Wednesday, May 29, 2002; 2 p.m. EDT
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.
"Throughout the chaos and waste of human history, exceptional men and women have managed to create works of rich and lasting art that can truly be called classics. My beat is the world of opera, symphonic and concert music, but I am interested in good music of all kinds and cannot imagine limiting my listening to any one genre. Welcome in."
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washingtonpost.com:
Apologies for the delay. We hope to get started soon.
Tim Page: Good afternoon. I'm sorry to be a little late today but will do my best to make up for it in the next 50 minutes.
Let's see what you've written to me today. Please keep those questions coming. I'll try to get to as many as I can.
Washington, DC:
Could you list your 5 best compositions
in the last 10 yrs - and why?
Tim Page: I'm not a composer anymore, so I haven't written anything that I'd call my "best." As for new works, I'd have to go through my notes and my old articles to find an answer for you. Sorry to pass the buck.
Takoma Park, MD:
How I wish this discussion didn't conflict with Dirda on Books! Is there anything you guys can do to change the schedules?
That said, who would you name as an exciting newish string quartet devoted to the regular classical reportoire (not along the line of Kronos or the Brodsky).
Thanks
Tim Page: I think Michael has expressed some unhappiness about this conflict -- and I must say I'd enjoy reading his chat myself if I weren't so busy typing. Maybe the folks at Washingtonpost.com can help us out.
The wonderful violinist Maria Bachmann has just joined the Lark Quartet, making a splendid group even better. I'd look into their work. The Ying Quartet is excellent. There are a number of others, but no names come to mind right now.
San Salvador, El Salvador:
There are a lot of books out there on music appreciation. Is there one book in particular which you think is a good introduction to the joys of music, especially one that might appeal to the music lover who has no real musical training?
Tim Page: Harold Schonberg's "The Lives of the Great Composers" is excellent. Michael Steinberg's book on the Symphonies is also recommended. Donald Jay Grout wrote an big and authoritative study of music history that is still taught in colleges -- I remember it as sort of a long list of names, but it was much admired.
Try the Schonberg. I disagree with some of his assessments -- especially about 20th century music -- but he wrote well and authoritatively and had the common touch. It's a terrific read.
Washington, DC:
Hi Tim,
I was lucky enough to go hear Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky in the Kennedy Center and I -loved- the Shostakovich they played. Can you recommend a recording of that piece?
Many thanks.
Tim Page: Yes, that sonata is gorgeous. Rostropovich recorded it with Shostakovich at the piano and that is pretty authoritative. David Finckel also did a fine version with Wu Han. I seem to remember a marvelous rendition with Daniel Shafran on LP, but have no idea if it ever made it to CD.
Baltimore, Md.:
Mr. Page:
Have you made it up to Baltimore to hear the BSO in the last year or so? I'm curious to get a "real" critic's take on the orchestra. I've found that the BSO is quite capable, but the performances are always lacking somehow. It may be the acoustics in the Meyerhoff, but after $11 million in renovations, I find it hard to believe they still haven't make the performances sound more "live." Any comments?
Tim Page: I'm going to do my best to get there for the Mahler Third in June. I'll be very curious to hear what the group can do with that daunting work. (I always thought it would be much improved if you started with the fourth movement...but that is heresy and purely personal.)
Washington, D.C.:
I recently subscribed to Naxos' online music service. Basically you get access to the entire Naxos catalog for five dollars a month. The quality of the streamed music seems remarkably good. Do you have a view of this service? Do you think online streaming will be a big part of the future of art music?
Tim Page: Naxos is an amazing company -- smart and venturesome on all sorts of levels. I haven't heard the on-line recordings -- I can barely collect my e-mail -- but I'm sure that this is the future (or at least ONE future) for the dissemination of music.
Bethesda, Md.:
Mr. Page,
Have you or any of my fellow clicksters any knowledge of the Anthology of American Folk Music compiled by Harry Smith a few years ago? I understand that it won a couple Emmies in 1997, but I'm curious about the quality and musical range of the recordings, which number 84 in the collection. Also, would anyone know where to purchase it?
Thank you.
Tim Page: Can anybody help this reader?
Silver Spring, Md.:
Why do you ignore legitimate questions about controversial conductors like Rostropovitch?
Tim Page: Ummm...like what, for instance?
Oxford, England:
Given the orchestra's skill and standing, a good deal of fuss has been made over Franz Welser-Möst's appointment as Music Director in Cleveland. For all of his supposed shortcomings -- eccentricity, age, lack of experience -- he certainly treats the shared music-making experience (and it is an "experience" involving all the senses, auditory included, despite what Stravinsky would have wished us to believe otherwise) as an art; a seemingly refreshing attitude in the face of an otherwise interpretive wasteland marked by pre-packaged pieces under the batons of today's most emminent conductors which is dull at best, artistically shameful at worst. I have been out of the country for the past year, but on the half-dozen occasions I have seen Welser-Möst with the orchestra, he has impressed me as a brilliant conductor. Setting aside his experiences in London, I think he is a great choice (picked by Dohnanyi himself) for an orchestra which thinks itself important but has always seemed to lurk in the shadows of others more grand. With Simon Rattle -- hardly a Karajan or Abbado -- in Berlin, perhaps it is time for Cleveland to take center stage. Any thoughts?
