by Kenneth Woods | Jul 8, 2024 | A view from the podium, Mahler, Mahler- Performer's Perspective, Nuts and bolts, Performing Life
What follows is an essay about my new Performing Version of Mahler’s arrangement of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden String Quartet, premiered at Colorado MahlerFest in 2024. Schubert, Franz arr. Mahler/Woods – String Quartet in D minor (Der Tod und...
by Kenneth Woods | Jun 16, 2024 | A view from the podium
I had the pleasure this week of reading a recent essay by the cultural historian Joseph Horowitz called “Three Who Quit,” a moving meditation on the later-life silences of Elgar, Ives and Sibelius. Joe and I will be recording a podcast on the topic later this week, so...
by Kenneth Woods | May 25, 2024 | A view from the podium
I’ve just been listening to this latest interview between Rick Beato and Ted Gioia. Gioia is one of today’s most interesting and illuminating cultural commentators, and it’s especially interesting to hear him in dialogue with someone like Rick Beato, who has been so...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 29, 2024 | A view from the podium
What follows is a Twitter thread I wrote in response to some excellent recent essays on UK arts funding. I’ve been thinking about a very important and balanced essay from Richard Bratby on the promise and perils of private arts funding in the UK. His description...
by Kenneth Woods | Mar 23, 2024 | A view from the podium
Maybe it’s the curmudgeon in me, but I was never a fan of the all-star charity track. From “We Are the World” to “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” I always found most of the songs saccharine and cloying, and the constant change of superstar vocalists off-putting. Perhaps...
by Kenneth Woods | Oct 25, 2023 | A view from the podium
Thought for the day. A colleague I admire was talking today about how one might make the lists of orchestral audition excerpts more diverse. I take a different view. The professional orchestra audition process, especially in America, has got to be one of the hardest...
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