Wednesday, Oct. 2, 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."
A transcript follows.
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Tim Page: Good afternoon and welcome to another on-line consideration of the music world, in Washington and beyond. The season is getting underway and this ought to be a very busy and rewarding month. I'm looking forward to seeing Dame Kiri Te Kanawa in "Vanessa" and the new music from Finland that Leonard Slatkin is conducting at the National Symphony later this month.
I'm just back from San Francisco, where I saw "Saint Francois d'Assise," the late Olivier Messiaen's only opera. It was exorbitant, extravagant, highly original, occasionally frustrating -- and ultimately magnificent.
Before that, I was in Toronto for a feast of Glenn Gould events. I was astonished to discover that the CBC would devote an entire day to this great musician -- what a marvelous tribute! He was a terrific friend and mentor to me when I was just getting started -- and I revere his memory. I think he'd be very happy that his music continues to move so many people.
In any event, let's see what we have in the bank today.
Washington, D.C.:
You are so very generous in your remarks about Harold Schoenberg (a.k.a. Henry Sibelius), erstwhile NYT music critic, but I don't understand why. His review of Glenn Gould's (in)famous Brahms First performance caused Gould to quit concertizing, which is the musical equivalent of a war crime on Harold's part. He never grasped 20th century music. Can you imagine us taking a book critic seriously who didn't get 20th century lit-didn't "get" Eliot, Joyce or Proust? Compared to Downes before him or Rockwell after him, he was business as usual, but that's not good company. Perhaps Tim Page is too nice a person to tell it like it is when it comes to his fellow music critics. Can you explain?
Tim Page: All critics have their limitations -- and it is simplistic to suggest that Harold "caused" Glenn's retirement from the stage. I have my own disagreements with Harold -- I can't bear most of Horowitz, for example, whom Harold revered -- but I think he was a wonderfully vivid and interesting writer about music, especially in his books. True, it was mostly music of the past that brought him to boil, but are we to exclude such scholars as W. Jackson Bate, Geoffrey Tillotson and, for that matter, Michael Holroyd from consideration simply because they wrote about Samuel Johnson, William Makepeace Thackeray and Lytton Strachey instead of the major figures of their time?
Virgil Thomson hated Sibelius. Edward Hanslick didn't like Wagner. Blind spots don't rule a critic out; they just demand that you read critically.
New Opera Fan . . .:
Can you reccommend a particular recording of Bizet's "Carmen"? Which one is better than the others?
Thank you.
Tim Page: I'm for the Callas version -- despite her inelegant French and a lot of idiosyncrasies, she brings the role to vivid, dangerous life.
Washington, D.C.:
Mr. Page: Thanks for the excellent review of Olivier Messiaen's opera, Saint Francois d'Assise, being performed by the fine San Francisco opera company. You mention that this magnus opus might be compared to the Philip Glass -- Robert Wilson five-hour music theater work, Einstein on the Beach, from 1976. However, that work has a non-sensical text (based upon the recitation of numbers and the writings of an autistic young man) and no operatic singing. Wouldn't a closer parallel to the Messiaen masterpiece be Richard Wagner's last music drama, Parsifal?
Tim Page: Good point, and there are clear similarities to "Parsifal." . Still, "Saint Francois" is so totally weird -- so original and such a challenge for performer and audience -- that "Einstein" seemed a closer fit. "Parsifal" has ancestors and descendants: "Einstein" and "Saint Francois" seem to come from nowhere and stand off by themselves, with little possibility of any sequel.
Washington, D.C.:
Do you think that the Washington region's leading public radio station, WETA-FM -- which was founded to be, and calls itself, educational -- programs a sufficient amount of American classical music -- e.g., Crumb, Ives, Ruggles, Varese, Willian Schuman, Harrison? Thank you.
Tim Page: I don't listen much to the radio. I wish I could be of more help. Do we have any replies from the audience?
Los Angeles:
I've read that the citizens of San Francisco dress up in full regalia for the Opera. Any grand characters observed while
there?
