Not the dead poet-

If you haven't already noticed, Thomas May (not the dead poet), who is easily among the very best music writers of our era, recently began a blog called Memeteria. I find this delightful for two reasons: the first is because his writing has always been extremely informative, insightful, and straightforward; second, there's been a lot discussion and hand-wringing lately about the current state and uncertain future of classical music blogs and I find it refreshing (and reassuring) that one of the best in the business has decided to sit down at the table. All is not lost, Ms. Fine.

May has posted a link to his article for the world premiere of Tobias Picker's Dolores Claiborne, which opens at San Francisco Opera next week and after reading it my interest level in the new work, already high, rose substantially. He's also linked to a very interesting article by Philip Kennicott which recently appeared in The New Republic about the state of American orchestras that was, as May put it, "substantial and thought provoking," especially when one thinks about the San Francisco Symphony, which is in some ways following the ominous tide (as seen by Kennicott) and in others obstinately swimming against it (and I recommend you do read the comments). That's just for starters- May is always worth reading and he's a prolific poster. Check him out.

Let us bleed: the high price of concert tickets

Of course it's only rock and roll...

After reading comments on his Facebook page about the high prices of tickets to the upcoming Prince DNA shows and Stones concerts, I challenged my friend and fellow-blogger Gordon Elgart, who is Editor-in-Chief of the website Spinning Platters, to a debate on the subject. He believes acts like the Stones and Prince are sticking it to their fans with these high-priced concerts, and worse, that younger music fans lose out when prices get to the level where they are obtainable only by people with large amounts of disposable income. I disagree with him.

You can read our exchange here.


but I still like it. Yes I do.

The Big List of Classical Music Blogs

Image from www.danfisher.org  used without permission

From Toronto, Colin Eatock launched a new site today called The Big List of Classical Music Blogs. There are over three hundred URLs listed and the site is nicely broken into sections: Composers, Performers, Presenters, Biz, Newspaper Critics, Scholars and Independent Views. I scanned the list and found many blogs I already knew of, but also saw many that are new to me. So if you get tired of what's appearing in your RSS feed or are looking for some new sources on the subject of Classical music, take a look at Eatock's big list.

"one endless, giant, offensive yelp review"

The quote below was taken from a blog called Tiny Jean Jackets Everywhere Twitching the "really good example" being A Beast in a Jungle:

"... my recent practice of coffee shop studying alongside start-up workers have left me ultra-aware of how this city is increasingly (okay, its been going on for a minute) designed for this set of people that move through the world as though they were constructing one endless, giant, offensive yelp review. (munira sent me a really good example of this today re: the terrifying and amazing Lemi Ponifasio dance performance we saw on thursday). there’s a lot to love, but i can’t help but sometimes look around, survey the damage, and think, “shit is hitting the fan, and i’m going to be stuck alongside people whose worldly relations function like a yelp review? am i sure this is this a good idea?”

"offensive"?

Sneak Peek at the Stern Grove Festival Calendar?

Want to see it before everyone else does? Take a look here.

Thanks Gordon- see you at Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings!

Offensive? Misogynist? Moi?

Searching on Google to determine where certain feeds to this blog were coming from, I came across a blog called Music and Politics which has a post on it called "Fat Ladies need not apply." The author, who is taking a class on the blog's name, has written a post based on one of mine, "Did the fat lady sing?."

This is kind of weird. It's also amusing because the author goes to some length to make me look like a misogynistic ass by cherry-picking some of what I wrote. I feel shamefully abused.

Below is from her post:

An interesting post on a personal blog, A Beast in a Jungle, entitled “Did the fat lady sing?” credits Voigt’s firing scandal with what he perceives as a permanent shift in opera casting. As he says, “Deborah Voigt killed the fat lady. In all but a few roles, its over for them as far as opera is concerned.” To prove his point, he posts the pictures of the leading sopranos of the San Francisco Opera’s season. He calls them, “six reasons to applaud Operavision in the balconies, or justification to buy really good seats.” He introduces them as “the hotties.”

