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I wondered below about the meaning of the Sibelius chart on Serhan Bali's Turkish-only blog. Another Turkish reader wrote in to explain: it shows percentages of royalties awarded to the heirs of Sibelius, who raked in 1.5 million euros over the past year. There's even a Sibelius wine. The chart comes courtesy of Helsingin Sanomat.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I studiously avoid any uninformed prattling on political issues, and, moreover, that I firmly believe that the government of the United States is in the hands of the greatest convocation of moral geniuses that God has seen fit to bestow on humanity since the time of James Buchanan, if not since the creation of the universe six thousand years ago. Nonetheless, it's always amusing to entertain other views. Free Speech Productions is a collaboration among three gifted composers — Judd Greenstein, David T. Little, and Missy Mazzoli — who are eager to bring a new political charge to a generally apolitical new-music scene. Their fall tour, bringing together the groups Newspeak and NOW Ensemble, kicks off tomorrow night at the Knitting Factory, and continues at Galapagos in Brooklyn on Nov. 11, New Haven on Nov. 12, and Cambridge, MA on Nov. 13. The program at Knitting Factory includes John Halle's Apology to Younger Americans and Black Sabbath's "War Pigs," as well as works by the co-founders. What a pity all these people are going to hell. Cheney will see to it.
Out-of-town orchestras offer Mahler symphony blowouts at Carnegie Hall on a more or less weekly basis. This season we're getting two Fourths, two Fifths, a Sixth, two Lieder von der Erde, and a Tenth Adagio. There is no greater bummer than a mediocre runthrough of this most emotionally unstinting of composers, so it was reassuring to hear the excellent Fifth that the Chicago Symphony put out on Saturday night. Daniel Barenboim, not known for conducting Mahler, supplied a freshness of vision that other conductors seldom retain on their twentieth or fiftieth traversal of the score. Tempos were well chosen throughout; the Adagietto was slightly on the rapid side, but rich in feeling. Passages such as "Leidenschaftlich Wild" in the first movement ("crazy horny") packed a lot of force, but didn't go over the top. Barenboim's intelligent handling of dynamics was crucial. So too was the incredible precision of the legendary Chicago brass, who got a well-deserved rock-star reception during the ovation. They still shine like a phalanx in the sun, as they did in the Solti era, but they now have more mellowness and nobility. No coarseness, no blaring. Christopher Martin seems like a worthy successor to Chicago's longtime lead trumpeter Adolph Herseth. Dale Clevenger gave a sustained lesson in truly great horn playing. Pedantic example of the art of control: when, in the return to Tempo I in the first movement, the tuba goes down to a low-low G-sharp, a fade to pp was carefully observed; often tubists can't resist the temptation to blat forth that lowest note. As in every performance I've lately heard, the third and fifth movements sagged in the middle; players need to have more fun with this music, grasp its essential absurdity. The solemn symphonic ritual should turn into a zany pops concert. First half: Schoenberg Variations. Edgy, ungainly, not the velvet-lined Schoenberg that James Levine supplies on demand.
What's the best Mahler Fifth on CD? I guess I'd pick Bernstein's DG recording. But I'm still fond of the disc which was my introduction to the piece, and which was also my first CD — Giuseppe Sinopoli's then brand-new 1985 recording with the Philharmonia. It's now available only as part of a box set.
Clarification: "Crazy horny" is a joke translation. "Passionately wild" would be more accurate, as Daniel Wolf observes.
Readers may recall the New York Philharmonic's surprising decision last March to appoint Chad Smith, drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as their artistic administrator. It turned out that this was a different Chad Smith, but it was a nice mental image while it lasted. Now Chad Smith has gone back to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, whence he came, and Matías Tarnopolsky, senior director for artistic planning at the Chicago Symphony, is replacing him at the Philharmonic. Tarnopolsky is a very smart musician-turned administrator, a committed twentieth-century and new-music advocate, a former schoolmate of Thomas Adès's at the Guildhall School of Music, a fan of experimental jazz. If I remember correctly, he is related to the Tarnopolskys of Argentina, most of whom were infamously "disappeared" during the military junta. Let's hope he has a chance to try out some new ideas at the Philharmonic. The job of artistic administrator can be a frustrating one: you float fabulously interesting proposals, which are then systematically shot down by the board, the musicians, the big donors, and the general power of the status quo. The LA Philharmonic is, notably, one place where that hasn't happened.
Update: Marc Geelhoed contradicts my claim that Tarnopolsky is a fan of free jazz. I hope I haven't dashed anyone's hopes for a Charles Gayle weekend at the Philharmonic.
