What Can Classical Music do for You?
March is Music in Our Schools Month. Sometimes when I take on a private student who has previously given up on, or has never had music lessons, they can very fearful. Grown men who tower over me tremble when they Read More …
An English composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor has a Wikipedia entry. . We have a few (not nearly enough) recordings on Amazon: He was a prolific composer, again surmounting incredible odds, and was often referred to as “The African Mahler.” There is Read More …
In Music of the Heart. a film about violin teacher Roberta Guaspari, Naeem’s mother, Mrs. Adisa, pulls Naeem out of Guaspari’s violin class, and the following dialogue ensues: MRS. ADISA My son’s got more important things to do than learn Read More …
We’ll start off the month with one of my favorites, Edmond Dédé. He’s got a Wikipedia article that has some detail. But to really understand his legacy and the odds against him, look at this article from New Orleans Public Read More …
Times change. Two hundred years ago, at the time of Jane Austen, every young lady who had any aspirations of a middle-class or higher life was expected to have “accomplishments,” among which was included music, especially singing or playing an Read More …
If there’s one thing that almost everyone can agree on, it’s that you should study the plot of an opera before you see it or listen to it. Let’s face it: operas have plots so convoluted that even people who Read More …
I’ve made several posts for Blog Action Day, and today’s topic is inequality. In the U.S., there is a staggering inequality of access for music education, and more importantly, for classical music. This is a conscious decision made by hundreds Read More …
I’ve addressed this issue numerous times, and I’m surprised that the concept is still around, but evidently people think there is something elitist about classical music. Now the American Record Guide reprints an article from 13 years ago: A reprint Read More …
From a paper by John Sloboda (pdf file): The traditions and forms of the academy are, despite what some apologists claim, inaccessible to most people. Their inaccessibility is of two sorts. First, they do not reflect to most people the Read More …
Continued from: Is Classical Music Elitist? Is Classical Music Elitist? Part 2 Is Classical Music Elitist? Part 3 Is Classical Music Elitist? Part 4 Is Classical Music Elitist? Part 5 I know, it seems like this has been going on Read More …