Despite the misogynist tendencies of his posting, “John Marcher” (he acknowledges that this is a pseudonym) has some valid points. If you sift through the offensive stuff I can see his point that “Mimis, Carmens, and Violettas are much more convincing when they don’t look like the well-fed wives of the King.” At the core of his argument is this statement:

“Opera is a combination of music and drama—it doesn’t work without both and when the people onstage look and sound the part (and can act as well as sing” it is only then that the true power of the Western world’s most potent art form fully comes to life.”

This is easily the least offensive statement Marcher makes and it is one I can acknowledge the practicality of. As opera seeks to become relevant to a culture full of movie stars and sexy pop idols, producers need to utilize every tool at their disposal. Actors and actresses that look the part of their tempting characters render more believable drama and add sexual appeal to the visual fantasticism that is typical of many operas, drawing audiences.

Ms. Voigt, in fact, also agrees. A New York Times article on her stresses that, despite the controversy, “Voigt defends the right of opera companies to take appearance into account when they are casting productions” though she “insists that vocal artistry should come first.”

Hmm... where shall I start?

The author takes offence at my using the word "hotties." Okay so perhaps the class is being taught at some politically correct school where they don't have a sense of humor about such things? I don't know, but I did include the 50 year-old Karita Mattila as one of the hotties, and she is, so what's the problem baby?

Incredulously, she then created a separate post using all of the pictures I posted (except she didn't call them "hotties"- entitled "The six leading sopranos for the San Francisco Opera’s 2010 season." The nerve of you, young lady!

Honestly, what bothers me most is that the writer essentially acknowledges everything I opined about is true and seems to be calling me out only because I focused on only the female singers. Darling, that was the point of the post! And you seem to agree with me, so why are you being so unkind by labeling me so?

Sweetie, had you delved a little deeper, perhaps you would have found out what I thought about overweight male singers- like Johan Botha, for example, who strains credibility onstage because of his size, and how the experience is improved when performed by someone who looks, as well as sounds, convincing in the role- regardless of being male or female.

I don't know if the author of Music and Politics will ever see my little rebuttal, but my dear, the comments section and my email are wide open for you (she has neither available on her blog).

We do indeed live here

Julie Michelle's photography project/blog/website/experiment in cultural anthropology i live here:SF has been drawing interest since she launched it and the interest only grows as time goes on. Michelle invites San Francisco residents to write something about themselves- what brought them here, what they like about living here, their family histories, etc., and then she takes terrific photographs of these denizens in their favorite locales.

The stories and photographs come from all over the City and encompass the unique diversity found here. Young and old, beautiful and not, hipster and average Joe, she truly is capturing the essence of the City's disparate population which lives cheek by jowl in the world's largest small town.

Spots and Spotswood

Tonight there was a retrospective of her work at Somarts, a lively gallery in SOMA. It was like old home week in a way: not only were many of the subjects there, but the event had the feel of real community. All of these people came to look and read and gawk because we do indeed live here, and Michelle's project reminds us why, as if we needed a reminder- it's about the people and the places. The gallery was packed. I was pleased to see many people I knew and to meet some folks I've known of but hadn't yet gotten the pleasure of actually meeting before. It was terrific to get a chance to meet and talk with Rachel, the real persona behind the lovely blog Fog City Notes and her friends the soft-spoken Tenisha and the tall brunette who would disappear often only to return (Laura?). It was also a pleasure to meet Spots' male wingman, Brock of SFIST (but where was the lovely Melissa?), to see the fabulous Dottie again, and to run into the Tenderbloggers evarels and hiimkevin (though I'm never sure I get these identities correct), with whom I rode home on the 27 bus.

Tenderblog, btw, is greatly responsible for expanding the community of bloggers and their readers through their Tendernights events, which has another one coming up on 11/18 from 6-8 (ha ha ha- once this group starts drinking it goes all night) at KOKOs, 1060 Geary @ Van Ness. Come out and meet some folks, tell them why you should be profiled as a Tenderlocal, or show them pix of your dog or cat and get them instant fame and local love. The first Tendernight is where I met Julie Michelle (and many other great people)- and I hope to one day be one of her subjects. In the meantime, check out Somarts, which also has a fantastic Day of the Dead exhibit going on this weekend which really should be seen- poignant and personal, this is real home-grown, local, significant art. I overheard one visitor say one installation made him cry. I knew exactly which installation he meant.

