Music vs. Theater

The Australian Broadcasting Company recently released a list of the “Top 100 Classical Pieces of the 20th Century.”  As with any list, there is much fodder for discussion, debate and derision (judging from this list, Stravinsky apparently stopped composing after 1913). Blogger, pianist, and educator Elissa Milne was particularly disturbed by the complete omission of Sondheim’s work, particularly considering the inclusion of Bernstein’s West Side Story in the top 20.

Now I love Sondheim’s work with a fiery passion. My first exposure to Sweeney Todd in middle school forever altered my understanding of musical theater and its possibilities. The most viewed posts on this blog are in depth analysis of his works. Stephen Sondheim is no slouch. However, I find that his exclusion from this list of classical works, even in light of West Side Story‘s inclusion, makes perfect sense. There is something inherently more classical about West Side Story than any of Sondheim’s work.

In my admittedly unconvincing responses to Elissa’s tweets, character challenged as they were, I pointed out that West Side Story is more suited for the concert hall with symphonic suites and adaptations, and that there are nothing like the ballets of West Side Story in Sondheim’s work (with the exception of the “Cookie Chase” in Anyone Can Whistle, which seems, like of much that piece, rather self conscious). But these are more symptoms than causes. The real reasons that Sondheim’s works are inherently unclassical is also their primary strengths. I would characterize these strengths as a combination of specificity and inviolability.

The beauty of Sondheim’s music and lyrics are that they are Read the rest of this entry →

Looking through the 900 odd (sometimes very odd) #operaplot entries, I started noticing some distinct trends, a number of “schools” of #operaplot authoring. This isn’t that surprising, there are only so many ways one can distill a multi hour convergence of music and theater into a coherent series of 140 characters (130 excluding the #operaplot hash).

As a service to future #operaplotters, I’ve taken the time to assemble a semi-scholarly taxonomy of the 2010 entries, illustrative examples included.

Read the rest of this entry →

Hilary Hahn is one of the most successful classical music artists alive.  Debuted with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at the age of 12, finished her bachelor requirements at Curtis at 16, signed with Sony at 17, and was named “America’s Best” young classical musician by Time Magazine at 22.  She recently turned 30, and like any good generation Y-er, she has a Twitter account.  Or, at least, her violin case has one.  (Take some time and click the link.  It’s ridiculously adorable.  But do come back.)

A few years ago I was torn between seeing her play a brief free show at Amoeba Records on Haight and seeing the a Blood Brothers opening for …And You will Know Us by the Trail of Dead  at the Fillmore.  It was a tough call.  I opted for the post-hardcore screamfest, figuring that Hilary was much less likely to flame out (or overdose) in the next five years.  The Blood Brothers were amazing, but the highlight of the evening was when Trail Of Dead announced a very special guest.  Out of nowhere, Hilary Hahn joined them on stage to play “To Russia My Homeland”, a song she recorded with them on their latest album, cuz that’s just how she rolls.  I had no idea.

Some things about Hilary.

• She likes defying genres (see above).
• She likes communicating directly with her audience (see further above)
• She’s a big proponent of new music.

Which brings me to my point.  (Almost.)

Hilary Hahn has a youtube channel where she keeps her fans up to date as she travels and tours.  As part of this channel, in conjunction with the new music blog Sequenza 21, she has a series of interviews with emerging composers.  What a great idea!  Here’s a popular and engaging classical violinist trying to get some traction for some folks making new music.

Here she is talking to Missy Mazzoli.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5PSH8oDvNU
But wait.  How many views does that have?  A little over 1,300?  Heck, The Richter Scales latest animation has more views than that and that’s our least successful video by far.  This is a truly world class musician talking to a composer who is no slouch herself.  And we’re getting more views with cutout animation, archival footage, and a dick joke?  Actually, our video is kinda cute, but come on, this is HILARY HAHN!

So my point?  Actually, I can’t remember. But it has something to do with the rewards for this new music thing being fairly meager.  It’s a pretty small pie we’re fighting for.  And you should all go subscribe to Hilary’s youtube channel and follow her tweets.  And if nothing else you should go take a few minutes to listen to her rock the hell out of the fourth movement of Stravinsky’s violin concerto.  Especially the end.  The Blood Brothers would be proud.

If they hadn’t flamed out in 2007.