major symphony, for example.) It's astounding when you compare it to what Beethoven was writing at the same time in the same place.
If Schubert had only written his 700 lieder, his reputation would be secure. Individual songs like Erlkönig and Gretchen am Spinnrade are in the discussion of the greatest songs ever written, Winterreise and Schwannengesang are masterpieces, and there are so many great songs in between. There's no doubt of his mastery as a composer of short forms; however, he treated long forms the same. Just take one idea, through two or four measures of modulation in there, do another idea, and call it a symphony or a quartet.
Perhaps Schubert's spot in history is this -- no other one composer ever wrote so much great music and so much terrible music.
As I work, I'm cycling through all my music from the 19th century in chronological order. I hit the year 1822 this week, and with it Schubert's b minor symphony D 759. I've just been listening to Beethoven's late piano sonatas and Die Freischütz. The Diabelli Variations and Dichterliebe are in deck.
As I listened, I couldn't help myself. I started laughing. Measures 36-44 are the culprit. The first theme ends with a forceful cadence -- a syncopated, tutti dominant 7th chord returning to the b-minor sforzando chord. But the third hangs on -- the d is sustained by the horns and bassoons. The d quickly turns into a cadence in G(?), and like that, we're on into the melodic theme (nevermind that it's in the wrong key). That's a grand total of four measures of transition between themes, three of which are a unison pedal d.
That's a pretty typical Schubert move in his instrumental music. (With a few direct substitutions, we could be talking about the "Great" C-major symphony, for example.) It's astounding when you compare it to what Beethoven was writing at the same time in the same place.
If Schubert had only written his 700 lieder, his reputation would be secure. Individual songs like Erlkönig and Gretchen am Spinnrade are in the discussion of the greatest songs ever written, Winterreise and Schwannengesang are masterpieces, and there are so many great songs in between. There's no doubt of his mastery as a composer of short forms; however, he treated long forms the same. Just take one idea, through two or four measures of modulation in there, do another idea, and call it a symphony or a quartet.
Perhaps Schubert's spot in history is this -- no other one composer ever wrote so much great music and so much terrible music.
6.21.2006
BMOP's Angels
I'm not sure how much there is to say about Peter Eötvös's Angels in America. The music was excellent, even if in a slightly out-of-date style. There performances were strong. Dramatically, it was a huge stretch to cut 6 hours of play into two and a half hours of opera; if you try to think of it as a play, it will be very disappointing.
The tickets have sold well; the first three performances sold out, and Saturday's tickets are running out. Before the show last night, I remarked that I was impressed so many people in Boston had heard of Peter Eötvös, let alone were willing to go see an opera he wrote. My initial inclination was right, though. There were a number of disappointed people complaining during intermission. (They were at an opera by Peter Eötvös. What did they expect? It's not like Eötvös's music used to be easy listening, and then he had a sudden stylistic shift.) Still, I hope that the dramatic story opened some ears to a kind of music perhaps they hadn't heard previously.
The tickets have sold well; the first three performances sold out, and Saturday's tickets are running out. Before the show last night, I remarked that I was impressed so many people in Boston had heard of Peter Eötvös, let alone were willing to go see an opera he wrote. My initial inclination was right, though. There were a number of disappointed people complaining during intermission. (They were at an opera by Peter Eötvös. What did they expect? It's not like Eötvös's music used to be easy listening, and then he had a sudden stylistic shift.) Still, I hope that the dramatic story opened some ears to a kind of music perhaps they hadn't heard previously.
6.12.2006
Jewish music on the march
Jewish composers have come a long way since Solomone Rossi.
When I read that Ligeti passed away, my initial reaction was so passes the greatest Jewish composer since the war. As I thought about it more, though, I realized just how much Jewish comopsers owned the 20th century, from Mahler to Golijov, the way German composers owned the previous two.
It's hard to find an important movement of 20th century composition that didn't have Jews at the forefront. The father of them all, of course, is Schoenberg. Later twelve-tone adherents include Babbit and Rochberg. The more mainstream composers include Gershwin, Bernstein, and Copland. For the minimalists and post-, Steve Reich and Philip Glass lead the way. Even the experimentalists have Zorn. Looking at the list of American Jewish composers, and thinking about the non-American ones as well, it almost seems easier to make a list of non-Jewish composers of note.
It makes sense that Jewish composers would come into their own after the 19th century, as the reform movement and secularization took hold in Germany. While there were a handfull of of Jewish composers, including those that weren't actually Jewish (Mendelssohn), it took until the end of the century for the wide-spread influence to take hold.
I can't help but wonder what Wagner would think about Jewish music now that their music is so irrevocably tied to the history of 20th century music. While I don't excuse his anti-Semitism, the most famous Jewish comopsers of his day were inferior (Meyerbeer and Offenbach). I'd like to think that were he still alive, he'd have to concede that Jews wrote music every bit as good as his own.
When I read that Ligeti passed away, my initial reaction was so passes the greatest Jewish composer since the war. As I thought about it more, though, I realized just how much Jewish comopsers owned the 20th century, from Mahler to Golijov, the way German composers owned the previous two.
It's hard to find an important movement of 20th century composition that didn't have Jews at the forefront. The father of them all, of course, is Schoenberg. Later twelve-tone adherents include Babbit and Rochberg. The more mainstream composers include Gershwin, Bernstein, and Copland. For the minimalists and post-, Steve Reich and Philip Glass lead the way. Even the experimentalists have Zorn. Looking at the list of American Jewish composers, and thinking about the non-American ones as well, it almost seems easier to make a list of non-Jewish composers of note.
It makes sense that Jewish composers would come into their own after the 19th century, as the reform movement and secularization took hold in Germany. While there were a handfull of of Jewish composers, including those that weren't actually Jewish (Mendelssohn), it took until the end of the century for the wide-spread influence to take hold.
I can't help but wonder what Wagner would think about Jewish music now that their music is so irrevocably tied to the history of 20th century music. While I don't excuse his anti-Semitism, the most famous Jewish comopsers of his day were inferior (Meyerbeer and Offenbach). I'd like to think that were he still alive, he'd have to concede that Jews wrote music every bit as good as his own.
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