 3 voyeurs

I live here: you live here- let me take a picture of you.

Thanks Julie-this was a great event and a great way to end what has been a truly remarkable week here in the City- the Giants win the World Series; we have a fantastic parade to celebrate the victory; on November 2nd we are the only state in the union that votes with anything resembling sanity; the weather has been incredible and we live here: SF!http://iliveheresf.com/. What more could one want?

The Intermezzo Kerfuffle

For those of you who don't follow these things, the Royal Opera House recently threatened the blog Intermezzo with legal threats and a ban on attending opera there because of some pictures which appeared on the blog. Intermezzo published the letters from ROH and pulled all the posts containing the offending photos. This drew a vociferous response from the public and suddenly the ROH had a public relations disaster of their own creation.

As the uproar grew louder over the past 24 hours, ROH suddenly changed its tune and issued a public apology to the blog and its writer. All the bloggers are cheering about this new twist and it's been quite fun to observe now that it's turned out this way. It's all especially ridiculous because Intermezzo is a prime booster of the company with a very wide readership.

I once worried about some similar kind retaliation when I was ranting about how David Gockley (here and here) was destroying a perfectly fine company here in SF and I though they might bar me from the house because I could see SFO's ISP address constantly looking at those posts, probably waiting for comments which never showed up. I've given up ranting about him for now, since he's obviously not going anywhere, but with Intermezzo's triumph, I feel kind of inspired today.

And what perfect timing! The dullest season ever seen is getting underway tonight at the War Memorial Opera House.

Mixed Meters' modest proposal for LA Opera's future

David Ocker over at Mixed Meters floated an interesting and provocative proposal this morning, suggesting that Peter Sellars should take over for Placido Domingo as the General Director of LA Opera when Domingo's contract expires next year. I think it's a brilliant idea, but I don't think for a moment it would ever happen. Unfortunately I suspect it will be years before we can play this game of speculation here in San Francisco with any real hope for a regime change, but it's fun to consider Sellars at the helm of SFO and what the company would be like under more adventurous leadership.

In the meantime, we'll have to content ourselves locally by speculating on MTT's eventual departure from the San Francisco Symphony and who his successor will be, but I've already made my thoughts on that subject known.

Shots

I enjoy taking pictures of things I see around town, but I usually take the shots with the crappy camera in my phone. I've recently come across two really great local photography blogs about San Francisco I wanted to bring to your attention. Both of them great photographs taken by people who obviously know what they're doing- unlike me.

Caliber and The Tens. Check 'em out.

In the Ring, with the Times

The coverage of LA Opera's Ring at the LA times has really been exceptional. Not only has classical music/opera critic Mark Swed been a highly visible presence online, but the Times has also sent theater and pop music critics to cover it from a different perspective. As someone who appreciates pop and rock as well as opera, classical and other forms of music, I have been impressed by the postings of Ann Powers, who usually writes the Pop and Hiss blog (part of the larger Culture Monster blog found on the Times' website). She gets it- and articulates it very well, even if I sometimes disagree with her choice of analogies.

I'm linking to all four of her reviews of the second cycle. The third one is about to begin- again, if you can, I urge you to take a trip to LA and see at least a part of it if not the entire thing. It's phenomenal and last time I looked you could get tickets for individual performances on Goldstar, which is sad for the company but great for the average Joe or Josephine. In the meantime, take a look at these:

Das Rheingold: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/06/a-pop-music-critic-takes-on-wagners-ring-cycle-das-rheingold.html

Die Walkure: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/06/a-pop-critic-takes-on-the-ring-of-valkyries-and-vocal-magnificence.html

Siegfried: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/06/a-pop-critic-takes-on-the-ring-siegfried-at-los-angeles-opera.html

Gotterdammerung: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/06/a-pop-critic-reviews-the-ring-gotterdammerung-at-la-opera.html

Also Ring Festival LA has a pretty robust page happening on Facebook that keeps one apprised of what's going on about town. It only makes me wish I was there. The third and last cycle starts tomorrow night with Das Rheingold.

