I thought casual attire has been pretty much the standard practice in all NY concert halls for a while ...
Perhaps so. I haven't paid too much attention, I suppose. But can you get great seats (as we did) for $20? The other thing that would help encourage a youthful audience is (and I'm quite serious) having an outside area for pot smoking before the concert (in places where it's legal, of course). I loved the experience, but couldn't help thinking how much cooler it would be a little buzzed. Pot and classical music would make great bedfellows, I think
First listen to "Strozzi - Sacri Musicali Affetti" performed by Concerto Soave led by Maria Cristina Kiehr on l'empreinte digitale.
One day about a year ago, my wife wanted to go to a trendy, expensive neighborhood in the city so while she did her shopping, I found a small record shop to browse. I quickly found that everything there was quite expensive (to me) and I couldn't find any classical records at all. This store had mainly rock titles and the lowest price for anything was $10 for stuff like Elton John's greatest hits and other typical dollar bin titles. Honestly, I wasn't surprised considering the high end neighborhood. Discouraged, I was about to leave when I spotted a milk crate stuffed beneath another display rack and I saw the familiar black and yellow cover of a DG title. I dragged the crate out and thumbed through it but didn't find much except a nice, clean mono copy of Wieniawski's second violin concerto with Isaac Stern and the Philadelphia orchestra. I didn't have a copy of this and it wasn't priced. Fearing the worst, I took it to the counter to ask anyway. The owner said "Oh, all the classical in that milk crate is $1". Sold! I asked if he ever gets any other classical records in the store and he said he turns down collections all the time because his customers aren't interested. Oh well, I was happy with my little "score". Playing it now, as a matter of fact!
If you're under 40, the NY Philharmonic will sell you a subscription at $32.50 a seat or so. And if you're a student tickets (if available) are available same day for $10.
Now listening to CD 2 from "Pierre Fevrier - Pieces de clavecin" performed by Charlotte Mattax Moersch on Centaur.
I saw Barnatan play Brahms 1 not so long ago....he was really good, reminded me a bit of Vladimir Ashkenazy, same stature too. Lots of emotion and very accurate playing. I would see him again anytime.
There used to be a 60 page limit, but that annoyed a lot of people and it was eventually removed entirely. I rather prefer it this way.
Now on the turntable, record 2 from "Bach - The Well-Tempered Clavier" performed by Wanda Landowska on RCA.
Now on the turntable, record 1 from "Leclair - Eight Sonatas for Violin and Continuo" performed by Georges Ales and Isabelle Nef on L'Oiseau-Lyre. Another pic that shows the box cover...
It's great to see Iggy Pop and Stooge fans over here at Classical listening (judging by your avatar). I am not judging the pot smoking since there is often a cash bar at the concert hall. I just question why young music fans given a State where pot smoking is legal would feel the need to go to a classical music concert to light up. Have you actually met young people who say they would go if they could bring a joint to the joint? Since they spend big bucks on pop concerts and sporting events they want to see I don't think the seat price is heavily inhibiting. Students can get low price tickets pretty easily and there are subsidies for the disadvantaged as well. I agree with coopmv that the dress code is fairly loose these days. When I was younger I took people to concerts who didn't otherwise go. I don't think any of them, even though some liked the concert, ever turned into classical music fans. Given that the present culture doesn't really value it or do anything to foster interest, I think it's more a question of encouraging people who express an interest in classical music without prompting. But others may think differently.
Don't you just love the vaporetto (water bus). I could have gone round on those all day long. We stop on Lido so you have to use the vaporetto to get to the main island or anywhere else for that matter. I'd love to go the festival in February.
Where do you find all these, IMO, virtually unknown albums B? You seem to have an inexhaustible supply.
I think the problem with many young people (not all by any means) is the effort required to listen to and enjoy CM. I know from my own family that the IPhone mentality rules. They don't even listen to a whole pop/rock song let alone a full classical piece
This question may rightly belong in a thread of its own but since this is the classical music conversation thread I decided to pose it here: What I'm wondering is to what extent is the overriding preference, on this and pretty much all the many classical music oriented websites I've visited, for old to very old recordings and performances and predominantly vinyl records from 30 to 60 years ago, negatively impacting the economic and artistic health of the current classical industry? Over the past 5-7 years I've seen a steady decline in the production of new classical releases and a steady increase of re-releases of older recordings and this depresses me when I think of the future of the music and musicians I love and the prospects facing new composers and performers entering the field. Do any of you classical "oldies" vinyl LP fans feel any responsibility for the current declining state of classical music in our culture? Or is it rather that the flight from the current classical music scene is a perfectly sensible reaction to a perceived lack of quality in new music and new performances of older music?
I see plenty of new classical recordings being released constantly. It's true that there is a huge number of re-releases, many in the high resolution domain. All those re-releases are mostly from record companies that used to produce best sellers on a regular basis but now have to compete with smaller labels able to produce amazing recordings. Alpha, Glossa, Hyperion, CPO, to name but a few, release an impossible number of releases. Just have a look at the recent releases in Musicweb International: MusicWeb International: Classical Music Reviews & Resources If what you refer to is the lower sales... Well, people don't think in general they should pay for music anymore. This applies to any genre, really.
I totally agree with you about the amazing vitality of the independent labels you cite (those 4 being some of my absolute fav's too) but what I've been observing with Alpha and Glossa, to name two, is that even these labels are increasingly devoting their resources to re-releasing their back catalogues and that other labels are buying up the back catalogues of their dying competitors and re-releasing that in dribs and drabs. I just fear for the future of those labels that you and I depend on for fascinating new releases when there is such a surging interest, it seems, in the old stuff.
This is actually a great point! Speaking only for myself, I do still continue to buy new Classical releases but I have to admit to not being moved by a lot of what I am hearing from newer, younger performers compared to the same music performed by the "Classic Masters". Still, there is plenty of good talent out there and I enjoy discovering it. I also attend as many live performances of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra as my budget and schedule allow. My wife and I also frequently attend local chamber group performances (there are many more of these than you'd think!) around the area where we live so we do our best to support this music here. With all of the talk of the lack of interest in Classical Music, I have to say I'm impressed at just how well attended all of these performances are, even the smaller local ensembles! And it's not just busloads of people from the senior center either! I see a decent number of younger people there too. My wife is a member of our local music conservatory and plays piano. Her membership gives us a lot of exposure to what is being performed locally. I consider myself lucky to have all of this great music available to us. Maybe it's just this area but we have quite a number of local Classical Music performances to keep us busy here! It's tough to see all that we want to see! I'm enjoying as much of it as I can! .
There are so many new releases it's impossible to keep up. I've bought close to 100 new releases and I've just scratched the surface. New artists/new releases are in a catch-22. If the release standard repertory, they're competing with a long performance history that's bound to have better performances. If the release is something unknown, it gets ignored because no one knows it. Most of my purchases of both new releases and back catalog/reissues are of works I've never heard before. I also concertante mainly on early music and post WW2. Even with the narrow focus, I can't keep up with the new releases.
