Synopses & Reviews
Is classical music dying, or does the recent upsurge of interest in opera-writing new ones, performing long-forgotten old ones-prove that the death of classical music is highly exaggerated?
In this collection of essays and reviews from the past thirty years, most of them first published in The New York Review of Books, the distinguished critic and musicologist Joseph Kerman examines the ongoing vitality of the classical music tradition, from the days of John Taverner and William Byrd to recent contemporary operas by composers such as Philip Glass and John Adams. There are a variety of essays on Mozart: on The Magic Flute, on different performances of the piano concertos, on some of the recent biographies. He discusses the lives of Bach, Beethoven, Berlioz, and Verdi, as well as the nuances in performances of operas by Monteverdi in Brooklyn and Wagner in San Francisco and Bayreuth. He also includes remembrances of such famous musicians as Maria Callas and Carlos Kleiber that make clear why they were such extraordinary artists.
Kerman argues that rumors of the impending death of classical music are not a new development but a story that has long been with us, and while he is alert to historical changes in listening, he suggests that one place to look for renewal of the classical music tradition today is at the opera-in a flood of new works and rediscovered works from the past-and an expanded interest in innovative stagings by companies large and small across America.
As a critic, Kerman writes that he tries to do what critics of painting, dance, poetry, and prose have always done . . . not to duplicate or describe immediate experience, but to cozy up to it, suggest it, create an aura about it that heightens sensitivity and feeling. Written for a general audience rather than for experts, these essays invite readers to expand their appreciation of how music works.
Synopsis
The death of classical music, the distinguished critic and musicologist Joseph Kerman declares, is “a tired, vacuous concept that will not die.” In this wide-ranging collection of essays and reviews, Kerman examines the ongoing vitality of the classical music tradition, from the days of Guillaume Dufay, John Taverner, and William Byrd to contemporary operas by Philip Glass and John Adams.
Here are enlightening investigations of the lives and works of the greatest composers: Bach and his Well-Tempered Clavier, Mozarts and Beethovens piano concertos, Schuberts songs, Wagners and Verdis operas. Kerman discusses The Magic Flute as well as productions of the Monteverdi operas in Brooklyn and the Ring in San Francisco and Bayreuth. He also includes remembrances of Maria Callas and Carlos Kleiber that make clear why they were such extraordinary musicians.
Kerman argues that predictions—let alone assumptions—of the death of classical music are not a new development but part of a cultural transformation that has long been with us. Always alert to the significance of historical changes, from the invention of music notation to the advent of recording, he proposes that the place to look for renewal of the classical music tradition in America today is in opera—in a flood of new works, the rediscovery of long-forgotten ones, and innovative productions by companies large and small. Written for a general audience rather than for experts, Kermans essays invite readers to listen afresh and to engage with his insights into how music works. “His gift is so uncommon as to make one sad,” Alex Ross has said.
About the Author
Joseph Kerman is emeritus professor of music at the University of California, Berkeley. He began writing music criticism for The Hudson Review in the 1950s, and is a longtime contributor to The New York Review of Books and many other journals. His books include Opera as Drama (1956; new and revised edition 1988), The Beethoven Quartets (1967), Contemplating Music (1986), Concerto Conversations (1999), and The Art of Fugue (2005).