San Francisco Symphony's 2010-11 Season, Part 1

Yesterday the San Francisco Symphony held a press conference at Davies and released its schedule for next season unto the world, the blogosphere included. Though I was pleased to be invited to the event, the sad fact that this blog doesn't pay my bills and thus I have a "day job," precluded me from attending. Really, I've been doing this for a year now and no one has recognized my genius and offered me a job which truly suits my talents. What the hell is wrong with you people, anyway?

Reactions to the 2010-11 SFS season, and the way it was pitched, were mixed, and I took particular umbrage to the way it was disparaged on Lisa Hirsch's blog The Iron Tongue of Midnight. Lisa knows what she's talking about- I don't dispute that, but I believe there are two things going on no one is really paying attention to that are worth calling out or illuminating. Granted, by almost every measure for a seasoned attender of orchestral performances the next season is easily safe as far as the programming goes. Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT), in his fifteenth year as conductor and Music Director, having just been handed a nice award by President Obama, certainly doesn't have job security issues. MTT will be welcome at SFS as long as he wants to stay.

The key words uttered by MTT at the press conference, and in my opinion the philosophy behind next year's season are:
"The single biggest thing that the world should understand is the level at which the orchestra is playing," Thomas said. "Even just in the past couple of years, the orchestra has risen so much in the sheen and subtlety of its playing, with these new young principals and the veterans. It knocks my socks off."

My take on this is MTT wants to show off what he's built with the SFS before he departs. I believe his aim is to eventually depart his post with the orchestra considered the best in the Americas and equal to any in Europe. The possible merits and potential of this is beside the point. But by my understanding, MTT believes it's worth making a case for, regardless of whether it's Sisyphean from the outset, and maybe it's not. Time will tell.

With that goal in mind, how does an orchestra accomplish this task? By playing music that few if any have heard live? By including works that only 10% of the audience at best may know and want to hear? How do you define "greatness" in these endeavors, which for all but a few in the audience are novel or educational experiences? You don't- and that is the genius behind SFS's next season.

My take on the programming for next season, when it's said and done, performed as MTT envisions it, is that no one will be able to dispute that this is one of the world's elite orchestras. How does one do that? By playing a lot of the standard repertory and showcasing the talent. Maybe I haven't been paying close enough attention, but this is the first time I've seen SFS create programs around the talents of individual players within the orchestra. If you've been paying attention these past few years, it's indisputable that Carey Bell, Stephen Paulson, Mark Inouye and the SFS chorus are performing at levels that are truly extraordinary. The next season explicitly has programs to showcase these individual talents. What other orchestra is doing this? What other orchestra can?

It is by extraordinary performances of the familiar by which we make these judgements, not the thrill of the new and exciting. For example, I wasn't hugely impressed with Bychkov's conducting of Rachmaninoff, but I do remember Bell's standout solo. In a new work by Gubaidulina I wouldn't have noticed it to the same effect because I would be more focused on the music itself and not how well it was being performed. I recently attended a fascinating performance by the Kronos Quartet, which I found totally engaging, only to learn afterward the composer of the piece wished they'd practiced it more. My unfamiliarity with the piece clouded my judgement and left me easily impressed. The composer wasn't. Who knew better what it was capable of being?

However, because I know it, I can easily tell a lame performance of the "Eroica" from a great one, and this only comes with familiarity and experience. There are many things on SFS's upcoming season I've never heard. Some will be great, some will probably suck, and the truth is this can vary from night to night. That's the nature of a live performance. If you want a predetermined outcome, you may as well sit home and listen to the stereo. I for one, expect to be surprised at a concert, for better or worse, hopefully for the better, which is why I've wagered the money for the ticket it will be worth it.

Yes, from a programming perspective, the next season is indeed "a safe bet." It's going to be up to MTT and the individual players of the orchestra to keep it from being boring. Where do you want to put your money?

More to come.

The Bald Idol's Masquerade for the New Year

I last left you as MG, the Ginger, Chad Newsome and I were off to celebrate the close of the decade and the start of a new one. We went to AsiaSF for dinner and the show which was hugely entertaining and full of fun people. Then we arrived somewhat late to the San Francisco Symphony's Masquerade Ball, but being NYE and all we didn't consider it to be much of a problem to arrive a bit late, unintentional as it was, and thankfully no one at the Symphony thought so either.

