There was never really any risk that James Levine’s rotator cuff injury would affect his conducting skill, of course, but it may be a sign of how important Levine’s presence has been to the revival of the BSO that his return to the podium has inspired such breathless anticipation. “Conducting is a mysterious occupation, one in which the exchange of information seems to occur almost by osmosis. Everyone should be heartened by what happened at Tanglewood on Friday night. No one should worry about Mr. Levine’s arm-waving capacities, nor should they ever have. It is not like losing one’s fastball.”
Tag: 07.09.06
The Family Business – Writing (Now If Only They Could Agree On What Happened)
The seven brothers and sisters of the Minot family are all writers. “Taken together, their books constitute a kind of New England ‘Rashomon,’ divergent and sometimes conflicting accounts of their collective past. And while no one would want to read their novels as coded autobiography or reduce them to dispatches from the family front, the Minots themselves keep revisiting the subject of their childhood as if it were possible to rewrite life.”
Piano Competition Winners – Did They Really Give The Best Performances?
Edward Reichel has a problem with the results of the just-completed Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition. “The six who were chosen to compete in the finals unquestionably should have been there. They deserved it. But those who took the top three prizes did not give the best performances.”
A Photograph Of Mozart’s Wife Surfaces
“The previously unknown print was discovered in archives in the southern German town of Altötting, local authorities said yesterday, and has been authenticated as including Mrs Mozart. The long-lost photograph was taken in October 1840, when Constanze Weber was 78, at Max Keller’s home. The Altötting state archive said it was believed this was the only time in her life that she had been photographed.”
Classical Music’s Hottest Season? Summer
Summer used to be the time classical musicians took some time off. In most cities, classical concerts were scarce. No more. “Exact figures are hard to come by, but in the last five years alone, summer festivals and workshops in America have doubled, from about 100 in 2001 to more than 200 this year, according to Chamber Music America.”
Why Online Music Can’t Beat Radio…
Online music is stealing audience. But can it rival radio? “Despite numerous attempts, no one online has found a way to turn the hat trick that sustained radio through six decades of dominance of the music industry. The iTunes store is just a very alluring retailer; it has no defining personality and therefore hasn’t developed into the kind of mass community that assembled around the most successful radio DJ shows. Various adventures in file-sharing have been a bonanza for music collectors, but have done little to advance the cause of sounds that weren’t already popular.”
What If One Company Controls All The Major Concerts?
A deal that combines America’s two largest concert promoters has Greg Kot worried about lack of competition. “The $350 million acquisition announced Wednesday will bring HOB Entertainment, the operator of the House of Blues clubs, under the umbrella of Live Nation, the Clear Channel Entertainment spinoff that is North America’s biggest concert promoter. The deal brings the concert business even closer to a monopoly, and the effect on ticket prices and artistic diversity could be crippling.”