 Wednesday, April 16, 2003; 2 p.m. ET Tim Page is the chief classical music critic for The Washington Post and the author or editor of a dozen books, including "Dawn Powell: A Biography," "The Glenn Gould Reader," "The Unknown Sigrid Undset," "William Kapell: A Documentary Life History of the American Pianist" and the forthcoming "Tim Page on Music" (Amadeus Press). He won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1997 for his writings about music for The Post. He has also worked as an artistic adviser (the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra), a radio host (WNYC-FM in New York), a record producer (BMG Catalyst) and, in his younger days, a rock musician and cocktail pianist. A graduate of Columbia University, he lives in Washington with his wife, Julieta Stack. A transcript follows. Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Tim Page: Good afternoon and welcome to another on-line discussion of classical music. We're actually experiencing a slight lull in the season right now -- last week we had to miss a lot of fantastic concerts because they were all happening at the same time and this week we could actually have added one or two to the schedule. But that's the way it works at newspapers -- everything seems to happen at the same time and, as a result, we don't get to everything we want to cover.
I hope some of you heard the Beaux-Arts Trio at the Library of Congress last week. Menahem Pressler is really an extraordinary musician -- and he has two fine partners who weren't even born when the original Trio played its first performance at Tanglewood in 1955! Really fine, fluent, rhapsodic musicianship.
I think I'm going to go see "A Mighty Wind" this afternoon. It's the new film by the same folks who made "This Is Spinal Tap" and "Waiting For Guffman" -- and it sends up the folk music scene of the 1960s. I remember that era well and the reviews sound very positive.
An exciting period coming up, with the debut of the Post-Classical Ensemble at Lisner Auditorium on May 1 -- music by the man I consider Latin America's greatest composer to date, the Mexican Silvestre Revueltas. And I never miss a concert by Yevgeny Kissin if I can help it; he'll be at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on May 3.
Well, let's see what we have in the bank today ...
Columbia, S.C.: Mr. Page, When are symphony orchestra program planners going to give up on the idea of trying to lure newcomers to classical music by pairing classical and pop (Broadway show tunes, for example) on the same program? I am not convinced that it really works. Rather, offering in each realm imaginative, carefully chosen, and well-performed programing is key.
Alas, most symphony orchestras today have program profiles not greatly different from 50 years ago, and too few works written after 1950 are performed. That makes for a truncated classical music education, for graybeard and fresh face alike. Tim Page: I agree with you -- the question of pops concerts is a vexed one.
Still, the notion of "crossover" music is hardly new. Mozart heard his arias played by organ grinders in the streets of Prague. Venerated artists such as Enrico Caruso, John McCormack and Alma Gluck recorded some of the hit songs of their own era as well as acknowledged classics. And the tradition of orchestral "pops" concerts dates back at least to the 19th century, in Paris, London, Vienna and other musical capitals.
But the basic concept behind the pops concert has changed. Fifty years ago, when you purchased a ticket to hear Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops (the most celebrated and successful of these ensembles) you could have a pretty good idea what would be on the program.
Chances are you'd hear some wonderful light music -- Chabrier's "Espana," for example, Offenbach's "Gaite Parisienne," a Rossini overture, a waltz by one or another of the Strauss family. A winsome soprano might warble something from "The Merry Widow" or one of Noel Coward's less acerbic works; perhaps a pianist would hammer through the "Rhapsody in Blue." And then there might be a few tidily arranged popular songs, to carry the audience safely back to its own time.
This was an attractive formula, but it could not work forever. Some of the music fell out of fashion completely (who today knows such one-time standards as Anton Rubinstein's "Melody in F," Cecile Chaminade's "Scarf Dance," Jules Massenet's "Last Dream of the Virgin" or Karl Goldmark's "Rustic Wedding Symphony"?). Other pieces were graduated to the standard symphonic repertory. And rightly so -- after all, unless one equates passionate intensity with profundity, the fact that a work of music is deemed "light" should not be taken as any reflection on its quality.
I think the advent of rock changed everything -- and I don't mean that as any sort of "Decline of the West" hand-wringing. At least in part, it was the very specificity of rock recordings -- the fused, symbiotic relationship between artist and song -- that made it impossible to incorporate this music within the boundaries of a classical concert. Traditional standards such as "Misty," "Stormy Weather" and "As Time Goes By" were designed to be played in a wide variety of different arrangements, by wildly divergent artists. But when we wanted to hear "I Want To Hold Your Hand," we wanted to hear it done by the Beatles, not by Arthur Fiedler. This was music that simply didn't need -- and was usually vitiated by -- the sound of an orchestra.