The Symphony's Masquerade Ball, was in a word, a blast. Initially I had some reservations about the appropriateness and "fun factor" of this event given that I'm the only one in our party over 40 and half it is still way shy of 30. This proved to be a completely baseless concern as I was pleasantly surprised by the number of younger people in attendance. It was a really mixed crowd, and more importantly, one ready to have a good time, which they (and we) did. The conductor for the evening, whose name I'm ashamed to admit I can't recall at the moment, was really a droll and engaging delight as the orchestra went through a light-hearted program of waltzes and music from operettas. Afterward, there was a big band on the main stage playing standards from the American Songbook and pop cover band Tainted Love in the upstairs lobby. Top this off with an elegant but fun crowd, free flowing food and drink, and we have what looks to be the beginning of a tradition as far as I'm concerned. We all had a fantastic time and would happily do this again. If you've never been, I strongly recommend it. The Symphony does this evening right and the Symphonix crowd seemed very well represented.

The next evening we had a small party at my apartment and among the party people were four other bloggers which was delightful to me but also great fun because most of the people there were into music of one form or another and everyone had an opinion or a talent to share. Tarot was performed and fine food was consumed. Sometime around 4 in the morning MG shut the whole thing down and I have to admit to not seeing that parting shot. Regardless, it was a fantastic ending to what has proved for me and many I know to be a trying year on many levels. The next day, spent recovering, was pleasant and languid.

And here we are well into 2010. The only thing I've seen so far is Cutting Ball Theater's production of Eugene Ionesco's The Bald Soprano, which I caught last night with the Minister's Rebellious Daughter. This is the best Cutting Ball production I've seen with a uniformly solid cast (always a strength with this company) and a solid production translated and directed by Rob Melrose, who was involved in Berkeley Rep's disturbing Pillow Man a few seasons back. It runs through January 24th and I recommend it strongly. Don't let the whole absurdist theater/ anti-play moniker put you off- this an hour plus of solid theater.

Now that the holidays are over it's time to get serious and the Symphony is in the middle of the George Benjamin: Project San Francisco composer-in-residence program. Last year's program with Sofia Gubaidulina was a revelation and though I missed last weekend's concerts this weekend I'm going to attend. Patrick wrote a post about the Friday performance and it sounded interesting (6.5 nonsense aside). Lisa Hirsch went on Sunday I'm going to check it out this weekend.

Which brings me up to today, which is the price I pay for not having written anything significant in what seems like forever. The big news today is that Simon Cowell is leaving American Idol after this season. My friend Sugar T (who hates that moniker) says this is because Cowell knows Idol is in its death throes and he knows when to bail so he can turn "X Factor" into the next huge Fox franchise. She's probably right, but I can't imagine Fox turning its back on the world's most popular program even if its ratings are off 25% from their peak- it still kills everything else in its path. So they will replace Cowell with someone. The question is with whom?

This should be interesting. Paula Abdul, while a dominant presence on the show, was relatively easy to replace because she's not the heavyweight force behind it. Cowell knows the industry-side of things and had(?) a piece of the action of any records made by the winners. So the replacement should be a producer with a personality. How long is that list? I have five suggestions so far: Timbaland, Jay-Z, Mark Ronson, Rick Rubin and Jeff Lynne. Any of these guys would keep the show interesting and they know enough about pop music to keep the show from falling apart. Would any of them do it? I doubt it, though with a big enough piece of the pie I'm sure they would think about it. A friend also mentioned Harry Connick Jr. as a replacement which is an interesting idea, but I don't see Connick as the guy who can resuscitate the show after Cowell's departure.

So there you have it- one post covering the Symphony, absurdist theater and American Idol. I do believe I'm caught up- except I forgot to mention if anyone has an extra ticket for Nathan Gunn's recital tomorrow I would gladly skip the Idol premiere to attend it with you.

Happy New Year!

Even more LA Ring Festival brouhaha!

One of the unexpected positives to come out of all the noise surrounding LA's upcoming Ring Festival is I've discovered a couple of interesting blogs I haven't read before.

I especially like Singer Central, with some good points on the topic in their post of the 15th. The blog itself it contains a lot of interesting news and information and I'm surprised I haven't come across it before.

