We Have Met The Enemy….

By now many readers will have read this excellent post by Bernard Holland, distinguished music critic and writer for the New York Times (assuming that the NYT, in their infinite wisdom, will not try to charge you for access).  Mr. Holland, in his opus from ’03, has succinctly put forth a very elegant and reasoned argument for why orchestras in this country are going the way of the Dodo.  Only one problem – he didn’t go far enough.

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Spring Thoughts

For the record, I do not get paid to write this blog.  The guy who runs this website is way too cheap for that.  So occasionally I have to concentrate on my real job for a while.  That does not mean I haven’t been thinking…

 

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Bernstein – An Appreciation

The most overused word in the orchestra business is “masterpiece.”  We throw it around so often that it has long since lost all meaning, and now most often serves as a code for “we promise you won’t be offended by this piece.”  That having been said …

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O Little Town of Bloomington…

I need to get out of the house more.  That may sound funny coming from a guy who travels for a living, but when I’m home I turn into a real home-body.  Which is how I found myself grinning outrageously at some Sondheim.

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KILL THE NEA (Redux)!!!

A couple of months ago I wrote a post titled “Kill the NEA.”  To my surprise that garnered a lot of attention, though in retrospect perhaps I shouldn’t be so naïve about the power of the internet (please rf. Tunisia).  Now that some of the political establishment are hellbent on following my advice I’ve got a better idea.  And I suspect that they aren’t going to like it at all.

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