Tim Page: Oh, there are always characters in San Francisco. I had rather a shock on the local subway, when I noticed a man in leather hot pants and an executioner's mask. Turns out there was some sort of "leather celebration" going on down on Folsom Street. Would have made quite a start on the Washington Metro.
At the opera, I didn't see anybody dressed particularly outlandishly -- just fancied up. One of the things I like most about San Francisco is the way it combines extreme laissez-faire with a certain social conservatism. It's like Amsterdam in tha way.
Tim Page: Thank you! I'm paying my first visit to Scotland in two weeks and can't wait. I should have said "one of the most interesting conductors currently working in America," as his principal positions are in Atlanta and S.F.
Alexandria, Va.:
What is your opinion regarding ragtime music as encore for an entirely traditional classical music concert?
Tim Page: Why not? A little sorbet to cleanse the palate...
Silver Spring:
I saw the "Tola" cast of the Washington Opera's Boheme last night. I then read your review, which to me was right on target. I also agree with your view that Puccini's greatest work is the sublime third act. Question: Is not the greatly improved orchestra far too often drowning out the soloists in this and other WO productions?
Tim Page: Yes -- and I should have made the point more directly. There is indeed a sudden tendency to let the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra get out of hand. I am delighted that the group has improved so enormously over the past few years -- but this is a dangerous temptation. I haven't noticed it in music director Heinz Fricke's performances, though.
Washington, D.C.:
Tim, You issued a fairly negative review of the NSO's opening concert. I saw the Saturday performance, and I thought that the orchestra played well- taut and energized. Perhaps the review got them to pull up their socks? Or maybe the extra couple of performances between Thursday and Saturday helped. I'm no fan of Salerno-Sonnenberg -- too much glitzy attitude and vamping, and she also seemd to distract Mr. Harrell from his playing. I note that you worked for the St. Louis SO- was that while Mr. Slatkin was there? What do you think of his work with teh NSO? Where would you place the NSO among major SOs? And, are you having any 2nd thoughts about the young concertmaster? I'm afraid that she hasn't pulled the NSO together as hoped. The string playing has some peculiar flat spots and loss of sheen. Thanks for your reviews and articles -- always worth reading.
Tim Page: Thanks for the note. I can easily believe that there was some improvement by Saturday -- seems to me there would have had to be. I've heard thrilling performances from Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg -- I'm basically an admirer -- but found little to enjoy from her on this particular visit.
I worked for the Saint Louis Symphony after Slatkin had left town and moved to Washington. I think D.C. has a very good orchestra and, so far, I think Nurit Bar-Josef's influence has been nothing but salutary. I'm always nervous about ranking orchestras, but would say that I probably admire Cleveland and Philadelphia most among American groups, and then go on to say that there are at least ten other orchestras that are quite capable of brilliant performances on a given night. Certainly, the NSO is in that elite.
Washington D.C.:
Tim, I hope I misunderstood you in a previous chat when you suggested that Roger Sessions and Elliot Carter's music will be extinct in a few generations because of their modernist idiom. Carter, to be sure, is rhythmically dense and makes for difficult listening. The complexity is layered, like Bach, and can be heard incompletely and still enjoyed. Would you write off Bach's (incredibly complex) fugues as too difficult? The fugues are a tough listen, but they are worth it. Sessions offers the listener musical signposts by way of dramatic gestures (e.g., "When Lilacs Last. . ."). Be assured, many of us don't want the sultry banalities peddled by Gorecki and Corigliano. They will go the way of the Mannheim rocketeers, who in their day equaled Mozart in esteem. Where are they now?
Tim Page: Don't get me wrong. I admire Carter, too, and I think he will always have an audience. I'm afraid that I DO think that audience will be a small one, however. I've seen too many excellent American modernists fall by the wayside (Sessions is no longer played the way he was in life, nor is Wallingford Riegger). I fear for Ralph Shapey, too, who is my own idea of a great neglected master.
