Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise

I say Sibelius, you say Sebelius

Breaking news: Obama taps Sebelius for health secretary.

"All the doctors who wanted to forbid me to smoke and to drink are dead." — Jean Sibelius

Previously: Sibelius in 2008, Obama-Sibelius.

Amiscellany

Happy eightieth birthday (tomorrow) to Frank Gehry, architect of the greatest concert hall of the modern era.... Norman Lebrecht gets an exclusive on the hot new mezzo-soprano Tutula Bartley.... The LA Times has a promising piece on Obama and the arts; Soho the Dog deconstructs the phrase "the arts count".... The Rocky Mountain News is no more; condolences to Marc Shulgold.... A fond farewell to Kyle Gann's PostClassic Radio.... The indomitable Alan Rich has a new home at the LA City Beat.... The Boston Symphony inaugurates its new recording series with discs and downloads of Bolcom, Ravel, Mahler, and Brahms; Jeremy Eichler sums up five years with James Levine.... Bob Shingleton likes the look of Pierre-Laurent Aimard's first season as artistic director of Benjamin Britten's glorious Aldeburgh Festival. But, John Amis has wondered, what does Aimard actually think of Britten's music?

Dessay v. Salieri

Rebecca Mead's profile of Natalie Dessay appears in this week's New Yorker (online for subscribers). In one scene, Dessay talks to Roland Geyer, the Intendant of the Theater an der Wien, about the possibility of singing in a revival of Falstaff — not the Verdi masterpiece but the 1799 version by Antonio Salieri:

A member of Geyer's staff went backstage and gave Dessay a copy of the Falstaff. During intermission, she paged through it, scanning the staves to see if the role rose to vocal heights sufficient to interest her. . . . "There's nothing to sing here," she said of the Salieri, leafing swiftly through in pursuit of a challenging aria before studying the music in greater detail. On a first pass, at least, she didn't find much. "If I do something without high notes, everyone will say, 'Oh, she doesn't have high notes anymore.' You can do it once, but if you do it again and again they start to talk, and then the reputation is gone."

Dessay sings in La Sonnambula at the Met starting on March 2. I'll review that production and the new Trovatore later in the month.

Lisa Bielawa in brief

Playtime. The New Yorker, March 2, 2009.

Miss Tully's revenge

Alice Tully Hall reopens on Sunday, and Lincoln Center has assembled an impressive lineup of artists for a two-week renovation festival: Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XXI, the Emerson and Belcea Quartets, violinist Daniel Hope, tenor Mark Padmore, David Robertson and the Juilliard Orchestra (Messiaen's From the Canyons to the Stars, which Tully commissioned), Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic, Philippe Herreweghe and the Collegium Vocale Gent (the Mass in B Minor), Paavo Järvi and the Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (four Beethoven symphonies in one night), a new-music day with ETHEL, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Alarm Will Sound, and Steve Reich and Musicians, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. All tickets are $25, except when they're free.

Mendelssohn abides

The Youngest Master. The New Yorker, Feb. 23, 2009.

Claudio Abbado conducting the London Symphony, DG 471467.

Yet another Alban Berg Valentine

DR. SCHÖN: Monster!
LULU: You'll marry me in the end!

                            — Lulu, Act I

Previously: An Alban Berg Valentine, Another Alban Berg Valentine.

Small victory

From p. 143 of the stimulus bill, which the U.S. Congress passed yesterday: "$50,000,000, to be distributed in direct grants to fund arts projects and activities which preserve jobs in the non-profit arts sector threatened by declines in philanthropic and other support during the current economic downturn." An attempt by Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma to eliminate all arts and museum funding from the bill was defeated. Ironically, Sen. Coburn is the father of the outstanding young soprano Sarah Coburn, who has appeared many times at opera houses supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. Last year the younger Coburn went home to Oklahoma to sing in Lakmé at the Tulsa Opera — a production made possible in part by a $15,000 grant from the NEA.

Avant Obama, etc.

Thanks to the footage above, we can now hear what Yo-Yo and company actually played during their 4'33"-long performance at the inauguration. (A "satirical hypothetical document," via Kyle Gann.) Elsewhere on YouTube: the Ophicleide Summit.... John Adams critiques young composers in an interview with Newsweek's Seth Colter Walls; Judd Greenstein responds.... The long-awaited Blog of Sedge. Also joining the fray is Matthew Gurewitsch.... Tony Tommasini of the New York Times answers readers' questions.... The violist Nadia Sirota and the vocalist Helga Davis are giving a new spin to the overnight show on WNYC. A recent program led with Britten's A Hymn to the Virgin, Cowell's Hymn and Fuguing Tune No. 10, Cage's Hymns and Variations, and Ingram Marshall's bewitching Hymnodic Delays. That's radio we can believe in.

Appearance in Dallas

I will be giving a multimedia lecture on twentieth-century music at the Dallas Museum of Art on Tuesday night, Feb. 10.

