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Volume 9 Issue 10 - July/August 2004

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Rochester - It's a

Rochester - It's a Breeze, continued from pageJ 5 BooK SHELF a Commission Project workshop tution in Rochester, and charting conducted by John Faddis, direc- new paths for music education. His tor of the Carnegie Hall Jazz Or- deep pockets and aesthetic interest chestra. His adeptness at gently supported facilities like a 3 ,094- moving students to exceed them- seat acoustic and visual jewel of a by Pamela Marg/es selves equals his vaunted abilities concert hall. His new conservato- on the trumpet. ry encouraged American composi- INTRODUCTION A painfully shy clarinetist was tion, helping pierce the monopoly Herearefiveternficnewnovelsabout unable to express her evident mu- of European repertoire. A young music - perfect for summer reading. sicality. Faddis asked whether her composer, Howard Hanson, be- The protagonist of French novelmama was present, then exclaimed: came Eastman's director in 1924. ist Jean Echenoz's Piano (New "Hey mama, is this girl so bashful The Hanson Institute· for Ameri- Press) is a renowned concert pianist at home?" Marna replied: "I only can Music, established when he re- who goes through a masterfully dewish!" Faddis spoke quietly but tired in 1964, reflects his sutcess . scribed episode of stage fright, dies a firmly; "Girl, you have the music Wide public involvement in clas- much-anticipated 'violent death' afin you. To get it out, or do any- sical music was also an Eastman ter an especially successful concert, thing in life, you ipust stand straight goal. A comrriunity music school · and spends the rest of this surreal, and look everyone in the c;ye." She and open-door concert policy were funny novel as a ghost. He ends up did, and will remember Faddis' integral to the new conservatory. on earth doing 'vesperal service' as a counsel for the"rest of her life. He believed music students should bartender. Thanks to seeds planted by Ned experience a broad liberal arts ed- In Music of a Life (Arcade), An- Corman, a jazz musician and char- ucation; the conservatory became drei Makjne, delves into the tragic isrnatic teacher at a Rochester high the University of Rochester's first repercussions of war and political school, equivalent experiences are professional school, and hosts its repr~ssion . A young Russian pianist spreading. Ex-students who sue- own humanities department. is forced to 'steal a life' from a dead ceeded in business and the prof es- The School recently assumed a soldier during the Second World War. sions did not forget Corman, or vanguard role in training young His story, told to the narrator as a jazz. They've mobilized resourc- musicians to navigate the musical ' poetic,heartbreakingreminiscenceby es for his Commission Project. marketplace once they have their a stranger, gives Makine the oppor- M y main point is that Rochester sheepskin. Eastman would be pleased. tunity to examine the meaning of as The Project's starting point is Overlaps between Eastman's fac- music from the viewpoint" of deprinot simply an accident of Corman ulty and the Rochester Philharmon- vation. landing a job in a local school. Ro- ic Orchestra, plus a chain of sate)- Writer Christopher Miller chesterthhas excedptihonal links be- lite chamber ensembles, provide a presents Simon Silber: Works for tween e arts an t e commumty , , , Solo Piano (Hoµghton Miffiin) as I'd b h R · h t , nch music season. Eastman s com- . . f at large, et t at oc es er s . . h 1 d d the liner notes accompanymg a set o nk U S . . . mumty music sc oo an a secon d. f · · ·tt top ra am?n~ . . cities m pat- / community resource, the Hochstein recor mgs o compos1t1ons wn en ents . per capita . is · paralleled by art S c h oo 1 f or M us1c , an d 0 ance, pus 1 and performed by Simon Silber, who music per capita. . No other , metro- . a goo di y popu 1 a t. 10n o f arna t eur didn't want anyone else playing his polita~ ~eg 1on of ~ochester s SlZe, choral and instrumental groups, music. In fact, "he didn't even want 1. 1 rrulhon, comes close. Nor do . . . d" to be whistled". The fictional author, I . . I , f ·h. bmlds an enthus1ast1c core au 1- F th many arger cities t s re res mg music critic Norman ayrewe er . . · k . ence. Canadian saxophonist John to visit a pla~e where roe . mus1- Nugent can run an impressive jazz Jr., says about his deceased friend cians complam about .skewmg_ re- festival in this modestly sized city "that '.'nevertohavehatedSilberwould sources towards classical music. . 1 b f th Ro he te mean never to have known him". Exceptional community/arts precise Y. ~cause? 1 e th c . s r Playwright and musician Robert links are part and parcel of excep- commumty s music_a en usias~. Ford's first novel, The Student , 1 bl" . 