THE CLASSICAL KICK

posted by James Reel

    NewMusicBox has published an essay by composer Roger Rudenstein that’s exactly on the mark in its account of how classical music lost favor with the American public in the 1960s and later, and what can be done to advance the classical cause today. One thing Rudenstein is not afraid to make clear is that “classical music is an important art form and potentially achieves more depth and complexity than popular forms, however wonderful those are.” In other words, all music is not created equal, and by certain standards and for certain purposes, classical music can be superior to other kinds. (Too often, however, it is not.) Rudenstein observes that since the 1960s, classical music has been a “victim of shallow populism that has been a reaction to arrogant elitism.” Part of that elitism can be traced to the audience-unfriendly Modernist style, but that wasn’t the entire problem. Writes Rudenstein:

I doubt, however, that rejection of modernism is what drove Baby Boomers away from classical music. They weren't there in the first place. Part of their act of rebellion was to put a minus sign on anything their parents found important and classical music was seen as part of the conformity and stuffiness of the middle class life they rejected. To make matters worse, music education in the schools was gutted as the post-war prosperity waned and brought massive school budget cutbacks. So, it can't really be said that most Baby Boomers and, especially, the generations following, considered classical music and then rejected it. It was simply not an option.

    Now, I have nothing against elitism, as long as it isn’t arrogant, which it was in Modernist circles 40 and 50 years ago, and in their arrogance Modernist composer helped dig classical music’s early grave. That grave hasn’t yet been filled, though, Rudenstein’s essay is titled “Classical Music: Alive and Kicking,” and the composer offers several good ideas about how to keep it that way. Please do read the full article.

PULLING 'STRINGS'

posted by James Reel

    The latest issue of Strings magazine is online, and a fair chunk of it is by yours truly. Most prominent is the cover feature on a fine violinist with whom you may be unfamiliar:

    Yumi Hwang-Williams started playing new music quite casually, back when she was a violin student at the Curtis Institute. At the time, the school didn’t have a big composition program, and getting new scores performed was pretty informal. “The composers were there, you’d make friends, and they’d ask you as a favor to learn a piece for a class or concert,” recalls Hwang-Williams.
    Not exactly high-profile premieres back then.
    Today, in contrast, the violinist spends a great deal of her time playing freshly inked scores by such leading composers as Christopher Rouse, Michael Daugherty, Aaron Jay Kernis, and Thomas Adès. Most of these opportunities come to her via her work as concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and the Cabrillo Music Festival, in both cases under conductor Marin Alsop.
    “She’s obviously someone I think very, very highly of,” says Alsop, who moved this year to the Baltimore Symphony. “For a violinist of her caliber in this stage of her career, if you have the talent it’s a wonderful way to make a statement by championing these new works rather than yet again playing the Mendelssohn concerto. Why bother with that? She can bring something unique and new to all these new pieces. She’s an extremely conscientious musician. She likes to delve deeply into the music, and she’s become close with the composers whose works she’s performed.”

    You’ll find the whole article here. Then, if you’re a practicing string player, you may want to move on to my article on warm-up techniques. I admit that I took the lazy way out on this piece: One of the sources is a friend of mine, Tucson’s own Harry Clark, cellist of Chamber Music Plus Southwest; the other is my sister-in-law. Finally, the magazine reprints an article I wrote several years ago on how string players can master the fiddling technique called the chop.

OVER THE WASH AND THROUGH THE TUNNEL

posted by James Reel

    This being Christmas week, I had absolutely nothing to write about on the arts beat for the Tucson Weekly (but other contributors were more creative, as you’ll discover here). But I did contribute a restaurant review, after a long journey north and a deep dip into the expense account:

    Dining at McClintock's Restaurant on Tucson's far northwest side is a rewarding experience, and you really do deserve a reward--by the time you arrive, you feel that you've had to earn the privilege of eating there.
    Don't even think about just dropping in for dinner or drinks. For one thing, you wouldn't be able to find the place without research, and for another, there's a checkpoint, and if your name isn't on the list, you'll get picked up by the Border Patrol and sent to Sonora.

    Well, not really; you can learn the truth, and even read about the food, in my full review here. (By the way, the title of this post alludes to the actual path one must take to McClintock's.)

FREUDIAN SLIP OF THE YEAR

posted by James Reel

    This morning, a newscaster reading a story about a post-Christmas gift exchange, accidentally called it a program "for returning unwanted presidents." If only it were that simple.

REVIEW: BEETHOVEN/PAAVO JARVI

posted by James Reel

    For a forthcoming issue of Fanfare:

BEETHOVEN Symphonies: No. 3, “Eroica”; No. 8 * Paavo Järvi, cond; German Ch Phil Bremen * RCA 88697-13066-2 (hybrid SACD: 69:32)

    The most important Beethoven symphony cycles on SACD are DG’s two-channel reissue of the early-1960s Karajan set, which I reviewed in Fanfare 27:5 (“Karajan’s first DG Beethoven cycle has been a standard by which others are judged for 40 years, and this new SACD remastering ensures that it will remain so for the next generation”); Haitink on LSO Live (received orgasmically in England, more mutedly on this side of the pond); and Väska on Bis (not yet complete, but so far it’s a stunning achievement). Now here comes Paavo Järvi with his Bremen chamber orchestra, and his first installment blows Haitink out of the water fully rises to the high standards of Väska’s identical coupling of the Third and Eighth symphonies, which I reviewed in Fanfare 30:2.
    The main difference between Järvi and Väska has to do not with interpretive choices so much as the inevitable contrasts in texture between Järvi’s small orchestra and Väska’s large one (Minnesota). Even so, Järvi’s strings are definitely up front, and despite their comparatively small numbers they do dominate the tuttis, although the winds have plenty of presence in their solo and ensemble passages.
    Järvi’s “Eroica” is full of punch and brio and fine detail. Just listen to the pulse of the stuttering passage about half a minute into the first movement, the carefully crafted articulation and dynamic control, the supple phrasing, with a strong bass line throughout. The quality of playing throughout the orchestra is superb. The violins are nimble; all the strings largely eschew vibrato, to suspenseful effect in the first movements and with eerie results in the funeral march. The Scherzo is rollicking but never out of control, and the final movement is notable for the clarity of the various voices.
    Järvi launches the Eighth swiftly, but he also keeps the music light, graceful and almost dancelike while applying full force to the knockabout passages. The whole symphony goes by in this manner, and the final movement’s scurrying material is played remarkably quickly, and remarkably cleanly. Here, Järvi is clearly superior to the less witty Väska.
    Compared to Väska, Järvi’s signature has fewer flourishes but is no less bold. Järvi’s attention to precision and detail, and his intelligent forcefulness, alongside a reluctance to over-personalize the interpretation, call to mind Szell/Cleveland in the “Eroica” (also available in an SACD reincarnation).
    Regarding the sonics, there’s a sense of space behind the orchestra, rather than in front of it, giving the ensemble a particular resonance without making it seem distant.
    If you’re looking for a single Beethoven cycle in surround sound, should you invest in Väska or Järvi? Judging from this first installment, Järvi’s traversal has much in common with Väska’s, although the latter conductor tends to italicize his points just a bit more. Each of these in-progress cycles is superb, and you choice may come down to whether you want your Beethoven to sound full or lean.

BEHAVE

posted by James Reel

    From the Seattle Weekly, here’s refutation of the silly notion that audiences at classical concerts need to be free to be noisy, restless nuisances. Look: If you can’t manage to sit down, shut up and pay attention, you shouldn’t be allowed out of the house, not even to go to a movie.