{"id":1340,"date":"2008-10-27T06:00:12","date_gmt":"2008-10-27T13:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/?p=1340"},"modified":"2013-02-07T19:07:46","modified_gmt":"2013-02-08T03:07:46","slug":"ned-rorem-at-85-and-other-odds-and-ends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2008\/10\/27\/ned-rorem-at-85-and-other-odds-and-ends\/","title":{"rendered":"ned rorem at 85 and other odds and ends"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nComposer Ned Rorem<\/em><\/p>\n

Ned Rorem turned 85 last week – and I’ll be 95% of the classical music world didn’t even know.\u00c2\u00a0 I have a little bit of a reason to know, since I have several good friends that studied with him at the Curtis Institute, but it’s a shame that he’s not gotten more recognition in the form of performances on such an auspicious birthday (and how many 85 year old composers do you know who have their own MySpace page<\/a>?).<\/p>\n

The South Florida Classical Review<\/a>, a new blog to me, interviewed<\/a> Rorem, in advance of a couple of celebratory concerts in New York.\u00c2\u00a0 Here’s a section that I found interesting:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The general public couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care at all about what you and I are interested in, in other words, serious contemporary music.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I would think that performers would get sick of all of that. The same thing over and over and over,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Rorem says of the concerto and symphonic barnburners. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153But of course 150 years ago the only music that was played was contemporary music.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Rorem has a novel theory that newspapers and critics shaped the county\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s musical conservatism in the early 20th<\/sup> century, entrenching a certain Eurocentric repertory because that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what newspaper people believed their audience wanted to hear and read about. \u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u009dThe general public avoids contemporary music. But of course now most contemporary musc is comparatively listenable.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a twentieth century thing.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I can take this as a credible theory.\u00c2\u00a0 So often, an orchestra will perform a new work, and it will be criticized roundly for not being what the critic likes, rather than applauding the orchestra for taking risks on lesser-known repertoire.\u00c2\u00a0 I believe that it’s possible to create programs with new or recent repertory alongside the old chestnuts.<\/p>\n

I read a review in the NY Times<\/a> last week of a NY Phil concert with guest conductor David Robertson<\/a>, who is known for championing newer repertoire as well as interpreting old standbys in a different light.\u00c2\u00a0 Notably, the Philharmonic’s audience seemed not to like his straightforward approach to Brahm’s Third Symphony.\u00c2\u00a0 This, I cannot understand.\u00c2\u00a0 People, stay home and listen to your Klemperer<\/a> recording if you want the same stuff over and over again, live music involves taking a risk of variable size and severity on what will happen during the concert.\u00c2\u00a0 I prefer surprise over rote repetition – even if an interpretation might not stand the test of the ages (whatever that means), I’m most often pleased if I’m a little bit surprised or even offended by it – that means that whoever is at the helm is actually thinking about what they’re doing, and making some modern, relevant music as a result.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hagen Quartett | Photo: Regina Recht<\/em><\/p>\n

A perfect example is the Hagen Quartett<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 They are a youngish group from Germany who have such a unique and penetrating voice that I find them compelling in nearly all of their interpretations.\u00c2\u00a0 They seem not to take anything for granted, constantly finding a voicing of a chord that everyone else plays a certain way, or a new relationship between tempi, or using vibrato in unexpected ways.<\/p>\n

I hope that the classical music audience in America will evolve over the coming century – it seems to become more conservative with each passing year.\u00c2\u00a0 This despite the incredible volume of compositional talent in the US alone these days, and with the energy and technical facility of the performers that are largely untapped because of this conservatism.\u00c2\u00a0 Art does follow life, and vice versa, and with the country so closely divided between social liberalism and conservatism, and with a populist groundswell threatening to further color our politics (and art?) for years to come, it does follow that we do reap what we’ve sowed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Composer Ned Rorem Ned Rorem turned 85 last week – and I’ll be 95% of the classical music world didn’t even know.\u00c2\u00a0 I have a little bit of a reason to know, since I have several good friends that studied with him at the Curtis Institute, but it’s a shame that he’s not gotten more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[148,167,183,115,71,1045,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appreciations","category-composition","category-contemporary","category-music","category-politics","category-programming-music","category-the-orchestra-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-lC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":352,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/06\/04\/professionals-need-not-apply\/","url_meta":{"origin":1340,"position":0},"title":"professionals need not apply","author":"Charles Noble","date":"June 4, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I just finished reading David Stabler's post about his experience on the judging panel for the Cliburn Fifth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs in Forth Worth, Texas. I'll be excited to hear\/see the winners of this competition on video in the future - it sounds like their performances were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4678,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2010\/05\/19\/insert-name-here-festival\/","url_meta":{"origin":1340,"position":1},"title":"insert-name-here festival?","author":"Charles Noble","date":"May 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"David Stabler has the ticket sales info for last week's Beethoven Festival, which was quite successful, with just over 71 percent capacity audiences.\u00a0 He suggests a few possibilities for future festivals, such as Gershwin, Bernstein, or Latin.\u00a0 That got me to thinking, too. Viennese Festival - works of Mozart, Beethoven,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":528,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/11\/10\/interview-with-jennifer-higdon\/","url_meta":{"origin":1340,"position":2},"title":"interview with jennifer higdon","author":"Charles Noble","date":"November 10, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"For those of you who don't know Jennifer Higdon, she's one of America's leading composers. Over at NewMusicbox, there's a great interview with Higdon, as well as a video short that features some of her works in performance as well as additional interviews. She studied with Ned Rorem at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "composition"","block_context":{"text":"composition","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/composition\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/11\/cover_257x205.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1961,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2009\/02\/19\/spring-fever\/","url_meta":{"origin":1340,"position":3},"title":"spring fever","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 19, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"This happens just about every February.\u00c2\u00a0 The gloom lifts, the days start to lengthen, the sun comes out, and the temperature rises.\u00c2\u00a0 The daffodils which popped up their greenery a couple weeks ago suddenly have their colorful clown collars on, and my brain goes straight out the window!\u00c2\u00a0 Add to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "chamber music"","block_context":{"text":"chamber music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/chamber-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"spring flowers, pacific university","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/2391284530_03ffc9316d_m.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7352,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2012\/02\/22\/sixty-years-seven-days-seven-concerts\/","url_meta":{"origin":1340,"position":4},"title":"sixty years, seven days, seven concerts","author":"Charles Noble","date":"February 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"William Crane turns 60 this month, and to celebrate, he's playing seven one-hour recitals with many friends-collaborators lending a hand. And no wonder. Bill is one of those people who is so excited about the prospect of making and sharing music, and once he sets his mind to doing a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "chamber music"","block_context":{"text":"chamber music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/chamber-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"William Crane","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jubalsighed.com\/images\/bill.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15526,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2019\/04\/27\/the-voice-of-the-composer\/","url_meta":{"origin":1340,"position":5},"title":"the voice of the composer","author":"Charles Noble","date":"April 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"No, not the speaking voice. But if you want to know what Tchaikovsky's speaking voice sounded like, you can check that out here. I'm talking (see what I did there?) about the composer's musical voice. It's what alerts your ear - having never heard a particular piece before - that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "appreciation"","block_context":{"text":"appreciation","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/appreciations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/1485182271.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1340\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}