CLASSICAL MUSIC IN AN AGE OF POP

Greg Sandow

Spring 2010

email me

my website (soon to be updated)

blog on the future of classical music

in-progress online draft of my book, on the future of classical music

Class Schedule and Assignments

This schedule might change, depending on how long some of our discussions take. The assignments might change, too. I’ll email all updates.

January 13

Introduction to this course

January 20

The crisis in classical music

reading:

Greg Sandow, Where We Stand: The Classical Music World Today (originally written for my blog, revised for this class)

Mark Swed, “Alive and Well,” (Los Angeles Times, December 20, 2009)

“One and Two and…” (Life magazine, June 29, 1962. Life, in those days, was America’s most popular magazine. Here it celebrates the piano, complete with a feature on small town piano teachers, and a newly commissioned piece from Aaron Copland. An example of how popular classical music used to be.)

[Follow the link, which takes you the 6/29/62 issue of Life, as archived on Google Books. The story on the piano starts on page 38. To go there, enter “38” in the box at the top of the page, to the right of the word “contents,” and then type “ENTER.”]

January 27

What is classical music? Why should it survive?

reading:

some definitions of classical music, and comments about it, from various sources

Kyle MacMillan, “Violinist Zukerman decries sad state of classical music,” (Denver Post, November 15, 2007)

written assignment, due February 3:

Please answer the following questions. Feel free to write in a normal, everyday style. Don’t write more than two or three pages, and by all means write less, if you can answer the questions more briefly:

· What does classical music mean to you personally? Why do you love it? Or (in case you have a more nuanced view) why do you hate it, or feel ambivalent toward it?

· What does classical music tell you about the world you live in?

· How does it relate to your life outside classical music?

· What are you communicating to other people in your performances?

Please email this—and all other written assignments—to me at greg@gregsandow.com. If you’re going to be late with an assignment—not recommended—absolutely let me know in advance.

Of course this ties into the subject of our next class. I’ll use your comments to start the discussion.

February 3

Classical music and the rest of our culture

reading:

Marcus Westbury, “Mozart cover bands rake in the moolah” (Sydney [Australia] Morning Herald, October 18, 2007)

Richard Florida, excerpts from The Rise of the Creative Class

Peter Linett, “The Two Cultures in Classical Music” (from Asking Audiences, a blog on the website of Linett’s audience research company, SloverLinett Strategies)

Michael McCarthy, “Imogen Heap: Queen of the Digital Age” (The Independent [Britain], August 24, 2009]

Chris Lee, “The iPod Philharmonic,” Los Angeles Times, December 9, 2007

February 10 -- snow

February 17

Case study: Classical music on public radio

reading:

Samuel G. Freedman, “Public Radio’s Private Guru” (New York Times, November 11, 2001)

Greg Sandow, “Whose Radio Station Is It?” (Wall Street Journal, May 21, 2002)

David Finckel and Wu Han, “Classical Radio’s Fade-Out” (New York Times, April 20, 2002)

written assignment, due by email February 17:

Answer the following questions. This doesn’t have to be long. Just write a few paragraphs:

Suppose you ran a public radio station, and you wanted to broadcast more classical music? How could you reach the people Richard Florida and Jon Pareles describe? How could you reach people your own age?

Don’t worry if you can’t find perfect answers. These are very hard questions, as you’ll see from the reading. So just try to think of a few new things public radio stations could do, to attract new classical listeners.

February 24

Classical music in the past (1)

reading:

James H. Johnson, Listening in Paris, excerpt from chapter 1, about Baroque opera in Paris (If you find the beginning of this very academic, just skim for a while, until you get to all the juicy gossip.)

Some descriptions of performances in past centuries, from various sources

excerpt from a letter Mozart wrote to his father on July 3, 1778, about the premiere of his Paris Symphony

listening:

Mozart, Symphony No. 31, “Paris,” first movement (Academy of Ancient Music; Jaap Schroeder, concertmaster, Christopher Hogwood, continuo.)

Wilhelm Backhaus, a great pianist from the last century, improvises a prelude to a piece:

Schumann, “Das Abend” (This was recorded at Backhaus’s last recital, which he played in 1969 in Carinthia, Austria. First there’s an announcement from the stage, saying in German that Backhaus isn’t well, and won’t play the scheduled work, Beethoven’s Op. 111 sonata. Instead, he’ll play a short Schumann piece, which we then hear, starting with an improvised prologue.)

YouTube video:

Gino Bechi sings the “Toreador Song” from Carmen, in Italian (from a 1948 Italian film Follie per l’opera, or “Mad About Opera”)

March 3, March 10: spring break

March 17

Classical music in the past (2)

reading:

Stendhal, Life of Rossini, chapter 6, “The Impresario and His Theater”

listening/video:

Some performances from the past, all showing a kind of freedom, ease, or sheer star quality that musicians once seemed to have, and which (for better or worse) we’re not likely to encounter today.

Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto, second movement (Joseph Szigeti, violin, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham, recorded in 1933)

Schubert, “Serenade” sung in English by Richard Crooks (1941)

Gregor Piatigorsky ends a recital with an arrangement of “The Swan,” from Carnival of the Animals (from Carnegie Hall, a 1947 Hollywood movie)

Artur Rubinstein plays DeFalla’s “Ritual Fire Dance” (also from Carnegie Hall)

Jussi Björling and Renata Tebaldi sing their arias from the first act of La bohème, in a fully-staged performance introduced by British actor Charles Laughton (from Festival of Music, a classical music TV special – or “TV spectacular,” as they called these back ten -- shown on NBC on January 30, 1956)

March 24

Pop Music

reading:

Peter Guralnick, Sweet Soul Music, excerpt (about an Aretha Franklin recording session)

listen to Aretha Franklin, “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)”

Greil Marcus, excerpt from his entry on the Beatles, from The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll

written assignment:

One or two pages, due by email March 31:

A well-known classical music critic once said to me, years ago, that pop musicians “take no care with what they do.” Do you think this is true? And if it’s not true, why would this well-known critic believe it?

March 31

Pop music

reading

Lester Bangs, “Astral Weeks” (an example of rock criticism, from Greil Marcus, ed., Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island)

listen to Van Morrison’s “Madame George”

read the lyrics

Clive Thompson, “Sex, Drugs, and Updating Your Blog,” from the New York Times Magazine, May 13, 2007 (about how to promote a pop career all by yourself, on the Web)

Robert Walser, Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music, excerpt (an example of musicological writing about pop music)

listen to Van Halen’s “Runnin’ with the Devil”

April 7

Fixing the crisis: What have people tried?

reading:

“Two Ways of Thinking” (post from my blog)

Some new things that classical musicians and classical music institutions have tried, assembled from various sources (including my personal experience)

Rebecca Krause-Hardie, “London Symphony ‘Secrets’ from Jo Johnson” (from Kraus-Hardie’s website Social Media, Web 2.0 and the Arts)

Holland Cotter, “Museums Look Inward for Their Own Bailouts” New York Times, January 11, 2009

YouTube video:

American Express “Take Charge” commercial, 2009, featuring the prelude to the first Bach cello suite (or part of it), played by Richard Markson

Things to think about, as you do this assignment:

When you read about the new things classical music people have tried, which is your favorite? Why?

How many orchestras do you think use social media the way the London Symphony does?

About the Amex commercial:

· Why do you think they used classical music?

· The piece was shortened, to fit the length of the commercial. Is this OK to do?

· When Richard Markson got hired to play the Bach suite for this commercial, was this a good or bad career move?

When you look at the new things orchestras – have done, do you see any difference between these and the things museums do?

April 14

Fixing the crisis: New ways to talk about classical music

reading:

three posts from my blog:

“Bad Press Releases”

 “A Bad Caramoor Press Release”

 “How to Write a Press Release”

three introductions to familiar classical pieces, written for the League of American Orchestra's now-defunct "Meet the Music" website:

Anne Midgette, “The Last Hallelujah” (about Handel’s Messiah)

Joshua Kosman, “How You Like Me Now?” (about Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1)

 Elena Park, “The Intimate Ninth” (about Beethoven's Ninth)

listening:

“The Ring and I” (introduction to Wagner's Ring, produced and broadcast by WNYC, New York's public radio station)

April 21

Fixing the crisis: Bringing classical music to an audience your own age

reading

posts from my blog, about performances that reached a young audience:

“How to Attract a Young Audience”

“Happy All Night”

“Seeing the Future”

“Students’ ideas”

“NOI liftoff”

Fixing the crisis: Taking one small step

assignment for this week and next, to be presented informally in class:

Pick a piece that you’ve performed, and that you really love. Or, if you’re a composer, something you’ve written. Come to class prepared to say why you love this piece. Imagine that you’re talking to people your own age, who don’t usually listen to classical music? What would you say to get them interested?

Be as personal as you like. In fact, the point is to talk about your own thoughts and feelings, about the very personal, individual, even unique reasons why you love the piece you’re talking about. There’s no need to talk about the history of the piece, or its structure, unless these are things that truly excite you. Speak from your heart, in your own way.

written assignments due by email no later than May 13:

take-home exam, which I’ll email to you.

informal three-page paper:

Think about the new culture we talked and read about earlier in the course. Think about any friends you have, who aren’t into classical music.

And now imagine a concert you might give, that could attract a new audience, made up of people your own age, and people who share the culture Richard Florida describes. This could be a solo recital or a chamber performance, or even an orchestra concert or an opera production. And you can give it anywhere you like, with one exception—you can’t give it for a captive audience, of the kind you’d find at a school, for example. You have to attract paying customers.

Describe what you’d do. Where would you give the concert? (It doesn’t have to be in a concert hall.) What music would you play? How would you play it? Would you want to find a performance style that’s unique, and entirely you?

And how would you present the music? What would the concert look and feel like? How would you interest the people you want to attract, people whose way of life is miles away from the classical concert hall?

April 28

Continuing your presentations in class.

May 5: no class — jury week

May 12

Final discussion

take-home exam due

informal paper due