Dense, highly chromatic music simply doesn't reach a large audience. Even Bach's most complicated music -- the "Musical Offering" or "The Art of Fugue" -- presents difficulties for many listeners, who much prefer the "Brandenburg" Concertos. I'm not saying that this is the way things should be. It just seems to me the way things are.
DC:
Did the reference to Donald Runnicles get dropped?
Tim Page: What reference? I know I answered a question about him earlier in the talk. Can you enlighten me?
Washington Attire:
Tim:
In going to both the NSO and the WO (I recently saw La Boheme), I was APPALLED at how Washingtonians dress! My husband and I both got dressed up (I wire a nice skirt and top, he wore a suit, collared shirt, no tie) -- and we looked overdressed compared to some of the likes I saw!
As a performer myself, I always dress up to go to any theater, whether it be the opera, synphony, or a play. Why? Because I feel it insults the performers to come looking like you should be sitting on your couch watching Monday night football.
Is this just a Washington thing? When I lived in New York people dressed up for performances. What GIVES in this town?
Tim Page: I've always found Washington a rather dressy town. Indeed, I think it's about the only city in America where you will never feel overdressed in a suit and tie at a rock club at 3 A.M. Did you attend a matinee? Sometimes those are a little less dressy.
Baltimore, Md.:
This isn't a question or comment, but a very minor correction.
In your review of St. Francois (for which thank you -- you made the opera sound fascinating) you identified the conductor, Donald Runnicles, as "among the most accomplished and imaginative American conductors." High praise, and I'd agree with every word, except that Runnicles was born and raised in Scotland. He might self-identify now as an American conductor (I don't know -- I haven't seen his bio.) but I do know that he's a Scot because I knew him when he was in high school. In fact, I played in his first orchestra, a group he formed himself, and watched him win the concerto competition at the Edinburgh Music Festival (not the International Festival) back in the early '70s. Scotland doesn't get much credit for having produced classical musicians, so it's especially hard to see one of our most accomplished musicians misidentified.
This obviously isn't something worth correcting, but maybe next time you review Runnicles' work you could locate his origins correctly.
Thanks for being an interesting and provactive voice for classical music in D.C.
Tim Page: Hi. Here's the question about Runnicles that I tried to answer.
Washington DC:
Tim, I'll try again, having not gotten my question through last time: Why have we seen so little of Zdenek Macal in recent years? Where is he now?
Tim Page: Can anybody help this reader?
I saw Macal in St. Louis about two years ago -- a fine performance, by the way -- but I've lost track of him lately.
Takoma Park:
WETA doesn't play enough American music, except in the tiny narrow arrow-slot window of Performance Today.
But then they don't play enough Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven or BAch either.
Let's face it: if you want Classical music on the radio, get Satellite radio. Comes with 100 other interesting bonus channels, too.
Or listen to the BBC via your computer.
Tim Page: Good point. I'm amazed at the sort of programming you can get over your computer these days. Music from all over the world...
Long Beach:
I was watching the ever-present Ken Burns, this time concerning the Statue of Liberty, and as the program ended, Paul Simon's "America" provided the musical background. How ironic that the melody is lifted from a Bach Chorale entitled "O Sacred Head Now Wounded", and that a tune called America would be German at it's core. What other patriotic
songs are actually foreign in origin?
Tim Page: Well, "The Star Spangled Banner" began as an English drinking song called "To Anacreon in Heaven." "My Country, Tis of Thee" started life as "God Save the King/Queen." So far as I can tell, "America The Beautiful" and "God Bless America" belong to us.
Potomac, Md.:
Whatever happened to Midori? And why doesn't someone produce a Midori/Sarah Chang concert tour? That might sell a few tickets!
Tim Page: Midori is still out there, making recordings and playing concerts throughout much of the world.
I'm afraid somebody will take you up on your "Dueling Fiddlers" idea!
Vienna, Va.:
What do you think of the appointment of Lorin Maazel as the music director of the New York Philharmonic? Did you go hear the John Adams piece about September 11?
