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Wednesday, April 3, 2002; 2 p.m. EST

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" (to be published in September by 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.

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washingtonpost.com: In the last classical music discussion Tim Page mentioned a couple of stories he had written for The Post in years past. Here is his 1998 review of the San Francisco Opera's production of 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and his 1996 story The Way the Music Dies.

Tim Page: Welcome. I hope a number of you were able to hear Mikko Franck last week with the National Symphony Orchestra. What an amazing conductor -- and all of 22 years old. Finland is truly a fertile ground for musical genius. We'll be hearing Osmo Vanska -- another first-class Finnish conductor -- again next season, and the world premiere of a new clarinet concerto with the NSO and Richard Stoltzman next season.

I'm off to hear "Salome" tonight. Given my druthers, I'd rather be attending Strauss's "Daphne" -- which I've never seen in the opera house, and which has some of the most serene and beautiful music of the 20th century in its last ten minutes. But there are obvious staging problems -- namely, it's a bit difficult to turn your heroine into a tree onstage, no matter how prettily she warbles.

I wanted to turn various people into trees on my trip down from New York to Washington this morning. Amtrak has installed something called the "Quiet Car" at the front of the train, which is supposed to be cell-phone free. However, if the train is sold out, the "Quiet Car" is declared noisy once again -- and I heard obnoxious bleeping to the tune of Mozart's 40th Symphony, Beethoven's "Fur Elise" and other Top-40 Classical Hits. And then, of course, the endless babbling about business. If I got a cell phone, I think I'd program it to play Chopin's "Funeral March." At least that sends an appropriate message.

In any event, enought ranting. We only have a few questions today -- ladies and gentlemen, send in your thoughts. I just might be able to answer them today.

Clarksburg, MD: I heard a beautiful piece by Sibelius, "Impromptu for Strings", but I can't find the recording anywhere. Can you point me in the right direction?

Tim Page: I'm a great Sibelius buff, but this question sent me running to my Grove Dictionary, as I drew a blank. I can find only an "Impromptu" for piano trio (piano, violin and cello) from a set of "Four Pieces," published as Opus 78. Could that be the piece? I've never heard it. You might try Bis or Finlandia Records, as they have recorded a great deal of Sibelius. Or call Tower or Olsson's, which have very knowledgable classical departments.

If, by some chance, it ISN'T the piece I suggested, you might check one of the longer ballet suites, which might have a movement with that name.

Long Beach California: I have often wondered why America has not
commissioned classical pieces to highlight
our nation's history. Any chance of that?
I'd like to hear a 9/11 dirge, or a "Pomp and Happenstance" for the next presidential appointment.

Tim Page: Wow. I have to confess I'm not a big fan of occasional works (that is, works written for a specific occasion), especially for political events. They rarely have legs, as they say in show business -- they are so occasion-specific that they last only about as long as the occasion itself (although they can seem much longer).

On the other hand, it is always nice to see composers recieve commissions, for whatever reason. But it is very hard to think of any really distinguished occasional pieces. Purcell's "Funeral Music For Queen Mary" has universal resonance. But the two coronation pieces Walton came up with were pretty insubstantial.

R.I.P. to the dear "Queen Mum," by the way -- Great Britain seems diminished.

Washington, DC: No, this is not a crank question: I had a pet bird for more than a decade, and he listened intently to classical music but had no interest in any other kind -- rock, rhythm and blues, country, folk. Any idea why this would be?

Tim Page: Funny you mention that. I had a parakeet when I was a boy who would always start to sing whenever I played the piano. (I was never able to determine whether it was accolade or protest.)

Aside from that, I have no knowledge about what makes pets tick -- except that certain electronic pieces and an old song by Pink Floyd called "Seamus" used to drive my two little dogs wild -- yipping and baying, all the while wagging their tails. Who knows what that meant?

Washington, DC: Where does the National Symphony rank among orchestras?

Tim Page: I'm always a little hesitant to rank orchestras. Nevertheless, since I've been asked, I would rank Cleveland as the most versatile and reliable American orchestra I've heard regularly in the past 15 years, with Philadelphia a close second. After that, there are a number of fine ensembles. On an average evening, all things being equal, the NSO is still probably a step below San Francisco, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, maybe L.A., maybe Pittsburgh, but on its best nights, it is pretty terrific -- and infinitely better than it was when I came here in 1995. I should add that this is not just my own opinion, but generally acknowledged by the leading critics at papers throughout the country -- and, for that matter, in Europe.

Arlington: Do you recommend buying John Adams El Nino?
Thank you.

Tim Page: A lot of people seem to enjoy it. It's certainly the sort of thing one likes if one likes that sort of thing.

Silver Spring, MD: Hi. A technical question. Are you the Post's classical music critic or its general music critic? You have said that you don't really like many modern composers such as Charles Ives, John Adams, Elliott Carter, or
Sofia Gubaidulina (Russia's leading composer), and won't be ready until the summer to write about who you do like in the classical music world. At the same time, you are very open in presenting your rock music tastes (along with names)- to the point that you have this region's classical music community rushing to Tower Records to check out your rock music tastes. How about naming - now - three or four modern composers - besides Rautavaara and Corigliano - who you do like and would recommend to young, open-minded people?

