Alex Ross's Blog, page 161

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Leading questions

Rob Deemer scrutinizes an American Federation of Musicians' questionnaire that begins: "How do you really feel about 21st-century repertoire?" One could just as well ask: "What kind of job would you have if composers of past eras had not written works that were often considered unplayable or nonsensical but that are now considered essential?"

Best Kept Secret

This has nothing to do with my usual beat, but, having seen a screening of Samantha Buck's overpowering documentary Best Kept Secret, about autistic students at a Newark school, I feel compelled to draw attention to it. Nothing I've seen this year has affected me as much. Be forewarned: this is not one of those documentaries that arrange stories to manufacture a sense of uplift. It will air on PBS on Sept. 23; there is a brief but admiring review in the New York Times today.

Music, Russia, and the gays

Joyce DiDonato, who will sing at the Last Night of the Proms tomorrow night (and whose dazzling greatest-hits collection ReJoyce was released the other day), writes on her blog about repressive anti-gay measures in Russia, and announces her intention to dedicate "Over the Rainbow" to "all of those brave, valorous gay and lesbian souls whose voices are currently being silenced." She is well aware of the difficulties inherent in the spectacle of an American artist assuming a pose of moral superiority, and avoids a grandstanding tone: it's a nuanced and personal discussion of a hugely charged issue.

I have been following stories and commentaries about the controversy over Russian musicians' support of Putin, and will write about it in a future issue of The New Yorker. I trust there's no need to explain why I've headed this post with Sviatoslav Richter playing Tchaikovsky.

Previously: Gergiev endorses Putin.

Horenstein on Furtwängler

Perhaps the definitive judgment: "He was a great musician, but he was a weak man."

The non-rarity of female conductors

Jessica Duchen has a list. Sadly, though not surprisingly, the discussion of Vasily Petrenko's remarks has shown that such sexist attitudes are anything but rare. Jessica points out some telling comments at the Classic FM website, including this one, by the ironically named Michael New: "Women simply do not understand or feel the subtleties of music as much as men." I'd love to see Mr. New in the same room as Mitsuko Uchida.

Fungibility

Mina Fisher in the Star Tribune : "This week Minnesota Orchestra CEO Michael Henson told the New York Times: “When we get up and running again … I’m sure we will get an astonishing bunch of individuals who will want to perform and live in this great city.' In other words, our great musicians and Osmo Vänskä are fungible — easily exchangeable." She goes on to argue that the Minnesota players are anything but fungible — that each departure changes the "sonic chemistry" of the ensemble. She might have added that CEOs can come and go without altering the sound of an orchestra in the slightest. But in Minnesota we seem to have a radically topsy-turvy situation where the management views itself as indispensable and the musicians as disposable. Perhaps, on Nov. 2 and 3, Michael Henson and the board of the Minnesota Orchestra Association can appear onstage at Carnegie Hall, and we can all gather to hear the ineffably sublime music they make.

Imminent failure

The latest from Minnesota: "'Osmo may have to leave,' Davis said in a meeting Tuesday with the Star Tribune editorial board. 'The board is resolved to know that that is a risk. Carnegie, the opening of the hall. All three may have to fall.'"

It is time — long past time — for leading figures in Minnesota to take concerted action in the face of the chilling attitude embodied in Richard Davis's comments. The group Orchestrate Excellence has sent an open letter to Gov. Mark Dayton, Mayor R. T. Rybak, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, asking for precisely that. "Steps you take over these next few days will determine whether Minnesota
continues to be home to an internationally renowned orchestra, or simply hosts
a regional orchestra."

More on Ira Aldridge

A thoughtful blog post from the Houghton Library at Harvard.

Noted

Susanna Eastburn, quoted in a piece by Charlotte Higgins: "There's a wealth of female musical talent out there which isn't being put forward enough. I'm done with the 'we just need to focus on the best regardless of gender' argument – Petrenko's remarks illustrate that this is very far from being a level playing field and feminism remains an issue."