Who gets this?

Who gets classical music?
There are definitely some circles of classical music listeners, thankfully smaller and smaller, that are into classical music for scene or perhaps more accurately, to be seen. Some don't spend much time with the music at all and rarely get past the surface but clearly this class of 12 year olds are into this in a very real way thanks to some brave educators and performers.



NPR: Deceptive Cadence - Don't underestimate younger audiences



Perhaps they will one day be like the guy I saw on Friday night leaving the opera blasting "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée", the famous tenor aria from Carmen, with the windows rolled down as if it was some pop song as he left the parking lot.

This ain't American Idol

Sing for your Life - Daniel Bergner NYT

In recent years the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, otherwise none as the Met Competition, has been compared to and fed off the attention of the amazingly successful American Idol TV Show. Though there are a number of similarities to both competitions which are the supreme rulers in their individual areas of interest, to go too far with the comparisons in some way takes away from both events.

What I think has made American Idol so successful is not the competition or even the music but rather the stories behind the singers and the drama created as the stories unfold before our eyes. This article by Daniel Bergner appearing in the New York Times on May 19th, 2011 is a fantastic glimpse into one of those back stories.

Truly one of the most personal stories I have read about classical music in quite some time.

Sing for your Life - Daniel Bergner NYT

Kids and "classical" music

One of my core beliefs is that children, all children, deserve exposure to the arts of as many cultures as possible including our own. In particular I think that there should be as little distinction between styles as possible so that they are able to make up their own minds based on good information

NPR recently featured this story How Do You Introduce Classical Music to Kids?

Being married to a woman who group up in a household of classical musicians I encountered someone who primarily listened to classical music growing up. It was what was playing on the stereo at home and in the cars when they drove around town, it was the dominant style of music in her life and while it isn't the first choice of music that she listens to in the car or around the house, it does make it's way into the rotation.

Classical music simply will not survive as a viable genre if we depend on exposure to come through the education system alone and to count on people who consider being a fan of classical music to be part of upper-class taste.

Catching up, part 2

Part 2, really?

Yes, I had way more to say than I thought about the National Jukebox and I even edited myself down to the point where I'm not sure I said what I meant to. Oh well, I'm not really a writer I just like to share stuff.

Here are the other arts articles I wanted to share this week.

A Pitch for New Music - David Lang
The title of this article is a pun and I won't really say much about the article except that it compares Baseball to Classical music and you should totally read it. It is a bit lengthy but absolutely worth while and if you do read it please come back and comment about it because I would love to get the discussion going on that one.

New beginning? Or beginning of the end?
This is an article from Peter Dobrin of the Philadelphia Inquirer... no, not the National Iquirer, the Philadelphia Inquirer and it's a pretty legit paper.

A little back story.

The Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra is one of the "Big 5" orchestras which is a rather prestigious designation even though it is outdated. (Some might say that all prestigious designations are inherently old if not outdated). New York is the cultural heart of the United States and arguably the world and during the mid-20th century all five of these orchestras had annual concert series in New York City which put them at the forefront of the musical landscape in the US.

Although Philadelphia is one of the oldest cities in America and has long ties to cultural institutions the fact that it is mentioned in the same league as New York, Boston and Chicago (3 of the other 5) let alone that is some peoples minds above Los Angeles or San Francisco is due in no small part to the prestige of the orchestra and the Curtis institute of music which would not exist if it were not for that orchestra.

So when Peter Dobrin asks whether or not Philadelphia even needs an orchestra virtually anyone who bothered to read the story would have gasped. The orchestra in Philadelphia is as much a part of the town as the Packers are to Green Bay, Wisconsin.

The other more recent portion of the story is that the Philadelphia Orchestra recently filed for bankruptcy for a number of reasons which are not all clear to me. Negotiations between the orchestra and the musicians have not been going well and in part it seems as though filing for chapter 11 will allow the orchestra management to be a little more aggressive in talks with the union.

This ties in to the book I just finished reading Mozart in the Jungle by Blair Tindall which is, as the subtitle suggests, about "Sex, Drugs and Classical Music". More than that it is also a good history lesson on the how American classical music, namely major symphony orchestras, got to this point which many would argue is an unsustainable system.

I have to say that every where I look I see unsustainable music organizations which I can't imagine will be here in 20-40 years whether that is POP music, opera companies, church music or local semi-pro choirs/orchestras. I just don't know how they'll keep their heads above water unless they change.

I am fully confident that this music will last whether people pay for it or not. As Ms. Tindall argues in some ways what we are seeing is a market correction and we may find ourselves at a more realistic view of how our art fits in the overall culture and will in all likely hood be more accountable to public taste. (Ironically Ms. Tindall jumped from classical music to print media which I believe is also undergoing a similar process)

Catching up

So it's been a while since I've posted anything with this blog and that is due, in large part, because my laptop was stolen at my work. I never got it back and I gave up scanning Craigslist for it a couple of weeks after it went missing. I did however get a new laptop and hope to one day even launch my own website. Until then this blog will do all I need it to.

For me the thing that happened in the last few weeks that I'd like to share was the release of the Library of Congress "National Jukebox" program/website which has made available 10,000 historic recordings, most of which recorded on the old cylinder recording system.