By the way, according to a recent national survey, the average subscriber to a Pops series is now slightly older than the average subscriber to a traditional symphonic series. There's nothing wrong with this, of course, but it does represent a change.
This is the bottom line, I suppose -- I like many different kinds of music but I like them when they are most themselves. When orchestras invade Broadway or rock, the usual result is a deterioration of standards on all sides.
Washington, D.C.: Do you really feel that concerts at the Library of Congress are that difficult to attend? While you might have to wait five minutes to be screened by security (the same as if you were to visit, or attend a concert at, the National Gallery of Art), at least the Metro is only a block away -- unlike the Kennedy Center where non-car owners have to walk, or take the cramped and rickety "Show Shuttle". And the prices are down-right reasonable (a couple bucks, in advance), and there are often free places at the last minute. Are you going to go, at the end of this month, to the world premiere of Richard Wernick's Horn Quintet, or the Juilliard String Quartet performance of Elliott Carter's String Quartet #5 (on May 2)? Or to Pulitzer Prize finalist Lewis Lockwood's free lecture on Beethoven on May 1? Tim Page: I love to attend concerts at the Library of Congress for any number of reasons -- not least of them the fact that I happen to live right down the street. I've waited up to 15-20 minutes to get through security (shortly after 9/11) but the other night I only had a five to ten minute wait. And the connection to the Metro is terrific.
In the past, I've had some difficulty obtaining information about some of the L.O.C. events -- for example, I'm not sure we have received information about the Wernick Horn Quintet, something we'll definitely want to cover. The Carter quartet, too. We rarely, if ever, cover lectures -- but I admire Lewis Lockwood's book on Beethoven quite a bit and happily recommend that to my readers.
Laurel, Md.: Can you, or anyone on your staff, tell us anything about the new film version of John Adams' "The Death of Klinghoffer"? I think it was filmed in London, or the UK. Thank you. Tim Page: I know nothing about it. Can anybody enlighten me?
I wonder if it will include the notorious opening scene, which was widely condemned for its anti-Semitism and wisely dropped by Adams after the first performance. (It is not on the Nonesuch recording.)
I was delighted to learn, just today, that the real Leon Klinghoffer's murderer was apprehended in Iraq.
Alexandria, Va.: I usually enjoy your reviews and you aren't usually cruel. But I thought you were too hard on Linda Hohenfield and Maestro Slatkin recently. I thought she sang beautifully. We are lucky to have two artists of that calibre in the same family! Tim Page: I hated having to write that review. I didn't think it was particularly cruel, but I did feel that it was necessary to speak frankly.
Washington, D.C.: Tim,
I think someone with a particular interest in the LOC has been badgering you these past few weeks, but... it's very easy to find out what's going on at the Library. here's the link to the current concert season: Concerts From the Library of Congress
Tim Page: This is good news. I'm delighted to do what I can to let people know what is going on in the area. And the LOC has an excellent series.
Washington, D.C.: Tim,
What if any popular music shows do you go to? And what do you think of your colleague David Segal's criticism? Tim Page: In general, I never criticize fellow critics. I'll make an exception this once because I can honestly say that I admire David's work a great deal. I remember reading one of his articles on the Oklahoma group The Flaming Lips, a band I'd always liked but couldn't quite say why. David's story provided me with one of those "Aha!" moments which are the essence of good criticism.
I have no real credentials as a pop critic but every now and then I'll write about a band that interests me. I think the last live show I attended was the Magnetic Fields at the 9:30 Club a year or two back. I'm so busy with my own beat that I don't really get to moonlight much.
I also much prefer pop recordings to pop concerts. I haven't been to a stadium show since about 1987 when Newsday asked me to cover David Bowie (don't look up the article -- it's pretty poor stuff). I actively disliked the vast crowds, the metal detectors (years before they were everywhere), the irritating necessity of standing up because everybody else was standing up, and so on. I made up my mind not to go back to anything that big again. So far I've managed to avoid further exposure to such a mob scene. I find the crowds at the Kennedy Center intimidating enough.
Washington, D.C.: Comment: The film version of the Adams-Goodman opera "The Deathof Klinghoffer" is a Channel 4 production directed by Penny Woolcock and produced by Blast!Films and Madonna Baptiste. It is currently making the rounds of international film festivals. According to the press material from the Rotterdam Film Festival, Woolcock's direction is highly realistic and "the result is one of the most unusual film versions of an opera and an adventurous play with the possibilities of both art forms." Tim Page: Thank you! I'll look for it.