Not entirely in vain

A bout of work and travel derailed my plans to write a preview post for Georg Friedrich Haas's in vain, a darkly radiant modern masterpiece that was given its U.S. premiere by the Argento Chamber Ensemble at Miller Theatre last night. A second performance follows on Monday at the Austrian Embassy in Washington, DC. Washingtonians should also be aware that György and Márta Kurtág will present a Kurtág world premiere at the Library of Congress tonight. Both concerts are free.

Sylvain Cambreling / Klangforum Wien; Kairos 1233.

That I would pay to see

I watched the Golden Globe Awards last month, but I somehow failed to register that when Susan Sarandon was announcing the Best Actor winner she stated that Brad Pitt was nominated for his performance in The Curious Case of Benjamin Britten.

Photo: Pitt as Britten, with Tom Cruise as Peter Pears.

Max Neuhaus

The pioneering percussionist and sound artist has died at the age of sixty-nine. Go here to read about his sound installations, and go to the pedestrian island at 46th and Broadway to experience his piece Times Square. (Via Betsey Biggs.)

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Kurtágs in New York

Jonathan Biss was one of a number of musicians who turned out to hear György and Márta Kurtág perform at Zankel Hall on Sunday night. Also in the crowd were Richard Goode, Leif Ove Andsnes, Christian Tetzlaff, and Ursula Oppens. Biss offers "fugitive thoughts" on his website. I wrote about a Vienna version of this stupendous program in 2006.

Sonatina from Bach's Cantata BWV 106, "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit," arr. György Kurtág; G. and M. Kurtág, upright piano; BMC CD 123.

Mendelssohn at 200

Birthday extra: Composer in the Kitchen.

For Lukas Foss

Another major figure in American music passes from the scene. Obituary by Allan Kozinn; remembrance by Matthew Guerrieri.

"O Mensch, gib Acht," from Time Cycle; Adele Addison, soprano, with Leonard Bernstein conducting the Columbia Symphony, Sony CD 63164. Photo: Library of Congress.

Who is the American composer?

The American Music Center has released a fascinating survey of the American composer population. You can read a summary as well as the entire report at NewMusicBox. Some patterns that emerge: 1) Composers don't make a mint from their work. They have a median total income of $45,000, and, on average, they derive 19% of that amount from composition. Yet they spend twenty-seven hours a week on composing-related activities. Eighty-five respondents — 6.4% of the total — make a living entirely from writing music. That figure is actually higher than I might have guessed. 2) Composers — at least those responding to this survey — are predominantly white and male: 85% and 79% respectively. But those figures will drop as new generations rise. 3) Composers are dabbling energetically in new technologies. Forty-three percent are on MySpace, 39% percent are on Facebook, and 63% either "do not mind" or "like the exposure" when people download their music for free.

Cheap seats: A selective guide

In January 2009 I decided to see how many concerts I could see in New York for under $100. This column was the result. As a follow-up, here is a guide to cheap seats at classical institutions around the world. (Prepared with assistance from Will Robin.)

Print listings w/ info on ticket prices: Time Out NY, Time Out Chicago, Chicago Sun-Times, The Stranger (Seattle), Time Out London

Web listings: ionarts, San Francisco Classical Voice, Classical Voice of North Carolina, South Florida Classical Review, the Rambler's New Music on a Shoestring (London)

Discounts, cheap seats, student prices:

New York:

Metropolitan Opera: $25 weekend tickets, $20 rush tickets

New York Philharmonic: $18 open rehearsals, $12.50 student rush tickets

Carnegie Hall: If you're in the 20-40 age range, for $20 you can get a year-long membership in Carnegie's Notables program, providing access to $20 tickets.

Juilliard sends out students to give free lunchtime concerts at 180 Maiden Lane downtown on most Tuesdays. Numerous free or cheap events are listed in the Juilliard calendar.

Frick Collection: All concerts $30/$25

Le Poisson Rouge: Most shows $10-20

Issue Project Room: Most shows $10/$8

New Amsterdam: Many cheap new-music events in calendar

92nd Street Y: Student10 tickets available for $10 and Under-35 tickets for $25

Peoples' Symphony Concerts: Most single tickets $13

Bargemusic: $15-20 student tickets

Free for All in Town Hall

BAM: $10 student rush, $10 senior rush

Symphony Space: $15-25 student and senior tickets

Orchestra of St. Luke's: $10 student rush

New York Youth Symphony: $20 tickets, $10 if you show a student ID at the box office

Church-music listings via the New York Chapter of the American Guild of Organists

New Music listings at SoundArt

MOMA Summergarden (free)

Boston:

Boston Symphony: The $25 College Card gives you free tickets on many nights each season; the high-school card is only $10; and there are high-school open rehearsals.

