Comments on: more on the pdx monthly article

By: Art Scatter » Music, maestro, please. But can’t you be a little nicer?

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:01:19 +0000

[...] maybe by bouncing the two sides against each other you’ll find your own version of the truth. This is Noble’s main post on the controversy, and it includes a lot of reader comments worth your [...]

By: CK

CK — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:02:08 +0000

Thanks to all the musicians and the staff, the ORS is actually in a new era. That is what really matters. We are not embarking in something new, we already half way through.
And as far as knowledge of what you are supposed to write about is concerned. I picture myself being asked to write about an astrophysicist. That’s something I would never attempt to do, because I have no clue on the topic. To be humble when it comes to any-body’s line of work is something I always support and respect. But being condescending in tone about a person who has devoted his entire life to something I have no real knowledge what it is (or means) is beyond what I can understand.
But the article is just an article. Yesterday we had a great crowd and a successful concert. The upcoming season will be terrific!

By: greg

greg — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:39:09 +0000

This quote is the one that stands out to me:

“Kalmar says this with utter poise and confidence, on his cell phone, while staring out an airport window as he awaits a flight home to Vienna.”

It’s the writer’s main point in a nutshell (a provocative nutshell at that.) I’m less interested in the writer’s suitability for this article than I am in why his agenda was what is was.

By: Gregory Vajda

Gregory Vajda — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:11:43 +0000

I agree with the comment that magazines are suffering, too and presenting a controversial story might help sell more copies… Might, because in this case I don’t think there is a story at all. I wish we could look at sales numbers (Portland Monthly’s and ours, too! ) based on who has read this piece on Carlos! We’d be surprised how much it doesn’t matter! In any case, giving 10 page to someone, who admittedly knows almost nothing about the subject is a waste of paper, ink and precious time of readers.
My comment on the title of the article: Carlos doesn’t have to lead OSO into a new era. This is the new era. See comments of others comparing J.D.P. and C.K.
On a side note, I am glad that Mr. Donahue could tell apart Walton and Schubert just by looking at Carlos’ and my conducting. That would be the point.

By: evan

evan — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:54:41 +0000

Yes. To clarify, what I was getting at in my initial post was that I think a factor in why the author chose an accentuation on the negative was that he didn’t come to an understanding of the conductor-musician dynamic. I enjoy talking to curious concertgoers about what our work, and I think that failure to do so is a real concern in the orchestra world, but I couldn’t in good conscience recommend this article (despite an uplifting ending) as an explanation.

By: greg

greg — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:43:09 +0000

I think we’re in agreement that by the time an article is published, an author should be reasonably well informed about a topic, although I’m not necessarily turned off by hearing the impressions of someone who approached the process with a “beginner’s mind.” Mr. Donahue made an observation that a musician wasn’t looking directly at the conductor. He was curious, asked the musician about it, and published the answer he got. That paragraph doesn’t bother me, rather it reminds me that as insiders, we can become quite far removed from the mindset of the uninitiated concertgoer.

Where I do take issue with the article is in the ratio of negative quotes and anecdotes to positive ones. Mr. Donahue had access to plenty of musicians with diverse opinions, yet he made a conscious choice to accentuate the negative. It prompts me to ask the question: why?

By: evan

evan — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:51:50 +0000

Hi Greg,

I too believe familiarity need not be a requisite for embarking on an article, but I think that it should be for publishing one. When Portland Monthly writes about the top breakfast joints in PDX, I expect that they’ve been to places several times to sample the menu and experiences. But I wouldn’t think that talking to the chef a few times grants credence to assertive statements about the nature of the art in which the chef has spent years studying delicate intricacies, or really even the nature of the chef themselves. And honestly, the use of peripheral vision to look at both a conductor and the music isn’t exactly an irregular, and certainly not disrespectful, ensemble skill.

By: curtis heikkinen

curtis heikkinen — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:38:24 +0000

Greg, you are absolutely correct about Elaine Clader and the Oregon Symphony staff. I should have mentioned their important contributions.

By: greg

greg — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:05:15 +0000

Curtis,
I agree that “Carlos has put people into the seats and raised artistic standards.” We must also credit our hardworking and dedicated staff under the guidance of Elaine Calder for some of that audience-building success. They are very deftly steering us through some pretty formidable waters.

Evan,
You raised the question in another thread: “if you’re going to write an extensive feature on something, what should be your level of experience with the subject matter?”

I don’t believe familiarity with the subject matter should be a prerequisite for embarking on an article. I would argue that any good investigative journalism involves a learning process, and if a writer is fair and doesn’t allow preconceived notions to guide his research too much, he can’t be faulted for having an opinion.

Having said that, the OSO does seem to be getting more than its share of negative press lately. Maybe some very persuasive soul could convince Daniel Anker to do a Portland version of ‘Music from the Inside Out.’ I know, I know…it’s a pipe dream…but we do have some wildly talented musicians with some pretty cool hobbies…(Evan.) Portland loves that kind of stuff.

By: Cesar

Cesar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:36:50 +0000

It’s clear that Bill Donahue doesn’t know anything about classical music or symphony orchestras. His perspective is so superficial and simple that I wouldn’t expect anything more than his thinking Carlos Kalmar waves his arms and slashes the air a few times a year in Portland. It’s as if he wrote about the Seattle Mariners and their overbearing and tempestuous manager without ever having attended a game or played a position. All he would have to go on would be his observation of a few minutes here and there.
From that perspective, it wasn’t a negative article on the whole. Of course, the Oregon Symphony continues on the path to be one of the great orchestras playing today and I am so happy to be able to hear you all play.

By: curtis heikkinen

curtis heikkinen — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 01:18:50 +0000

LaValle, I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m glad you mentioned Grant Park. We are indeed fortunate to have Carlos here in Portland for an entire season.

By: curtis heikkinen

curtis heikkinen — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:58:02 +0000

I liked your comments, Charles. The perspective of the author is not a bad one, but unfortunately he fell into the old trap of emphasizing negativity. Certainly more emphasis could have been placed on all the positive aspects of the symphony, like increased attendance and high artistic and musical standards. However, this is par for the course when it comes to stories about the symphony.

Carlos assumed a difficult position when he succeeded a larger-than-life figure like James DePriest. Carlos could not be much more different when it comes to musical style and demeanor. Carlos is no doubt demanding, but that seems appropriate given his position and the high stakes involved in live performance. I have always found him to be gracious and affable. I enjoyed many DePriest concerts, but there is no question in my mind that Kalmar has substantially improved the quality of playing and of programming. No offense to the patron who complained about the absence of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, but there is plenty of standard repertoire to satisfy traditionalists. If I had been asked about programming Bruckner 7 (alas, I wasn’t), my response would have been much different. In my view, Carlos has done a nice job of balancing the programs.

In sum, Carlos has put people into the seats and raised artistic standards. I question whether any music director could make an appreciable difference in this economic climate with regard to donations, no matter how much time he or she spent in Portland.

By: LaValle

LaValle — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:17:52 +0000

Kalmar is an amazing music director. Ten years from now when he’s gone, all of these naysayers will think back to when the orchestra played at the level it’s playing at now.

The audience in Chicago’s Grant Park are envious of us. They only have Kalmar in the summer.

And about rebuilding the orchestra, isn’t that what he was hired to do?

By: Nancy Ives

Nancy Ives — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:21:06 +0000

Right on and well said. LOL that you were the guy who knocked over the wine glass.