I received an unusually large quantity of responses to my recent column about the demise of Mostly Mozart. All of them agreed that something has gone woefully wrong at Lincoln Center. Some of the notes came from musicians and administrators who have had negative experiences with Lincoln Center's new leadership. I also heard from people who live in the Lincoln Center area, affirming that the noise levels from summer events have become hellish. I'd like to highlight a letter that is printed in this week's issue of The New Yorker, from Sol Gaitán, of Cliffside Park NJ. It reads in part: "The implication of 'Summer for the City' ’s programming appears to be that people from particular backgrounds primarily want to be exposed to what they’re already familiar with: that Black people only want hip-hop, Latinos only want salsa, and young people only want standup and 'games spaces.' I feel disrespected. I am Colombian, but I don’t want to hear cumbia all the time. I want to learn about and be acquainted with the unfamiliar. Minorities are complex, and are as prepared as anyone else for 'an encounter with something radically other—a world distant in time or space,' as Ross characterizes classical music. It is depriving people of an opportunity for such encounters, not the performance of this music, that is paternalistic and élitist."
Photo: The Nike World Basketball Festival at Lincoln Center. "#JustDoIt," tweeted Lincoln Center's president and CEO.