Tim Page: I think Cleveland has been a better orchestra than Berlin for many years -- certainly since the death of Karajan. The only European orchestra that gives Cleveland a run for its money (for MY money) is Vienna.
I have no idea what Rattle will do with Berlin. His appeal eludes me -- the performances usually strike me as capable but little more. I have no idea what Welser-Most will do with Cleveland, but there are reasons to hope. Let's not forget that Dohnanyi was pretty much an unknown quantity in the U.S. when he came to Cleveland -- certainly no better known than Welser-Most. I am also heartened by the fact that the Cleveland players are so high on their new conductor -- also, that Thomas Morris, one of the smartest people in classical music, chose him to succeed Dohnanyi.
I do believe that the Cleveland Orchestra's association with Dohnanyi will be remembered as one of the century's most impressive.
Annapolis, Md.:
OPERA IN BERLIN. On May 20, we attended an outstanding performance of Don Giavonni at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Daniel Barenboim conducted the Berlin Philharmonic. All vocalists were wonderful, but Cecilia Bartoli was the only one with whom we were familiar. Can you tell us anything about the some of the others:
Rene Pape
Dina Kuznetsowa
Lucio Gallo
There were some "technical difficulties" on the set so there was an additional unscheduled intermission. Towards the end, a large structure fell on stage as Don Giavonni exited beneath the stage. We debated whether this was intentional. Since we don't know German, we couldn't read any reviews that might have said. Any idea how we could satisfy our curiosity?
Also, we felt the whole evening was just an unbelievable pleasure. Were we just mesmerized by being at the opera in Berlin, or are they known for superior productions?
Tim Page: I know Rene Pape a bit -- sorry, no research material here -- but am unfamiliar with the other artists. Can anybody fill us in on these performers -- or suggest a site where information might be found (in English)?
Stafford, Va.:
(This has a very good chance of being considered a stupid question but I have to ask an expert given the chance.)
These days I only listen to either classical or bluegrass music. I’m rather obsessed with both and am trying to figure out what draws me (and a few other people I’ve met) to the two genres more so than others. I’m sure my personal taste has a lot to do with it, but do you have any insight into any distinctive parallels?
Thanks.
Tim Page: It's not a stupid question at all. I go through moods where I want to hear only certain types of music. Right now I'm listening to a lot of old opera recordings from the turn of the century and also a lot of early minimalism. Talk about an odd mixture.
As for why you like the music you do, I think that's something you have to figure out for yourself. In fact, I think I became a critic in part because I wanted to find out why I responded so strongly to certain works of art -- and to put that response into words.
Washington, D.C.:
Dear Tim --
I enjoyed the story on the NSO and the European critics this morning but it made me wonder about all the differing opinions. Are there any standards for judging an orchestra? Does the NSO play better on some nights than others? Or do the critics have axes to grind?
Tim Page: I'm glad you enjoyed the piece. It was fun to write -- although I would have preferred tagging along to hear the performances myself. Oh well, another year...
No matter how professional the orchestra, variations in performance quality are only natural. In short, I'm sure that some of the concerts were better than others.
All that said, a lot depends on the critic. So-called "axes to grind" may in fact be simple differences in taste. I remember when I worked in New York, and would routinely cover events that received three, four or five reviews -- and then I'd marvel at the different stories being told. None of us were necessarily "wrong" -- but we certainly saw things from different perspectives.
This sounds awfully relative -- and I don't want to suggest that there are no standards. Certain things are verifiable : a note is in tune or out of tune; a tempo is unusually fast or it isn't; a trumpet plays the opening melody or it doesn't. After that, there is a lot of leeway for disagreement among critics.
Takoma Park, MD:
Why someone might like bluegrass and classical:
esp if the classical is baroque, there are real similarities in the speed and number of notes persecond and some of the formula.
I've noticed for myself that I tend to love modal music of whatever genre, and almost ANYTHING that falls into a tuning neither major nor minor.
Lots of bluegrass does that.
Tim Page: Yes -- and it's occasionally been pointed out how similar certain sonata movements and canons (the famous "Pachelbel" included) resemble the chord patterns we find in rock music. Very interesting indeed.
Anthology of American Folk Music:
It is a fabulous compilation.
Performances authentic and heartfelt and the real thing; liner notes useful and passionate.
Sound quality is poor, but these are mainly field recordings and what do you expect? They've cleaned them up some, but not to the point where they're dead sounding or too compressed.
worth the money and the time.
