My favorite ever library typo was when Purcell’s Gordion Knot Untied was listed as Gordion Knot UNITED. How easy is it to make that mistake? Seriously though it might be that easy to conceptualize that by agreeing to something that is binding might indeed unbind an acrimonious situation. What the DSO musicians are proposing proves once again that artists by nature are creative and are also the greatest of problem solvers, and whatever happens kudos should be given for creativity, bravery and at least a plan!
Ron Spigelman
Converting the Converted part 1….
I am enjoying a back and forth with Geraldine regarding the role of the new Music Director from my November 11 New Conductor Smell post. I did not enjoy reading however of what is breaking with the Syracuse Symphony with whom I am working this week. I have many friends in the group, they are phenomenal and I so enjoy being here, it never feels like work. I guess I’m an insider but rather than dwell on the specifics of the situation, I want to riff on where I think in general we could make some inroads….this Sunday we perform in a Cathedral….
Reinventilating – More ASS in clASSical!
It’s been an extended break from posting with 20 performances in the last month, now on Christmas Day looking back at articles from the last few weeks, I came across yet another bright spark who has hit upon what ails Classical Music….it needs a reinvention! Yawn….Here we go again…..
Dissing the Dissonance…a shout out to Alex Ross!
Alex Ross wrote a great article regarding the challenge modern Classical Music faces in being accepted. It is in the middle of the article that he highlights a great point that cannot be overlooked in my view. I believe the hatred he talks about is more directed to those who present new music. As presenters we too like the composers must be creative because it is hardly fair to complain that audiences wont accept something new, when we present it as if it is a premiere happening in 1865!…..
mmmm…that new Conductor smell!
It would be a sadly familiar scenario if 2 major orchestras are looking to their new maestros to seemingly solve all of their problems or even save their orchestras….please our egos are already big enough! We as Music Directors may be the leaders but we lead a team, and to suggest that a conductor can be the fix for major organizational problems would be akin to suggesting that an executive director can fix any major artistic problems……
More ASS in clASSical: The secret to enlightenment….BEER!
How could we have missed it, the answer to what ails Classical Music is in fact…..ale! If all else fails then isn’t alcohol always the answer….hmmm. This according to Louise Jury the “chief arts correspondent” for the London Evening Standard, which I remember as the paper (when I was a student in London) I never needed to buy simply because no one commuting home (it is sold outside tube stations) would ever keep it, so I always had my choice of copies to read! Again here we go with the inane and the ridiculous and the worst of it is that it is not an original idea, and it has already failed before….
Would the “River Run Through It” without an Orchestra?
What is really frustrating about the angst in our industry is the lack of creativity in the arguments we make for why an Orchestra is important. I put a heavy focus on why an Orchestra is important to its own community which is a firm belief that I have, but it seems that there might be a global crisis in confidence with the answer bandied about the most often being the dreaded “shrinkage” (what would we do without Seinfeld) that needs to occur. So for those commenting negatively about the Detroit Symphony, let me ask you this: What would Star Wars be like if the soundtrack only had a Synthesizer playing?…..
Here we go chasing our tails from Detroit to Duluth…..
There is always a hyperventilating that takes place when the so called “model” is challenged and why is it that Orchestras live in the extreme? When there are problems everything an orchestra does has to change, and when there are not, let’s spend spend spend, and ignore any impending problems. I cannot over emphasize enough that spending whenever we do it is never the answer, we would be all well served re-reading the Knight Foundation Magic of Music report (linked below). What is the answer?….