Musical America Blogs

By James Jorden
Revelation comes in the strangest places. Like, for example, I had this eventual moment of clarity about what it was that went wrong in the Lepage Ring, and what do you think sparked it?
Of all things, last night’s performance of Ernani at the Met. 

By: Edna Landau
To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.
Dear Edna:
I am a pianist, seeking to obtain performance opportunities without a manager. Can you please give me some guidance with regard to negotiating a fee? How can I tell what is reasonable and within the budget of the organization in question? How much of a range [...]

by Sedgwick Clark
I first met Omus Hirshbein in Carnegie Hall’s executive offices, where he worked for a brief time in 1973 between tenures at the Hunter College Concert Bureau and the 92nd Street Y. He was walking out of a planning meeting, saying in frustration to anyone nearby, “They won’t listen to me—they should be [...]

by James Conlon
Gore Vidal once observed that at a certain age writers turn to politics or alcohol. I am a musician and am turning to neither, but in recent years have found, conversely, an increasing satisfaction through writing. For that reason I welcomed the invitation from MusicalAmerica.com to write a blog on a somewhat regular basis. [...]

There is nothing like a good ballet spoof. At New York City Ballet’s January 21 matinee performance, the company danced at Lincoln Center Jerome Robbins’ “The Concert” (1956). Whether you get the inside jokes regarding specific ballets, Robbins’s jabs at ballet traditions—the good, bad and the ugly—directly communicate.

by Sedgwick Clark
A confident handshake? It happened in the 1980s in David Dubal’s office at the late, lamented New York classical-radio station WNCN, where I edited the station’s music magazine, Keynote. David, who was music director of the station, always had a string of notable pianists visiting. On this day it was Alexis Weissenberg who [...]

By: Edna Landau
To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.
I was recently honored to be asked to participate on a panel at the annual Astral Artists auditions, during which I listened to a substantial number of pianists and wind players. While all were on a rather high level, I was struck by the relatively small number [...]

By: Edna Landau
To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.
Dear Edna:
I’m an artist sending out letters of inquiry to a handful of presenters. Can you give me an example of an inquiry letter you might send, as an artist, to a concert series or presenter when proposing a concert? —Kimball Gallagher
Dear Kimball:
In a time when the [...]

by Sedgwick Clark �
Many years ago I was sitting next to the p.r. director of the Berlin Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall when a cellphone went off as Simon Rattle conducted. When the piece ended I asked him if that happened in Berlin. “Everywhere,” he said sadly.  �
I left for vacation two days after the cellphone brouhaha at the New York Philharmonic [...]

by Edna Landau
To ask a question, please write Ask Edna.
Dear Edna:
I am a well-established soloist who has always booked and promoted myself. Once I reached middle age, I made numerous efforts to find an agent who can do for me what I’ve done for myself, only with more savvy and sophistication. But I’ve found that the [...]