Although there are very few that I would bother putting on my iPod so I could listen as I work out or drive there are a ton of really interesting recordings available. The Atlantic monthly made a list of the 9 best recordings 9 best recordings from the national archive.

In case you are too lazy to go look up that article I have decided to include some of those recordings as well as my commentary on them.

The first recording for your amusement is "O Soave Fanciulla" from La Boheme, performed by Enrico Carusso and Nellie Melba.


When I was in college and obsessed with opera singers and trying to be one I listened to everyone I could and read any book or magazine that came my way. It seemed like was always hearing about the "golden age" of opera singers and truth be told I was never sure when that was but my best guess would have been about the first half of the 20th century, give or take a decade.

As I was an aspiring tenor I was always hearing referances to names like Jussi Bjorling, Enrico Caruso, Franco Corelli, John McCormack and on down the line and of course purchased and borrowed recordings. To my modern ears tempered by studio recordings I just can't get over the tone quality. To me these singers all sound thin and unattractive with none of the richness or "ping" that I would expect a great singer to have.

Beyond the tone I am frankly unimpressed with the phrasing, breathing  or dynamic contrast one can hear on those recordings. Now, I will say that I imagine this is due to the recording quality not being able to capture any of those subtleties. Moreover, I think it's possible that singers had to altar their interpretations to coordinate with the orchestra and achieve some sort of balance for this technology.

That being said, there is an odd shift in vibrato over the scope of recorded history. It seems that vibratos have become increasingly wider and as a result slower than you can hear on this recording. In fact, at times I don't hear any vibrato in the sopranos voice which would be virtually unacceptable by today's standards.

What I do find rather interesting and illuminating is to contrast this with purely instrumental recordings in which tone and technique have changed little in this time.

This next recording is alleged to be the first true "Jazz" recording in that it is not just ragtime music with a swing rhythm but it also incorporates the syncopation and most importantly improvisation that we come to expect of jazz music.









What is of particular interest to me is the tone of the Clarinet in this recording. The most notable on first listen is the extreme high notes it chimes in at the "head" of the piece. The high note, an E flat, makes me think that it is possible that the clarinetist is using the smaller and therefore higher E flat clarinet but that is a rare instrument used primarily in orchestral situations so is not likely.

Aside from the remarkable tessitura of the clarinet is the tone of the instrument on the record. It is rather shallow and not nearly as rich as I would expect from a player who clearly has a solid grasp of the clarinet technique. Though I am no expert on Clarinet or even woodwinds in general I am confident that a beginning to intermediate player would easily be capable of a more rich tone. The vibrato while fast is not unusual in Jazz music and is similar to the rate of the vibrato of the singers in the previous recording.

I find this important because from that observation I realize that the tone quality is inherently altered in these recordings. You are probably thinking "no duh" but the distinction is important to me because I can fairly easily imagine a higher quality clarinet in that mix but I find myself unable to do that with the singers. I'm not sure if this is because I'm more critical of the singers or if it is because there are still other stylistic elements that have changed more over time and I can't seem to reconcile them.

At any rate I find these recordings fascinating and I hope you take the time to explore them and let me know what else I should listen to!

 For more listening
http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/

Playing with your heroes

I'll just come out and admit that I don't actually care for the music of Beyonce very much. I became aware of Beyonce as a member of Destiny's Child back in the early 2000's and had heard rumors of her family (I thought it was her mom) essentially creating the group as a launch pad for Beyonce cutting other "members" of the group after they tried to separate from family management. I can't corroborate this but I did have an understanding that it was all to make Beyonce a star by any means necessary, and that really doesn't jive with me.

On the other hand her music is everywhere now and speaks to a lot of people, particularly young inner city kids. Some of those kids at Harlem Public School #161 have worked very hard to put together a flash mob routine choreographed to one of Beyonce's songs.

Ok, once again being honest, flash mob really isn't my thing either. Although I have some sort of performance in my blood, showing off in front of a unsuspecting crowd and inflicting your art on them kinda freaks me out. When I watch these flashmob videos I get goose bumps... and not because it's good. That being said, I think flash mobs democratize the art and put it in the hands of everyone in many ways and I think that is cool. Art is not for the few or the elite, it is for everyone. There are no inherent differences between the stars and us, we put those there.
As easily as those walls that separate the performer from the audience, the star from the people can be put up, they can just as easily be torn down...



I think every kid, and maybe if we're honest a few adults as well, dream of doing their thing alongside their heroes. Whether it is the bottom of the ninth bases loaded at bat, the air guitar solo, or even fantasy role play I imagine all of us have experienced the ecstasy of those imagined situations.

The kids at PS 161 clearly spent hours working on the moves for that song, watched the video countless times and probably envisioned themselves right along Beyonce in the video and it came to life! Not only that but they stayed right with the routine the whole time and barely missed a beat. They lived that dream moment to the fullest and I'm sure they will never forget it.

Beyonce showed that even though she did whatever it took to be a star, she is not to proud to jump in line with a bunch of dorky kids who are real people and real fans. That speaks loads about her character and maybe even more impressively, she can really move. She nailed that dance routine, which was probably only learned for the video, in some major high heels.

Impressive.

We can all learn from this and the lesson is different from each. As a spectator I will try not to judge other artists and presume to think that they are not also real people. As an artist I am encouraged to share my work with as many people will listen will have it.