Holly Mulcahy

“Can music reflect colors and can colors be reflected in music?” That is the question composer Jennifer Higdon poses in her brief program notes for her two movement piano trio. The two movements, titled Pale Yellow and Fiery Red, offer a view of Higdon’s interpretation of two very different colors and moods.

What is so interesting and refreshing to me is the simplicity of the program notes I found for this piece. Many times new works can have too much information, almost in a vain attempt to beat a particular idea or overly esoteric meaning into an audience, leaving no room for anything but one person’s opinion. What I find so touching about Jennifer’s unselfish approach to this piece and program notes is that it allows an audience to ponder the question as they listen to the piece.

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If I had been told in conservatory that part of my job would be sitting next to bitter musicians who complain about their job, never smile or look engaged during performances, and that this behavior is potentially contagious, I would have not believed it. How any musician could have the passion snuffed out and be replaced by an apathetic husk of their former self was beyond me.

But the unfortunate reality is musicians do lose their passion.

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It seems that there is an unbearable amount of bad news in the classical music world. I’m tired of hearing my friends and colleagues repeat, in a mantra-like fashion, the doomsdays news of various orchestras’ demise and the death of classical music. While so much of it is in fact true and disturbing, there is good news in various forms and sizes out there that is being sidelined for more sensationalized and disturbing news. So I’m starting a list of positive things that I have noticed over the past month, and I hope to add to it over the next few months with help from you.

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You can’t live in our society without coming across the buzzword sustainability. It has been used to sell everything from green energy to organic farming. The point of sustainability is to keep practices and strategies that meet society’s present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

So every so often when I open my mail and find a plea for money from the conservatory I graduated from, I don’t hesitate tossing the forms and expensive invites directly into the trash. Why? They are not helping to create a sustainable future for musicians. As a matter of fact, most university music programs I’m aware of have the same problem.

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My love of quality food and animal rights is no secret. Neither is my love of awesome marketing for classical music. So when I came across the Dortmund Concert Hall’s commercial claiming that playing classical music for cows produced more milk and that milk helped ticket sales for classical music, I was instantly intrigued.

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