Tim Page: I'm interested in all kinds of different music -- and I wouldn't say that I disliked the music of Ives, Carter, Adams or even Gubaidulina. Ives has been dead for almost 50 years, so I wouldn't exactly call him "modern" -- there was much better American modern music written by (among others) Roger Sessions, Walter Piston, Virgil Thomson and -- of course -- the master of them all, Aaron Copland. (Look into the amazing works for solo piano...) The best of Carter is quite strong and Adams's "Shaker Loops" can be thrilling.

Steve Reich and Philip Glass have both given the world some masterpieces -- but they are both in their 60s, too. Hmmmm. Michael Hersch is very gifted. Tod Machover is doing interesting work with electronics. Alvin Lucier's "I Am Sitting In A Room" is perhaps the most interesting work of conceptual art/music ever created. Meredith Monk is fascinating and eclectic. Ellen Taaffe Zwilich is solid and serious. Alvin Curran's "found" tape works are quite extraordinary. Paul Dresher is much neglected -- although I hope that is beginning to change. There's a lot of good music out there. Look a little beyond the usual suspects.

I try to answer questions about pop because there is this weirdly persistent sense among some classical listeners that it isn't quite music -- that it isn't "serious." And I'm assuming that most of the people who tune in for these chats won't know about pop, while they might know about Adams and Ives.

In any event, there is a lot for open-minded people, young and otherwise, to explore.

Music and birds....: Isn't it a legend of some sort that the finale theme that Mozart wrote for his 17th Piano Concerto in G came from a pet bird that he had?

Of course, who knows where the bird got the theme.....

Tim Page: Never heard that one -- and I pass on the anecdote without any effort to verify its authenticity. It used to be said that a bird up at the MacDowell Artists Colony in New Hampshire sang the opening notes of MacDowell's "To A Wild Rose" all day. Of course, "To A Wild Rose" begins with a simple major third, so it could in fact have been any old piece.

dc: "It's certainly the sort of thing one likes if one likes that sort of thing."

Thanks, Yogi

Tim Page: Actually, it was Ruth Draper. Or was it George Grossmith?
Neither Berra nor Bear...

Washington, DC: I'm new to the area. Would you recommend any summer chamber music series around here? In Pittsburgh, where I used to live, there was one called Summerfest, held on the lawn of a small church, while the audience picnicked.

Tim Page: Can anybody help this reader?

Washington, D.C.: Since coming back to the Post as a full-time music critic, what has been your favorite NSO concert?

Tim Page: These are difficult questions to answer. Right now, I'm still pretty excited about the Mikko Franck event, so I might go with that. I've never heard "En Saga" sound so fresh and exciting.

London, UK: R.I.P. the "Queen Mum"? Instead of endless National Mourning, I have a better idea, and it's in keeping with historical precedent: nobby Prince Charles should gather his army from Wales (he's their prince, you know), storm Buckingham Palace, dethrone the corrupt sovereign, imprison her in The Tower for treason, dissolve Parliament as is his right as King, and claim the Emerald Throne as is his God-given Birthright! You Americans would love the sight.

Tim Page: So how are things at Hyde Park Corner?

Washington, D.C.: As long as we've been rating symphonies, why not Washington, D.C.'s choral groups. Which do you prefer, the Washington Chorus or the Choral Arts Society?

Tim Page: I wouldn't touch this one. These groups only do a few concerts a year, and I've heard less than five concerts apiece from any of them.

I'm not sure making lists is that fruitful an activity. I will say this -- there are a number of fine choruses around Washington, but I usually attend those events where I want to hear the piece, rather than the group.

Charleston, SC: Can you or anyone tell me why my Kunzel/Cincinnati Pops CD of Great American Piano Classics comes up as "Emerson Lake and Palmer" when I install it on Windows Media Player?

Tim Page: How awful. Can anybody help?

Nani/Texas: Thank you for posting your Streetcar Named Desire review. I had seen the telecast and had contradictory feelings about the operatic version. There was an enjoyable strangness about it all and I would definitely watch it again if it were to be re-run. But I don't exactly know why.....

Tim Page: There is some very nice music in the score. It never seemed to have much to do with the dramatic action, however.

Atlanta: About occassional pieces: You've heard that the New York Philharmonic commissioned John Adams to compose its Sept. 11 memorial? It'll be titled "On the Transmigration of Souls," with a text drawn from the literature generated that horrible Tuesday morning: cell phone conversations and scribbled "where are you?" notes to missing loved ones and the like. Do you think such a work has a chance, i.e. can it escape its baggage? Certainly some occassional works have survived, don't you think?

Tim Page: I would never attempt to pre-judge a piece before I've heard it.

