Here commences what I intend to be bimonthly “Top Ten (+3)” lists of favorite media. This first list came about somewhat as a matter of circumstance…
Continue reading Top Ten (+3) Unfair Classical Demonstration Discs
Blasi/Mehta/Vienna Phil @ Carnegie Hall
It did not go entirely well… but any chance the see the Vienna Philharmonic (with — shock! horror!! — actual women in their ranks, and it’s about time) is welcome. You can read my review at ClassicalSource.com.
Astroturf Watch: Kochzilla Caught Planting Faux Seeds Again
In the realm of bare-knuckles dirty politics, “astroturf” is a term used to describe a bogus grassroots campaign. And thanks to the enterprising work…
Continue reading Astroturf Watch: Kochzilla Caught Planting Faux Seeds Again
Jet Dee Takes on Audiences Behaving Badly
I think you will enjoy Jet Dee’s thought-provoking essay on concert audience behavior and “GPAADAK” over at the Glenn Gould Foundation web site – especially if you are a concertgoer whose blood pressure rises at the sound of inconsiderate page-shuffling, intramusical conversation, and the unceremonious opening of cellophane-wrapped candies twenty seats away during a pianissimo passage.
John McGlinn, 1953-2009
Rumors had been circulating since early in the week that John McGlinn, the brilliant conductor most well known for his extensive research into and revivals of prewar American musical theater works, had died. I somehow missed the Playbill obituary on Tuesday, but saw the New York Times obit online a few hours ago. Minutes later, a mutual friend called; she was as shocked and saddened as I was to have our worst fears confirmed.
I first encountered John back when I was working at BMG Classics.
Photoshop Insurgent: Mendelssohn Chain Saw Massacre
Mendelssohn Chain Saw Massacre
Revised cover art courtesy Photohop Insurgent (I should never have told him the anecdote). For enlarged version, click here.
This past Saturday, Anne-Sophie Mutter gave what may be the very worst concerto performance I have ever heard from a ‘front rank’ soloist. After the concert, I ran into a prominent violinist, mentioned that I would have strongly preferred that she had been the soloist (she wisely attended a ballet performance with friends), and – with my usual good taste and restraint – said the Mutter did to the Mendelssohn what Leatherface did to all of those teenagers in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The rest of the concert, thankfully, was far better. My assessment of the New York Philharmonic’s concert in honor of Mendelssohn’s 200th birthday is up at ClassicalSource.com.
BSO Jumps into the Live Label Biz
It’s about time. And isn’t it interesting that the orchestra has chosen to showcase Levine’s recording of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloë, a party piece for former BSO maestro Charles Munch? Both of Munch’s commercial recordings with the BSO are among the greatest glories of the RCA Red Seal catalogue, and an extraordinary 1962 stereo aircheck from Tanglewood has also circulated among collectors for some time. Full press release below the break…
Lukas Foss, 1922-2009
Sad news to report: Composer and conductor Lukas Foss has died here in Manhattan. His original works were imbued with as much wit and often subversive humor as “advanced avant-garde compositional techniques.” On the few occasions I had to chat with him, he proved as wryly humorous and spirited and as Paradigm and Baroque Variations. He was also a remarkably good pianist, and his MCA recording of the Mozart Quintet for Piano and Winds with the Amherst Saxophone Quartet is an unexpected case study in superb chamber musicianship. The Buffalo News has posted an obituary.
Lebrecht on Obama’s New Deal for the Arts
Norman Lebrecht weighs in from across the pond with an outsider’s perspective on what the Barack Obama presidency might mean for the performing arts.