David Ocker's Mixed Meters isn't really opera-oriented, and we disagree on the subject at hand, but it's an interesting blog worth taking a look at and his comments on the dust-up are worth reading. He's also published the full text of Antonovitch's proposal on the festival.

Aria Serious, the blog from San Diego Opera, also weighs in.

Perhaps the strangest one comes from very vocal critic of the Festival, Carie Delmar, who set up a blog specifically protesting the festival! http://ringfestlaprotest.wordpress.com/.

Carie won't make it onto my blogroll, but I like to give voice to the opposition- by the way- Jeremy Denk, I'd still like to hear back from you!

Finally (for now), Popehat looks at the subject from a different perspective - and I love their headline, "Every Time You Play The 1812 Overture, A Woman Is Battered"

Berg 2, Schubert 0, Bloggers 5

The San Francisco Symphony began "Dawn to Twilight: A Schubert/Berg Festival" tonight with a program I found to be only a partial success. Whether you would like it or not will likely depend on how you like your German Romanticism served. I prefer mine to be robust, bloody and well-cooked. Tonight's Schubert's offerings catered more to those who tastes lean toward the more easily swallowed without much effort. That may be fine for an appetizer, but it makes for an unsatisfying main course- especially when paired with a dynamite wine.

Ok- enough of the stupid food analogies. I guess that's what happens when the concert starts an hour earlier than usual and one is forced to have supper post-performance. Please, no more 7:00 PM start times. If anything, start later rather than earlier. Why can't the show start at 9:00? Then everyone would be on time and well-fed. It would be so much more civilized.

Allow me to a digress for a moment, if you please. A few years back I was sitting in the now-departed Vicolo prior to a Symphony concert and I recognized a member of the orchestra eating alone. I mustered the arrogance to tell him I didn't much care for the way MTT had conducted Beethoven's work those past couple of years, especially an Eroica which I had recently attended that I thought had nothing remotely heroic in at all. In my opinion it was a prancing horse and I desired a snorting bull. Much to my surprise, he agreed with me. For the past few years I've avoided MTT conducting Beethoven for that very reason. This season I relented and decided to attend the the September 11th performance of the 9th Symphony and I was floored. It was the most gorgeous and powerful 9th I've ever heard. My faith was renewed and all was immediately forgiven.

So my expectations for the Schubert-side of this festival were pretty high, because MTT was back to giving full-blooded accounts of my favorite genre of classical music. Alas, to my disappointment, he has slipped back, at least for this night, into that lean, bloodless mode I find so discouraging. On the opening Rosamunde Overture that can be forgiven, even expected, but when that same scourge bleeds the life from Unfinished it just leaves me feeling sad. Even the orchestra looked sheepish afterwards, as if they wanted to say to the audience,"We're sorry, we know could have kicked-ass on this, but tonight we just didn't." And fie to the trombones.

Berg on the other hand, was performed with something close to perfection, including the trombones. Go figure.

In the evening's first half Michelle DeYoung turned in an incredible performance of Seven Early Songs that made me immediately want to see her cast across the street and right away. Check my review of LA Opera's Die Walkure back in April to see that she turned in that day's strongest performance against some pretty heavy competition. She's incredibly talented and was the evening's highlight far and away. I'm adding her to my list of must-see performers.

Three Pieces for Orchestra, also performed just this past January, was brilliant (and loud!).This crazy quilt of sound that spools out of a white-hot central core into molten tendrils was thrilling and beautiful, with each section of the orchestra coming through crystal clear while making a cacophonous din. Who knew MTT would use this evening to show off his Modernist cred? At the end, the orchestra looked very pleased with itself and it was justifiable satisfaction.

One thing I've recently learned that this concert validated in both halves: in the entire classical music canon, there may be no one who can compose and ending to a piece as effectively as Berg. We'll get to see the ultimate example of this gift next week in the Violin Concerto, but tonight it was on full display with every one of his works.

As for the 5 bloggers, that was how many were present at the Opera Tattler & Axel Feldheim's table at intermission. SF Mike snapped a picture to prove it. Also at the table was SFist's Cedric, who recently interviewed Michelle De Young, as he does most of the visting talent at Davies.