WELL SAID

From the desk of James Reel on Wednesday, November 26th 2008 at 11:40

From the blog On an Overgrown Path:

How right Hopkinson Smith is about the need for virtuoso listeners. So much futile effort is being extended today on trying to reach non-existent new audiences for classical music when, what is really needed, is to develop, extend and challenge existing audiences.

Read blogger Pliable's further remarks on the subject here.

WHY MANAGERS LOOK LIKE VILLAINS

From the desk of James Reel on Wednesday, November 26th 2008 at 8:20

According to this news item, the principal cellist of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra has been fired for the second time in a year. I have no idea what this is about, but the orchestra’s top manager is almost forcing us to take the cellist’s side with this kind of babble: “I do not consider it to be a firing. I consider it to be a termination.” What does that mean? It looks like obfuscation, and even if the management has good cause to dump the cellist, junk language like that is bound to make ordinary people suspicious.

DISCONNECTED?

From the desk of James Reel on Monday, November 24th 2008 at 8:09

Greg Sandow announces:

I'm making a list—and checking it twice—of all the ways in which classical music doesn't connect to our larger culture.

I won’t reprint the seven items Greg has initially compiled; you can read it here. But when I look at the list, my reaction is, for the most part, so what? ...

THINGS STRINGS

From the desk of James Reel on Friday, November 21st 2008 at 10:28

Speaking of Strings magazine (see the entry below), I’ve neglected to post links to my contributions to the December issue. First, an article about something you may have heard here on KUAT-FM ...

GUARNERI UPDATE

From the desk of James Reel on Friday, November 21st 2008 at 10:21

My organization, the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, has booked the Guarneri Quartet for an April concert here in Tucson, one of its very last before it disbands. But second violinist John Dalley has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and will soon undergo treatment, which will of course disrupt the quartet's tour schedule. ...

MURDER, SEX AND TAPAS

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, November 20th 2008 at 9:31

Sometimes I worry (but only for a moment) about over-exposure. Yesterday a magazine editor sent me 13 assignments due at various points between now and next September, in addition to assignments I already have for that magazine, and others that are sure to follow. How much of me can editors and readers really stand in a single issue? And in the latest Tucson Weekly, I make a perhaps excessive three contributions ...

BLYTHE SPIRIT

From the desk of James Reel on Wednesday, November 19th 2008 at 8:14

If you enjoyed seeing and hearing mezzo Stephanie Blythe in Arizona Opera’s production of The Mikado over the weekend, you’ll be happy to hear that Musical America has named her vocalist of the year ...

REVIEW: LINCOLN CENTER CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY DOWNLOADS

From the desk of James Reel on Tuesday, November 18th 2008 at 8:56

If you’re enjoying our Thursday broadcasts of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, you might be interested in reviews of a couple of the organization’s downloads I wrote for Fanfare magazine ...

PODIUM GARB

From the desk of James Reel on Monday, November 17th 2008 at 8:32

There’s been plenty of talk about how orchestra players should dress on stage, but have you given any thought to what conductors wear in rehearsal?

OBAMA/NIELSEN

From the desk of James Reel on Friday, November 14th 2008 at 9:34

This week’s New Yorker cover by Bob Staake is especially striking for the way it blends several common images into an immediately recognizable message, even if that message is a bit hard to articulate. Bear with me, because this post will really be about music, but first look at the image ...

ALT WEEKLIES THRIVE EVEN WITHOUT ME

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, November 13th 2008 at 8:28

Hi! Remember me? Don’t tell me you didn’t notice I was gone. I took a long weekend to spirit my wife away to California to visit friends and guzzle Napa Valley wine. Now I’m back and settled in, but because I was away I didn’t contribute anything to the latest Tucson Weekly, so I won’t even post a link to that publication because why would you want to read it if I’m not in it?

More seriously ...

THE LOST AND THE DEAD

From the desk of James Reel on Thursday, November 6th 2008 at 7:41

In the latest Tucson Weekly, I review very good productions of newish plays with local connections ...

CENTRIST MEDIA

From the desk of James Reel on Wednesday, November 5th 2008 at 8:55

I haven't blogged in the past few days because the temptation has been too great to make some sort of political comment, and this is not a political blog ...

SHELKO VS STAR

From the desk of James Reel on Tuesday, November 4th 2008 at 8:07

The Arizona Daily Star has been slamming the Rio Nuevo project pretty heavily this year, documenting huge expenditures with few results. Now Greg Shelko, the director of the project, is fighting back with a response to the most recent Star article (now gone from the free part of the Web site). I don't know how much play Shelko's response will get, so I'll post it here (distributed by Ward 1 City Council member Regina Romero) ...