Tim Page: I think Maazel is generally a rather finicky and pretentious interpreter. He certainly knows a thing or two about the orchestra, however.
Terry Teachout covered the John Adams piece for us. He didn't think much of it. Anthony Tommasini in the Times and Justin Davidson in Newsday were more favorably impressed.
Silver Spring, Md.:
A couple of years ago someone released an electronica version of "Carmina Burana," (sp?) by Orff (sp?), which was a hoot. Did you ever hear it? It was an interesting, and rare, merging of classical and electronica.
Tim Page: I haven't heard it. Ray Manzarec (yes, he was with the Doors) did a rock version about 20 years ago. Amazing how popular "Carmina Burana" has become.
Chevy Chase, MD:
Why are ticket prices so high in DC, especially at the Kennedy Center? Local prices can be hard to take when you know it's cheaper to see the Cleveland Orchestra or the Met or go to Carnegie Hall. I didn't renew my Washington Opera subscription because the quality just wasn't worth $100+ a ticket.
Tim Page: I don't think ticket prices are much higher here than in other large American cities. Opera is always especially costly. But there are a lot of organizations that are less hard on the pocketbook: we carry a listing of them every Friday in the Weekend section.
Music Lovers - where are they?:
Tim:
I just adore classical music, the NSO, etc.
Are there groups of people/societies/club in DC who meet and go to performances? Not just the NSO but others? I'd like to meet people who share the same interests as I do.
Tim Page: There is a Wagner Society here that offers very interesting programs. The Vocal Arts Society brings out the recital aficionados. There are a number of excellent choral groups -- probably more per capita than in any other city in the U.S. -- that are filled with passionate amateur musicians. I think you'll find that Washington is a good place to be a music buff.
Small midwestern town:
Dear Tim,
I wanted to let you know that I always read your chats. It's a pleasure to ask you a question. I hope you can help me out.
Can you comment on Vladimir Feltsman's artistry and live performances? He's giving a concert in Indianapolis in November. It's an all Bach program -- two keyboard concerti and two suites. My husband and I are trying to decide whether to get regular tickets now or wait until the week of the performance and get cheaper student tickets then (we're both in graduate school). The problem is that the concert may be sold out by then. The price difference is by a factor of three. So what do you think -- is this a performance that one just should not miss?
If you enthusiastically endorse the performance, I'll order the tickets today!
Thank you.
Tim Page: Thanks for the nice words. I haven't heard Feltsman play in quite a while. I've always found him a serious and distinctive musician, and I would imagine he'd put on a very good show. The decision to invest or not to invest must be left to you, however.
Meeting single music lovers:
I've had the best luck (unintentional of course) waiting in line for the Library of Congress concerts.
Get there early, and you'll be lined up with the fanatics. Start a conversation (hint: bring a copy of the newspaper crossword puzzle to share) and go from there.
Tim Page: Some advice...
Single music lovers:
Join the Dennis Owens Fan Club and look around?
Tim Page: And more!
Takoma Park:
For a real hoot, try the Reich Remix album, with electronic/rock remixes of Steve Reich music.
I am NOT making this up.
Tim Page: It's a pretty strange record, isn't it? Also, a guy named Chris Hughes did a wonderful tribute to Reich about six or seven years ago...don't know if it is still in print.
I'm delighted to have the matchless "Music For Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ" back in the catalogue, in Reich's glistening original recording on Deutsche Grammophon from 1973. Simply gorgeous...
Capitol Hill:
The Gould/Bernstein performance of the Brahms First -should- have been panned! I heard it a couple of years ago and was stunned by it. I was amazed how a train wreck like that could occur and wondered what the orchestra must have thought while the battle of wills between Gould and Bernstein was going on.
On a more pleasant note, I heard you on "Weekend Edition" a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed the interview and the music. I bought the CD, but I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet. I look forward to hearing Gould play the Goldberg Variations again. That 1955 performance is a wonderfully precise and exacting performance and hearing those brief bits of his practicing brought that point home even more.
