by Kenneth Woods | Aug 25, 2006 | A view from the podium, News and Reviews, Performing Life
September 2 2006, 7:30 PM Mote Hall, Maidstone Kent County Youth Orchestra Kenneth Woods, conductor Programme- Smetana- Die Moldau Dvorak- Noonday Witch Martinu- Memorial to Lidice Rachmaninoff- Symphony no. 2 KENT COUNTY YOUTH ORCHESTRA (KCYO) President- Sir Simon...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 23, 2006 | A view from the podium, Nuts and bolts
For all you conducting dorks out there- The New Yorker has a piece this week by Justin Davidson on the art of conducting. As an added bonus, they’ve posted a very good video piece to accompany it. Those of you who know the “Art of Conducting” films well will...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 20, 2006 | A view from the podium
Best first six paragraphs in an article I’ve read in a long time, from this piece in Salon today- “Three blondes have albums coming out in August: Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson and … yes, Paris Hilton, have already dropped their various single droppings...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 18, 2006 | A view from the podium
One thing I like about blogging is that I can feel free to contradict myself. “Concerts matter. We’ve got to deliver. The best way to advance classical music is to give better concerts.” Thus spake me…. I still believe that, but there are many examples of...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 18, 2006 | A view from the podium
In my post yesterday I was trying to make the point that when you compare top conductor salaries to other persons in elite positions throughout the professional world, they don’t look so massive. Also I made the point that in professional orchestras, the...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 18, 2006 | A view from the podium, Haydn
I’d say that admiration for Haydn’s music is a pretty good measure of anyone’s musicianship, taste, maturity, imagination, humility, education, wisdom, sense of humor, appreciation for craft and understanding of human...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 11, 2006 | A view from the podium
From the archives- Written for O-list in 2004 for a discussion about music director salaries. The debate was sparked by a NY Times piece on top music director salaries (everyone else was in agreement that they were overpaid), and I decided to take the devil’s advocate...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 10, 2006 | A view from the podium
Contrary to popular perception, I believe that relevance is one of the great strengths of classical music. At it’s best, music can reflect human experience at it’s most personal, most historic, most universal, most tragic and most humorous. Because it is unhampered by...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 9, 2006 | A view from the podium
I want to thank A.C. Douglas, host of the always-readable blog Sounds and Fury for adding me to his blogroll this week. Mr. Douglas has a particular interest and expertise in the music of Wagner, and his post today does have a Wagner angle, but it’s most interesting...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 5, 2006 | A view from the podium, Nuts and bolts
I seem to have a habit of referring to some conductors as Zen masters, and a friend recently asked what the hell I mean by this. First, though a disclaimer- I would never begin to claim any particular philosophical experitise or deep understanding of the true tenants...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 4, 2006 | A view from the podium, Music and Media
I was making my daily visit to blognoggle to see who’s saying what in the classical blogosphere today, and, in amidst all the obituaries for Elizabeth Schwartzkopf, I saw a headline which was made up entirely of my name. Quite a surprise. So- big thanks to Steve...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 4, 2006 | A view from the podium, Music and Media
It seems that something breaks in my house every day that I am in it, and when I travel, things break even more often. Just recently, we’ve replaced a dishwasher, our six month-old coffee machine has gone on the fritz (the old one was only 2 years old), we’ve had an...
by Kenneth Woods | Aug 1, 2006 | A view from the podium, Performing Life
At the end of this month my 06-7 season begins with a course at the Kent County Youth Orchestra. This is my second visit with KCYO, and the first was an absolutely wonderful experience from beginning to end. The students played well, and with real passion and the...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 31, 2006 | A view from the podium, Music and Media
Just as a follow-up to yesterday’s piece on state funding of the arts…. There are lots of conversations going on in the blogosphere, in newspapers and around the water-cooler about the so-called crisis in classical music. One central idea I have been trying to...
by Kenneth Woods | Jul 30, 2006 | A view from the podium, Performing Life
Much as I’m happy to see Shostakovich getting so much attention in his 100th anniversary year, I’ve been a bit sad to see the 150th anniversary of the death of Robert Schumann go almost completely unnoticed, except at On An Overgrown Path. I actually very lovingly...
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