Washington, D.C.: Tim, I say stick to your guns on the Slatkin/Hohenfield Mahler 4th review and any further such occurrences. On a less caustic thread, can you think of any truly stellar classical power couples? Walter Legge/Liz Schwarzkopf come to mind. Tim Page: Right here in Washington, we have soprano Evelyn Lear and bass Thomas Stewart -- now retired but still very active in our musical life. Mstislav Rostropovich is married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. Andre Previn recently married Anne-Sophie Mutter, but that's a little different, as both had long-established careers by the time they became an item. There are many more.
Washington, D.C.: Tim,
I have a question about Post reviewers. I went to see a performance recently (I won't say which) that I thought was utterly dreadful. The performers did not stay together well, their technique was awful, and the piece (which I LOVE and try to hear performed live at every opportunity) simply did not come off well. Nonetheless, it received a glowing review in the Post a few days later.
The review was by a critic who seems to play favorites. I read a lot of this critic's reviews and find that this reviewer tends to love certain local groups and hate others, regardless of the quality of the performance. How do you, as the head of the section, make sure that the reviews being published are fair?
Many thanks. Tim Page: This is a tough one to answer. I keep a pretty close eye on the work of the good souls who are kind enough to write for us and I've seen no evidence of playing favorites. On the other hand, certain organizations almost never present a bad concert -- I'm thinking of the Vocal Arts Society and the WPAS Hayes Piano Series at the Terrace Theater -- and so it might seem favoritism when we give them good review after good review. Needless to say, there are other organizations that present less successful concerts and therefore receive less favorable coverage.
All I can do is try to assemble a group of people who know something about music and who know how to write. After that, we trust them as far as we can. I have sometimes asked my writers to disqualify themselves if they feel compromised or too close to the artists they are covering. In such cases, the concert will go to another writer.
People of good will can have markedly different responses to the same program. Play an old Fritz Kreisler recording for a group of violin buffs. For some, his decidedly old-fashioned playing will seem sloppy and sentimental. Other listeners will acknowledge technical shortcomings and forgive all for his elegance and humanity.
Washington, D.C.: Tim, what operas have you found on DVD that are particularly worth buying? Thanks! Tim Page: I'm afraid I haven't explored the field very much just yet. Any suggestions? Let's open up the discussion.
Boston, MA: What is your opinion of Maurizio Pollini? I recently purchased his new boxed set of career highlights and found it to be quite mixed: very high highs (Schoenberg, Debussy, Webern) as well as some mediocre performances (Beethoven). Your thoughts on him? Tim Page: Hi. I wrote about Pollini just last Sunday -- maybe we can establish a link and you can read the article.
I'm generally a great admirer, although on occasion I've found him somewhat cool. He's always extraordinary in 20th century high modernism, and I generally like him in Beethoven, too. But he is controversial.
washingtonpost.com: With Beethoven Sonatas, Pollini's In for the Long Haul (Post, April 13)
Washington, D.C.: DVDs --- The Boulez/Pelleas and Melisande on DG is pretty good. It's a naturalist production. I asked the opera DVD question because I've decided to be tentative about buying until reviewers have more familiarity with the medium and stop raving at the first satisfactory performance. Other views welcome. Tim Page: Thank you. I have to start following opera on DVD.
Washington, D.C.: I recently posted to Desson Howe about the Thief of Bagdad(1924), a fantasy-esque silent film best seen with orchestral score. Now I'm planning to see The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse(1921)with Rudolph Valentino & novel by Vicente Blasco Ibanez. This, I've never seen but always wanted to with the right music. What kind of music should I expect about a story set in Argentina before WW1 and told through silent film? Tim Page: Gosh, I don't know. If I were arranging the soundtrack, I might put on some Ernesto Lecuona (yes, I know he was Cuban and somewhat later, but the music ought to work) or maybe some of the more passionate works of Enrique Granados (a wonderful composer, in my opinion). You might find some real tango music, too -- as I recall, this was one of the films that set off the tango craze.
I haven't seen "Four Horsemen" in a long time, but remember it as one of Valentino's stronger films. "Son of the Sheik" is also very enjoyable and right up there with "Bride of Frankenstein" and "Godfather, Part Two" as one of the very few sequels that is better than the originals.
Bethesda, Md.: Hi Tim, in olden days locals used to think of the Library of Congress as never presenting a poor concert? Have things changed? Also, I don't notice as many Passover-Easter concerts this season as in past years. Is this just my imagination? Tim Page: I've heard very few less-than-winning concerts at the Library of Congress.
And yes, I don't think there are quite so many Easter and Passover concerts this year as in some years past. I have no idea what that means -- and it may be that I simply haven't received information about the events.
Rockville, Md: Power couples - William Bolcom and Joan Morris? Tim Page: Absolutely.
Tim Page: Thanks again for tuning in (is that the right expression?) on such a lovely day. I'll look forward to speaking with you again in another two weeks. Let's hope that this time winter is finally past us!
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