Archive for October, 2007
A Joy Shared Is A Joy Doubled
Marc Geelhoed directed our eyes and ears yesterday to a video of Julia Fischer and Gordan Nikolić making an audio recording of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante. Quite simply, it was a joy to watch.
At the end of the day, after we have debated the merits of the binary du jour, giggled at bits [...]
The Contents Of An Ostrich’s Or Even A Hen’s Gizzard
A discussion in which Sir Donald takes a long walk into the Land of Tangential Analogies and compares music to amoebic digestion and various poultry gizzards.
Every work of art, from the most absolute of music to the most pantomimic of operas, selects its material in much teh same way as the amoeba selects its food; [...]
When Is A Gig Just A Gig?
Miss Mussel read Terry Teachout’s article on the NY Phil’s planned visit to North Korea with interest that, by the end of the first paragraph, turned to bewilderment. Since there are several points for which Miss Mussel has a contrary opinion, it seems most efficient to respond to each individually.
Mr Teachout begins by saying [...]
“That’s A Buncha Airiadite Readin’ You’ve Got There”
Miss Mussel’s local library had a book sale this morning and for the bargain basement price of $9, she has become the owner of the following volumes:
Gray, Cecil. Contemporary Music. OUP, 1924.
Sullivan, JWN. Beethoven. Pelican, 1951.
Bonavia Hunt, HG. A Concise History of Music. Scribner’s Sons, 1903.
Nettel, Reginald. The Orchestra In England. Alden, 1946.
Guerber, H.A. [...]
Music Manifesto: Help or Hindrance?
Today’s article from the Battle of Ideas is by Piers Hellawell, a composer and, for many years, a professor at the Queen’s University of Belfast. While the essay is about the Music Manifesto, a British government initiative to push music lessons in schools, it makes some though-provoking points about the egalitarianism that is prevalent [...]
Now, Where Did I Put My Napalm?
There’s a bit of a battle going at Listen101 regarding the gender makeup of ensembles and programs. Those of you that ran to the scene when FIGHT was announced in high school may want to go on over.
Lisa Hirsch has taken the time to post a very thoughtful response.
The truth is that feminism, [...]
Why Good Music Should Be Elitist
Today’s installment from the Battle of Ideas is bits of an essay by Anca Dumitrescu, a regular writer for Culture Wars.
The main theme of the essay is the universality of music but Dumitrescu makes excellent points about elitism. The OM think tank is working on a Salute To Elitism week, for which this article [...]
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