Tim Page: Here's an answer to an earlier reader. Can you tell us what label this is on -- and how it might be purchased?
washingtonpost.com:
Old World Critics Meet New World NSO by Tim Page, Wednesday, May 29, 2002
Washington, D.C.:
Hi Tim --
Ventured up to New York City several weeks ago to see the production of Britten's "Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Metropolitan Opera. I am very familiar with Shakespeare's play, but knew nothing about the opera. Since the tickets were from a friend, I thought I had nothing to lose. Talk about a major disappointment. Got the impression this was a 12-tone exercise with all the singing in sort of a sing-song style. The singers seemed woefully miscast and (with one or two exceptions) were just going through the motions. The orchestra was cut back to a small chamber group and sounded, how to say this tactfully, unenthusiastic. Visually the production looked like something David Hockney might have dreamed up while on drugs. My friend and I barely made it to the first intermission and then fled -- with quite a few other people following us. Many of Shakespeare's works have been adapted magnificently to the operatic stage, but Dream simply didn't work for me. Are you familiar with it? Am I missing something?
Tim Page: I have never seen "Midsummer Night's Dream," but it is highly regarded among many critics and musicians. I confess a certain distaste for much of Britten's work -- "Billy Budd" and "Death in Venice" were two of the longer evenings I've spent in the theater, but "Peter Grimes" is gripping drama by anyone's standards. You may not take to Britten's spare, cool and somewhat astringent modernism -- not everybody does. I'm afraid I know nothing about the production -- I was not covering music when it was introduced a few years ago, and I haven't yet caught up with it since I came back to the beat. I'm sorry not to be of more help.
Tim Page: This just in from Master Control:
EZmsg from washingtonpost.com: "The Harry Smith Anthology 6 CD set lists on Amazon.com for $81. Probably available elsewhere as well."
Falls Church, Va.:
Why is the concertmaster considered to be so critical to an orchestra's success? And what influence does that chair have on performance beyond the first violin section? Also, what does the concertmaster do behind the scene that the audience does not see? Thanks.
Tim Page: A good concertmaster acts as a liaison between conductor and orchestra; he or she also serves as the busiest and most prominent player in the ensemble, literally "setting the tone" at times. In England, they call the concertmaster simply "the leader" and that pretty well sums it up.
Anthology of American Folk Music:
I'm 99% sure it was on Smithsonian Folkways. Check one of the online sources. It should still be in print, and if not, ebay is great for this sort of thing as long as you don't mind competing with every collector in the US and half of those in the rest of the world.
Tim Page: Thank you. I've become addicted to E-bay and spend an awful lot of time (and too much money) there. It's an amazing service.
Ying quartet:
Heard a recorded-live performance of theirs on the radio...maybe they were having an off night so I'll give them another chance.
Ms Bachman should be a splendid addition to the Lark. Hooray!
Tim Page: I've liked them when I've heard them. The young Hagen Quartet is also excellent.
Yes, I've always enjoyed the Lark Quartet (the cellist, Astrid Schween, grew up in the apartment above me on the Upper West Side and I remember her earliest practicings). Maria Bachmann is another long-time favorite of mine and I can't wait to hear them play together.
Derwod, MD:
I think read somewhere about a dispute on whether the National Symphony should become more integrated with the Kennedy Center and the Opera. Do you know what the latest is on that?
Tim Page: The NSO is a fully integrated part of the Kennedy Center and has been since the mid-1980s. The Washington Opera, on the other hand, is a highly favored renter with a long association with the Center. About five years ago, there was talk of the Opera moving to its own home -- the former Woodward and Lothrop building at 11th and F, N.W. -- but cool heads prevailed and I think the bonds between the two organizations are stronger than they've ever been. But I certainly don't see any possibility of any merger on the horizon.
Takoma - Anthology of Am Music:
check http://www.folkways.si.edu/ and you'll see a picture of the anthology in the center of the collage.
Still in print. Expensive but worth it.
Tim Page: Great!
Re: Bluegrass and classical:
It's almost sort of an ethnomusicological question, isn't it? Hasn't there been research that suggests that the earliest forms of bluegrass (from very remote areas of the Appalachians) may have some distant roots in music that goes back to Elizabethan England, brought over by the early settlers? It might explain why some of Thomas Morley's music has a faintly bluegrass "feel" to it, despite its artsy presence at Court.
After all, you can trace the form of the Bach Chaconne for unaccompanied violin back to late 16th century dances originated by Native American and African inhabitants of Latin America....
Vida vida, vida bona,
vida bamonos a chacona.
Tim Page: It makes sense. I was fascinated to learn recently that the Finnish language has nothing to do with any other European tongue (with the exception of a few tics it shares with Hungary) but has enormous similarities to several Native American languages. An over-the-Pole migration? Almost certainly.
Silver Spring:
I still miss quartetto Italiano.
Is there any group active now that falls into their tradition and has a similar sound?
Tim Page: Ah, what an elegant ensemble they were! So smooth, so patrician, so charming. I can't think of a group in that tradition right now -- although Bachmann and the Lark may come close if they give full rein to the violinist's welling sweetness.
Tim Page: Well, that was a quick 50 minutes! I'll do my best to be on time for our next visit, two weeks from today.
Let's hope the world has calmed down just a little bit by then.
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