Midgette vs. Lebrecht: Two Critics Debate Wagner's "Ring" Cycle on WNYC

Anne Midgette, chief classical music critic at the Washington Post, and Norman Lebrecht, the music critic at London's Evening Standard, have recorded a joint radio interview on Wagner's Ring cycle for WNYC. The two critics debate whether Wagner's tetralogy is 16 hours of bombast and bore, or 16 hours of some of history's most glorious, transcendent music. Lebrecht also fires a parting shot on his blog: "The man's odious ideology is part and parcel of the work. Eliminate it, and the Ring becomes a teddy bears' tea party." I bet you can't guess which side of the argument he's on. 

The debate coincides with the Met's revival of Otto Schenk's seminal Ring production--the last time it will be staged at the Met. Three complete cycles will be performed over the next six weeks, starting on Saturday, March 28 with Das Rheingold. Levine will conduct. Domingo, Morris, among others, will sing. Good luck finding tickets, at least if you're on a recession-induced budget. Family Circle seats (obstructed or nonexistent view) start at $300. Center Parterre more your style? $2,600. Better start saving.

Here is a reminder--the stunning, malevolent "Oath Trio" that closes Act II of Götterdämmerung, courtesy of Levine and the Met--why Wagner is totally awesome, no matter how "odious" his ideology.

YouTube Symphony Winners Announced

The winning auditions videos for the YouTube Symphony have been posted on the orchestra's YouTube page. According to a BBC story, more than 3,000 entries from 200 countries were submitted, with 30 different nationalities represented in the ensemble. The orchestra performs on April 15 under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas at Carnegie Hall.

The Self-Promotion Continues: Feature Article in Symphony magazine

Here's a link to "Class Acts," a feature article I wrote for the March/April issue of Symphony magazine. It includes short profiles of a handful of innovative volunteer-run arts education programs across the country.

More Shameless Self-Promotion: Feature Article in Symphony managzine

Here's a link to "Starting Line," a feature article I wrote that appears in the current issue of Symphony magazine. It's about artist managers who specialize in identifying and nurturing young musicians, and the process emerging artists go through to transform a promising talent into a successful, sustainable career.

New York Times: Met in Serious Financial Trouble

Dan Wakin has a startling article in the New York Times that lays out a pretty bleak financial picture for the Metropolitan Opera. The recession's impact on other cultural institutions, particularly New York City Opera, has been well-documented, but this is the biggest sign of trouble from the mightiest of arts organizations. 

The company's general manager, Peter Gelb, said that through administrative cuts, concessions from unions, and the elimination of some of next season's more costly productions, he hopes to avoid a "disaster scenario." An anonymous source put their hypothetical deficit at $40 million, with an endowment that has hemorrhaged one-third of its $300 million.

I don't think the Met is worried about going under--the precipice NYCO teetered on much of the summer and fall--but it does prove that no one is immune from our country's dire financial situation.

Merry Christmas!

Luciano Pavarotti and his father, Fernando, singing Cesar Franck's "Panis Angelicus." Modena Cathedral, 1978. Ninety seconds of heaven.

New York Philharmonic vs. Gilbert Kaplan: An Update

Several new developments in the throwdown between members of the New York Philharmonic and the supporters of conductor Gilbert Kaplan. Steve Smith, the critic who reviewed the original concert for the Times, published a lengthy mea culpa on his blog in which he admits to cutting a short phrase from his piece that described Kaplan as the co-editor of the critical edition of Mahler's Second, and therefore slightly undercutting Kaplan's authority on the piece.

Norman Lebrecht, who freely professes his admiration and friendship with Kaplan, takes the Philharmonic out behind the woodshed for another whipping:

The New York Philharmonic has come out of this seedy episode looking like a rabble without a cause. When its music director invites a man to conduct a concert for the benefit of the orchestra's pension fund, it is worse than just bad manners for the players to insult him to their heart's content. It is a symptom of exceedingly bad management, or an organisation that has run out of control. Somebody needs to get a grip, to state a position, to invoke a principle of collective responsibility.

It is no surprise that Riccardo Muti turned down the offer to become music director in favour of Chicago, that Simon Rattle won't go near the band with a bargepole and that the only person with enough insurance to succeed Lorin Maazel is the son of two members of the orchestra who think they can keep the hyenas from his door. What a shambles.