Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
On Dietrich Fischer Dieskau, and why classical music is worth the learning curve. "You’ll hate it at first perhaps. But leave it on. Leave it on over the next few days and suddenly, it will steal into you and never leave you"
Most of the value comes in rehearsal, when the conductor prepares the orchestra to play as he directs during performance. If that goes well, his presence in performance is largely decorative, save for giving cues
In most films, classical music is used clumsily for ironic effect: Beautiful sounds for sad and ugly scenes. Prominence of Bach in "Silence of the Lambs" works at a higher level. Lecter is a true Bachian—focused and precise
Musicians from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment take classical music on a tour of London pubs. Where the atmosphere is relaxed and respectful, not silent and reverential. More enjoyable, more historically authentic
Greatest pianist ever. His genius as performer overshadowed his genius as composer. "No one before Liszt played an entire public concert on the piano. He turned a musical performance into something like an athletic feat"
Sceptical writer decides it's time to have a proper go at appreciating music of Philip Glass. Makes his way through what iTunes tells him is "1.9 days" of symphonies, operas and more. This is how he got on
Beauty is in the ear of the beholder. Researchers give a group of professional musicians several violins to play blindfolded, with at least one Stradivarius among them. They can't tell the difference. Neither can you, probably
Russian opera house reopens after six-year, $680m renovation. Principal conductor says acoustics now "terrible". Audience boos first public performance. "It has been transformed into a fantastically unpredictable space"
Great moments in American market research. Why do 91% of first-time visitors to classical concerts not go back a second time? It's not the music, apparently. What newcomers want is plenty of parking, and changeable tickets
Has any musician ever written like this about the creative process? Here, Muhly arranges works by Byrd and Gibbon, and composes a concerto after Webern: "My brain tries to turn 12-tone music into post-Wagnerian tonal harmonies"
Copyright law can make it insanely difficult for even the composer to get recordings of his own new work, especially when scored for orchestra. But repeated listening is essential, for learning how a piece of music works in practice
"The Mute Girl of Portici", performed in Brussels in 1830, sparked revolution for Belgian independence from Holland. Now it's being performed again—but in Paris. Won't play in Brussels for fear it might spark another revolution
Image by Ferrari + caballos + fuerza = cerebro Humano  on Flickr
How classical music developed through written notation, the record, and the re-mix
