The other day, I had the following conversation with an old friend, a violinist in El Paso, on her Facebook page: Her: I’m trying to remember how to play the violin… Me: The bow goes in the left hand, I’m … Continue reading →
Back when I worked as an editor at ArtsJournal.com, my boss and I used to have occasional friendly debates over whether sports analogies used in the service of explaining parts of the arts world were a) a useful tool, or … Continue reading →
Sorry for the paucity of posts, it was a nutty week! Between the Scandinavian Christmas show with the Orchestra and hightailing it to LA for more Christmas merry-making I’ve had little time for…well, anything besides traveling, rehearsing and conducting shows … Continue reading →
I don’t know what it is about musicians that causes us to prize twisted, awful versions of melodies that everyone else treasures, but we do. Most likely, it has something to do with the ungodly number of times that we … Continue reading →
There’s a good chance that you’ve never heard of Gilbert Kaplan, even if you follow the music world pretty closely. On the other hand, if you’re a devoted Mahler fan, the type who has more than one complete set of … Continue reading →
12/19/08: I have been ordered by members of our management team to remove this post. I don’t agree with the decision, but it’s not my call. Sorry…
I know, I know, I’ve posted this before, but it’s just too good! And it’s one of those things that never fails to make me laugh (there are a couple of those in my life). Here it is; the most … Continue reading →
For those who like ruminating on composers and their craft, there’s an excellent piece up over at NewMusicBox which asks the question: does the diversity of musical styles in use at the moment really offer composers the creative freedom that … Continue reading →
A belated happy birthday to Olivier Messiaen, who would have turned 100 yesterday. Messiaen’s works have been featured by orchestras around the world this season (including the Minnesota Orchestra, a concert which I’ve blogged about.) (Coincidentally, Des Canyons aux Étoiles … Continue reading →