Boston Lyric Opera: 50% off student tickets

Boston Philharmonic: $8 student and senior rush tickets

New England Conservatory: Free student performances

Celebrity Series: $20 rush tickets

Collage New Music: $15 single tickets, students free

Northeast summer festivals:

Caramoor: $15 tickets available for most concerts

Glimmerglass: 50% off student discount, $10 tickets for youths aged 6-18

Tanglewood: Lawn tickets from $17 (lawn free for children under 18)

Bard SummerScape: $5 student rush tickets

Norfolk has $15 tickets available for most concerts and a number of free performances

D.C. / Baltimore:

Kennedy Center (including the Washington National Opera and National Symphony Orchestra): Discount program for ages 17-25; 50% off discount  available to students, seniors, and other qualifying groups

Baltimore Symphony: For students, $10 tickets or a 5-for-$40 deal; $20 unreserved seats

Chicago:

Chicago Lyric Opera: $20 student tickets available by signing up

Chicago Opera Theater: $15 student tickets available by signing up

Chicago Symphony Orchestra: $10 student tickets

Chicago Opera Vanguard: $40-50 subscriptions, $30 for students

UChicago Presents: $5 or $10 student tickets

Grant Park: Free performances in the summer

Pick Staiger: Tickets under $10 for general public, $5 for students; sometimes free

Detroit / Ann Arbor:

The University Musical Society in Ann Arbor offers $10 rush tickets and other discounts.

The Detroit Symphony has a $25 student pass, giving unlimited access to all classical, pops, and jazz concerts each season.

Kansas City:

$25 student season pass at the Kansas City Symphony, $10 rush tickets.

Texas:

Dallas Symphony: $10-25 student rush tickets; also a $99 Impromptu deal, giving you unlimited access to a Thursday and Friday series throughout the season

Dallas Opera: $25 student tickets

Houston Symphony: $12 and 50% off student tickets

Houston Grand Opera: $12.50 NEXUS program

Texas Performing Arts in Austin: $10 student tickets

Fort Worth Opera: 50% off for students and military

Southern California:

LA Phil: $10-20 student and senior rush tickets; also, a five-for-$50 deal on the orchestra's pathbreaking Green Umbrella new-music series

LA Opera: student rush tickets available, prices not given

UCLA Live: $15 student tickets

LA Chamber Orchestra: $10 student rush

Pacific Symphony: $10 student tickets

La Jolla Music Society: $10 rush student tickets

La Jolla Symphony: $15 student tickets

San Diego Symphony: $10 last-minute tickets

Orchestra Nova San Diego: $10 tickets for students and educators, free tickets for active military and family

Northern California (with thanks to Lisa Hirsch):

SF Symphony: $20 rush tickets

SF Opera: $25 student and senior rush tickets and other discounts

Cal Performances, Berkeley: 50% for students, other discounts

Generally free concerts at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Stanford, Cal State East Bay, Mills Colllege, San Francisco State, and UC Berkeley

Old First Concerts: $15 general admission, $12 for students and seniors

Northwest:

Seattle Opera: $20 student rush tickets, $5 teen tickets, various other discounts

Seattle Symphony: $10 student tickets; free companion tickets for kids aged 8-18; various free ticket progams through community groups

Portland Opera: $10 rush tickets for students, seniors, military

Other American orchestras:

Cleveland: $10 student tickets

Philadelphia: Students can buy $8 rush tickets or a remarkable $25 pass, giving unlimited access to eighty or more concerts each season.

St. Louis: $10 student tickets or a 5-for-$55 deal

Nashville: $10 college-student tickets

New Jersey: $10 student tickets (or $25 for a full season pass); 30% off senior rush

Atlanta: $12 student tickets

Cincinnati: Various discounts, including $12 tickets for people aged 18-30

Phoenix: Various discounts, including a $30 season pass

Utah Symphony / Opera: Student tickets from $10

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra: $10 tickets for age 20-39; $10 student rush; $3 off senior discount

Minnesota Orchestra: $12 student tickets; other discounts

Other American opera companies:

Kansas City Opera: $15 student tickets

Cincinnati Opera: $12 student rush

Canada:

Montreal Symphony: $25 student tickets; $15 for ages 15-30

Toronto Symphony: Their innovative tsoundcheck program offers $14 tickets to people aged 15-15, whether they are students or not.

U.K.:

LSO: Student tickets from £6 and a rewards program for bringing other students

Scottish Opera: £10 tickets for people under 26

Royal Scottish National Orchestra: £5 tickets under 26; anyone under 16 gets in free

London Philharmonic: Student tickets from £1-4; £8 for under 26

City of Birmingham Symphony: £5 student rush tickets; discount standby tickets also available

Hallé Orchestra: Student tickets for £3.o0

Royal Opera House at Covent Garden: Discounts available for students, people under 18, and others

English National Opera: Various student and under-30 discounts

Germany:

Berlin Philharmonic: Standing room tickets starting at 7€

Berlin Staatsoper: Various discounts

Deutsche Oper Berlin: Judgendclub discounts

Dresden Semperoper: 10€ student tickets, other offers

Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich): 10€ student tickets and other discounts  

Bavarian Radio Symphony: 8€ student tickets

Bamberger Symphoniker: Discount tickets for under 18, students, and military

Rest of Europe:

Czech Philharmonic: 50% off for seniors and students

La Scala: Major discounts in the Under 30 program

Helsinki Philharmonic: 6€ student tickets and other discounts 

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra: 10€ rush tickets for under-28

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra: 80SEK student tickets

Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich: 20CHF tickets for under-25 and students