DC: The National Cathedral has a summer series in June and early July, as does a small church on Capitol Hill behind the Supreme Court. Both are generally excellent, and have inviting ambiances (and are air-conditioned, too.)

Tim Page: Many thanks.

Washington, DC: Speaking of modern composers, one of my all time favorite pieces of Music is Gorecki's Symphony #3 (as sung by Dawn Upshaw, of course). Anyway, I have purchased several other recordings of his compositions and don't like them at all. Was #3 a fluke? Did he write something else that I should listen too?

Tim Page: Yes, that's an important piece, albeit one that I've heard a few too many times. Gorecki also wrote a truly weird piece of chamber music called "Lerchenmusik" that sounds like some sort of crazy cross between Messiaen and the first passage of the Beethoven Fourth Piano Concerto (I'm not making this up). It's pretty interesting, I think, and much spikier than the Symphony No. 3. But then again most of Gorecki's music is written in an austerly modernist style.

Try his big "Beatus Vir" for bass and chorus. My mind wanders a bit at the beginning and end of this work, but the middle is quite thrilling -- bells pealing, bass croaking, the skies opening...

Fairfax, VA: In your answer re: American composers, you do not mention Samual Barber. I think he was a very gifted composer and excellent craftsman. How would you rate him?

Tim Page: Barber was a composer both elegant and eloquent but not really an innovator. I understood the earlier question to be a request for new and/or modernist composers (either one or the other). No slight was intended.

Fairfax, VA: I think one of the problems with Classical music is that improvisation is no longer practiced in performance. I believe that most of the deified Classical masters all improvised. Would you like to see this return? For example, a soloist in a Mozart concerto would improvise beyond just the cadenza. Not sure how this would coordinate with the orchestra, but if Mozart could do it, I am sure it could be done today.

Tim Page: It's a good point. There has been something of a split between improvised and through-composed music for at least a century, and I'm afraid I shudder at the thought of much fancy work from classical musicians who have no background in improvisation.

On the other hand, Messiaen improvised regularly at the organ during his church services.

DC: Comment: I've heard the Choral Arts Society and the Washington (Oratorio) Chorus 50 times each, and they're both equally superb.
Alas, I'm no critic, but only a musician.

Tim Page: Thank you!

Prince George Country: Speaking of Eric Kunzel, who would you say is the greater conductor, Kunzel or Skitch Henderson? And how would you compare them, say, in the works of Leroy Anderson?

Tim Page: Nyuk nyuk nyuk...

DC: In response to Washington, DC who asked about summer chamber concerts: There is a Bach Festival at Grace Church in Georgetown in July --- indoors, not on the lawn. The church'w web address is www.gracedc.org.

Tim Page: Some more events to look forward to.

Bethesda: Do you know whether the NSO has ever performed a work by Roger Sessions?

Tim Page: I don't know. I'm sure the "Black Maskers" Suite must have been performed here -- and I would imagine some of the other works, too. I wish we heard more Sessions. More Wallingford Riegger, too, whose death was reported on the front page of the New York Times in 1961 and who is almost entirely forgotten today. He was one of the first and greatest of American modernists.

Another composer who deserves attention is Silvestre Revueltas, who created his own form of Mexican modernism before his early death in 1940. BMG has issued a two-CD set, and it is revelatory.

Baltimore: So you say that most music critics in the world agree with you about the rank of the NSO. I did a Lexis/Nexis search and I can only find two other reviewers who have reviewed the NSO, critics from Philadelphia and Baltimore. Where are you getting this world opinion stuff?

Tim Page: You may want to go back and try again. There's a little paper called the New York Times that you may have heard of. Also, having followed the orchestra on two tours, there are a lot of other newspapers in the country that have weighed in.

Don't fret. I'm not very good at computer searches either!

Nob Hill, CA: I hear that revival of Sly at the MET was a total disaster. Were you there?

Tim Page: No. I heard the piece in Washington a few years ago, and that was quite enough. Wolf-Ferrari wrote some lovely music -- there is a terrific duet in "Donne Curiose" that Farrar recorded with Jadlowker about 1912 and some nice orchestral music from some of the other pieces -- but I fail to understand Placido Domingo's interest in "Sly."

Bethesda: Do you care for Roger Sessions's "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd"?

Tim Page: Not at all. (I'm not wild for Hindemith's version, either.) I don't think Sessions really wrote well for the voice -- take "Montezuma" -- please! But his piano sonatas and some of his orchestral pieces are quite strong.

Fairfax, Va: Re. Improvisation: It is not something you should do without a great deal of practice. I guess I would like to see Conservatories start to teach it and for the current performers to begin to explore it. I think it would bring a vitality to concerts that may be missing now.
P.S. Just wanted to say I enjoy reading your reviews and that your insights are aprreciated.

Tim Page: Thanks so much for the insight -- and for the compliment.

I'm sorry, but we're out of time for today. I hope you will join me in two weeks for another discussion. I'm sorry if I didn't get to all the questions; I'll try to answer some of them next time.

I'll talk to you in two weeks.

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