Tim Page: Ah, the controversy goes on! I admire the recording -- and remember that Bernstein's second version of the D minor Concerto (with Krystian Zimerman) was even a few minutes longer.
Thanks for the nice words about the Gould program.
Washington:
Does Leonard Slatkin admire Elliott Carter? In your past book of profiles of musical artists, you said that Slatkin, while in St. Louis, had disapproved of Carter's music, and been frankly rude to him. Why did you leave this profile out of your reissued, 2002 version of the book?
Tim Page: This is too long a story to go into right now but I've got to correct a couple of misimpressions you've left. 1) Only Carter thought that Slatkin had been rude to him. 2) Carter admired Slatkin's performance of his "Music of Three Orchestras" enormously. 3) My new book, "Tim Page On Music" is mostly new stuff and I reprinted only two articles from the earlier "Music From the Road," which came out in 1992. For the full story, you'll have to find "Music From The Road," which is still in print, and still contains the Slatkin profile.
Interesting the way this question keeps coming up week after week.
Arlington:
Do you know whether there are plans to tour the Steve Reich - Beryl Korot opera THREE TALES to the Washington area?
Tim Page: None at the moment. It's coming to BAM. I wish I could hear it.
Speaking of Carmina Burana..:
Isn't it just part of a larger trilogy of works? I think part 2 is called "Triumph of Aphrodite" but I can't recall the name of the third part. Have you heard these works? Does anyone actually perform them?
Tim Page: The second oratorio is called "Catulli Carmina" and the last "Trionfo di Aphrodite" (forgive any misspellings -- I don't have my reference books with me). They are quite a lot like "Carmina Burana," but nowhere near as popular. They are performed on occasion, and have been recorded several times.
washingtonpost.com:
In response to several reader requests, here is Tim Page's A Classical Education from The Washington Post, August 25, 2002.
Takoma park:
Reich advice: are any of the other recent recordings worth adding to my collection? The new Tehillim in particular done by some group called alarm will sound?
Tim Page: That's a really excellent recording -- vibrant and exciting. I wish I liked "The Desert Song" better, which takes up most of the record. I DO prefer the chamber version to the one for full orchestra, however.
Washington D.C.:
Tim, I'm still trying to grasp how you listen and react to 20th century American music. How do you feel about various works by Copland? Do you consider his pieces written in "the voice" such as Appalachian Spring and Rodeo to be his best because they are heard the most? Some say he stopped composing when "the voice" was exhausted . . . But what of the seldom performed Piano Variations and Nonet? The former is his masterpiece, yet has not caught on. Should we esteem it the less?
Tim Page: My favorite Copland is to be found in the three gigantic piano works -- the Variations, the Sonata and the Fantasy. Amazing stuff and -- since we were discussing uncompromising music earlier -- perhaps American modernism at its most dazzling and extreme. That said, I'm still very fond of "El Salon Mexico" and parts of "Rodeo." Copland still seems to me our most significant composer -- certainly the most significent in the first half of the 20th century.
Grosse Pointe, MI:
I happened to hear a bit of your tribute to Glenn Gould on the CBC. You mentioned his childlike qualities. It reminded me of a bizarre story I remember hearing in another, long ago tribute. It seems Gould in his younger, more clubbable days, became friends with a distinguished emigre actor and his family in Canada.
He apparently bonded quite especially to the children, including a young boy. Fast forward many years during which Gould went into his hermit stage and lost touch with the family. The day of his fatal stroke, they wheeled him into the hospital, and the doctor on duty in the emergency room was that same grown-up young boy.
Tim Page: I hadn't heard this story and don't know if it is true. Certainly, a lot of people in Toronto knew and admired Gould -- and he was always kind to children. It could be true.
Tim Page: Well, that hour went quickly! Thanks for your comments and questions -- and I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to answer some of them.
Check the Post tomorrow for an article about whatever happened to the Washington Chamber Symphony. As we are currently observing a by-line strike, it will be published as the work of "a Washington Post Staff Writer." There are a lot of us these days.
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