brilliant criticism April 30, 2008
Posted by Charles Noble in : appreciation/criticism, music, add a commentThroughout history, the great works of literature (whether well-received or not) have sparked equally great works of literary criticism. Alex Ross’ brilliant history of music in the twentieth century has sparked criticism of the highest order - most lately by the great British tenor Ian Bostridge, writing in the Times Literary Supplement (think the English equivalent of The New York Times Review of Books).
Thanks to E. for the tip.
Here’s a taste:
Alex Ross’s The Rest is Noise tells the story of what happened to Western classical music in the twentieth century. We all know that the invention of recorded sound around 1900 made possible an extraordinary dissemination of the riches of the classical repertoire - largely composed for the rich and powerful - to the mass of ordinary people. On the gramophone, the radio, television and, subliminally and hence more powerfully, through the movies, the classical sound in all its variants (even the supposedly rebarbative confections of the Second Viennese School) has insinuated itself into the culture at large. Never before have so many people listened to, or liked, so-called classical music. Yet this extraordinary triumph has culminated in a malaise, a feeling, widespread in the musical profession and elsewhere, that classical music is in crisis and that things have never been so bad. Classical music feels abandoned, left behind as history has moved on, sulking in its tent as the real cultural action happens somewhere else.
denk thinks, portland listens July 18, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : Uncategorized, add a comment
One of my favorite music bloggers, the pianist Jeremy Denk, made quite a splash at the Portland International Piano Festival this past weekend - click here for a complete review by Oregonian classical music critic David Stabler. Here’s the lead-in:
Many piano concerts are like trips to the shopping mall: safe, predictable excursions with a commercial intent.
Not Jeremy Denk’s. Last weekend in Portland, the 37-year-old New York pianist took us to the edge of a precipice, lined himself up and jumped.
Denk’s piano recital was so daring, so fraught with peril that I expected to see hazard lights flashing around the perimeter of the stage. Men with walkie-talkies would warn us to keep our distance. Ambulances would be lined up to handle injuries. Gawkers would sell souvenirs.
Below him lay the abyss of Ivesian chaos (Charles Ives’ “Concord” Sonata), with its four movements of surging strife and transcendental difficulty. Beethovenian chaos followed (the “Hammerklavier” Sonata) with its own four movements of surging strife and transcendental difficulty. They are similar in intent, both ending where they began, making a dangerously brilliant pair.
Beauty and refinement — the customary rewards of recitals — ceased to exist. Instead, Denk took us to the heart of darkness with music that normally repels audiences: dysfunctional harmonies, chord clusters, lack of continuity, contradiction.
maazel strikes back at critics June 22, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a comment
Well, it seems that Lorin Maazel has gotten tired of the many swipes taken at him by US critics, mostly by (but not limited to) the New York Times gang.
Here’s a sample:
He also expressed his disdain for the musical press. “When Leonard Bernstein was director of the New York Philharmonic, the critics dealt dishonourably with him, wanted him out. But American critics are incompetent.” It is possible to disagree with that, at least to a degree.
“If journalists wrote of sports as they do of music,” Maazel continued, “they would be fired a thousand times. But classical music is a niche field, and newspaper editors understand nothing about it . . . More than anything, critics hate the great music that appeals to all of us. Mediocrities cannot abide genuine talent. They turn up their noses at Puccini, Bizet, Tchaikovsky, but praise certain contemporary composers whose music is unbearable.”
You can read the complete article here.
classical music blogger does good June 8, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : Uncategorized, add a commentThe pianist Jeremy Denk (of Think Denk fame) has gotten a very nice mention of his performance of Charles Ives‘ “Concord” Sonata. Now Jeremy can use “brilliant” - the New York Times, in his promo materials! You can read the entire article (ostensibly a review of a concert from the Emerson Quartet’s Beethoven “Quartets in Context” series going on a Carnegie Hall this month) here. Here’s the bit on Mr. Denk: (more…)
assault on critics June 2, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : Uncategorized, add a commentHenry Fogel writes about the alarming trend of major US newspapers jettisoning their classical music critics. They say that they aren’t diminishing their arts coverage, but shouldn’t an expert provide the coverage? Here’s a link to the blog entry.
critical assault on maazel June 2, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a comment
The NY Times continues its unrelenting assault on the music directorship of Lorin Maazel, this time his conducting of the New York Philharmonic’s “Brahms the Romantic” festival. Here’s my favorite snarky comment from Allan Kozinn’s review: (more…)
the fabulous philadelphians May 30, 2007
Posted by Charles Noble in : the orchestra world, add a commentUPDATE: Here’s the Seattle Times review by critic Melinda Bargreen. [link may expire after a few days]
Yesterday my wife and I went up to Seattle’s Benaroya Hall to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra perform the last concert of their 2007 US tour. It was a trip that was based upon the important roles that the Philly Orchestra has played in each of our lives. (more…)
critics critiqued December 7, 2006
Posted by Charles Noble in : Uncategorized, add a comment
I found this link via The Oregonian’s classical music critic David Stabler’s blog. Very interesting reading. Basically, Time Out New York put together a panel of critics to evaluate the major critics in New York City in all major areas, including classical music. Our own colleague in the blogosphere, Alex Ross, rated #1 in this survey - kudos, Alex! A number of the NYTimes critics were savaged, Anthony Tommasini and Anne Midgette in particular. I’d be inclined to agree with all of the results, though it is a very subjective thing to judge.
