I spend lots of time, much more than I’d like, talking about nomenclature — the terms we use for various elements of the musical universe I inhabit. Very often, these terms are highly charged and nearly political in their implication. … Continue reading →
It’s been another busy couple of weeks, but I’ve been trying to keep up with everything that’s going on the music world at large. I generally just skim the gloomy news that seems so prevalent in the orchestra world and … Continue reading →
Amid the latest gut-punching barrage of bad news for those of us who make our livings in the arts, I’m trying to stay focused and get some work done this morning on the relatively trifling matter of our next Inside … Continue reading →
…when enough is enough? For the Boston Symphony and James Levine, stepping out of scheduled performances of a highly-anticipated Mahler 9 was the back-breaking straw; Levine will officially step down from his music director position on September 1. For most … Continue reading →
Ever since musicians started caring about how we play music from different eras (taking a different stylistic approach to Bach, for example, than we use for Mahler,) there’s been a spirited debate about the use of vibrato in orchestral string … Continue reading →
Via my good friend Kate Holzemer (and the several hundred other musicians who seem to be passing this around on Facebook) I’m pleased to link you to this classic Time Magazine article from 1966 on the fab new trend of, … Continue reading →
I’ve written about the response to Dudamel’s first national tour with the LA Philharmonic, and noted the pitfalls of being a highly-hyped young conductor. Now the Philadelphia Orchestra has named as their new music director a young conductor who, along … Continue reading →
First of all, apologies for the sparse posting lately. Sarah and I both have a ton of work on our plates at the moment, and for me, that won’t be changing for at least another three weeks. So if there’s … Continue reading →
Normally, I’m not a big fan of April Fool’s stories in the press. They’re rarely funny, usually blindingly obvious, and generally seem to be taking needed space away from the important journalistic business of determining whether the Devil’s instrument on … Continue reading →
This week, we’re playing a richly varied program of music by Sibelius, Grieg, and Mozart – meat and potatoes repertoire – and I’m sitting at the back of the section with Sifei Cheng, who was my very first stand partner … Continue reading →