1 b R If you want to en JOY a ferry nde . tlona Pu ' 1c , mvo vement . . y o- and sample Rochester's song an d Conductor., (Putnam) is an engrossches~er s busmess ehte. Mmus a wine this summer, two events stand ing, suspenceful account of the life readily assembled network of Roout: E astrnan , s IM PROV" ies t orchester movers and shakers to back 1 1 20 22. t Jin during the fa.II of the Wall. It exof an American music student in Ber- , d .d h" p . gan concerts on u 1f - , rum- Corman s goo 1 eas, is roJect eter Paul Smoker at the Bop Shop p~ores relationships - to 1 overs, would have crashed on take-off. P 1 1 12 teachers, political ideals, and above on u y · all to music. George Eastman's generosity set the standard for the Rochester elite. Standard practice among early twentieth century American multi-multimillionaires was to leave their fortunes for public purposes after they died -- a good ticket to be directed upstairs rather than down. Eastman gave away most of his Kodak fortune beforehand, and with a firm sense of purpose.Eastman was what the French term a melonume. He established the Eastman School in 1921 with double goals.: creating an eminent international insti- 32 Here are some web sites to keep abreast of Rochester's music: The Song of Names (Review) is www.rochester.edu/Eastman; the the first novel by British music critic R~c hester Phil at wy.iw.rpo.org, Norman Lebrecht. It deals with and the Arts and Cultural Associ- friendship, musical genius, and the ation, www.artsrochester.org/directories/orgframe.htm. For jazz: brilliant young violinist who "left the horrors of war. The author recalls a www.bopshop.com and Roches- stage before the eurtain rose, and he ter's 24-hour jazz radio station, took with him half of my being and www.wgmc.org. For wineries: allofmyhope". This novel is more earnest and affecting than I expected www.newyorkwines.org/wine- from a writer 'notorious for his acercountry I fingerlakes/ index. asp. And for .the ferry schedule, bic exposures of musical skuldugvyww. thebreeze.com/lndex.asp. gery', as Lebrecht describes himself in a nice twist atthe end. WWW .THEWHOLENOTE.COM Three of the best - and most delightfully readable - b~oks on music from recent years are now out in paperback, and all are absolutely not to be missed: Piano Notes: The World of the Pianist by Charles Rosen (Simon & Schuster), Sviatoslav· Rkhter: Notebooks and Conversations (Princeton), edited by the great documentary film-maker Bruno Monsaingeon,who has worked exiensively in Canada, and Parallels and Paradoxes: Exploratio.ns in Music and Society ):Jy Daniel Barenboi.rn and Edward Said (Vintage). Barenboim, and Rosen are, among so many other things, brilliant pianists, and Richter remains one of the great eccentrics of the piano, unmatched in much of his repertoire. But what stands out in each of these brilliant books is not just the revelations about music-making, but the presentation of music as a way of living- as Barenboim says, as 'a conception of the world'. Aural Cultures edited by Jim Drobnick YYZ Books - Walter Philips G!!llery Editions 288 pages with CD .95 This far-reaching collection of essays expands the boundaries of music by linking hearing to other senses and creating dialogues between various disciplines. Georgina Kleege underlines the importance of recorded books to the blind, and the effects of different accents and shifts in tone. Richard Leppert politicizes the experience of music; by treating it as a 'socio-erotic' experience. Sherry Simon analyzes how the countertenor voice represen'ts androgynous, anti-romantic purity, in the context of current theories of gender identitiy and cultural relativism. Jennifer Fisher describes non-narrative, atmospheric museum audioguides created by artists, while Andra McCartney illustrates how soundwalks by composers like R. Murray Schafer illuminate the 'sociopolitical and sonic resonances of a particular location'. About Flatus Voe is: Somatic Winds by ChristofMingone, which apparently deals with ' the volatile sounds emanating from JULY 1 - SEPT 7 2004

the nether end of the digestive system', I can't say more. I must admit I skipped it. . The contributors range from scholars to musiciru1s and artists. A -lew confuse obscurity with profundity, but they all remind us that tl1ere is much more to music tllru1 the smmds made by conventional instnunents playing.notes w1itten out on pages. This _is a richly thought-provoking ' book, beautifully produced, with striking iUustrations ru1d a fascinating accompanying CD. Music: Healing the Rift by Ivan Hewett Continuum 283 pages, .95 "The best thing for classical music," writes Ivan Hewett, "would be to vanish for fifty years, so that it could then be lovingly rediscovered". Fortunately, he also comes up with more useful solutions to the crisis facing classical music today. In fact, this extended essay is as stimulating, insightful, eloquent, intelligent, well­ \VIitten, probing, sangume and maddening a description of the issues facing classical music as you are likely to find. Hewett, a Biitish composer, critic, teacher and broadcaster, is an unrepentant traditionalist. He reminds us that music is a transcendent experience, based in reason and democracy, and rooted in a strong tradition of · 'actualizing the past in the present'. Not surprisingly, he puts his faith in modernism, with Boulez as 'the conscience as well as the mind of contemporruy music'. Intrepidly pugnacious, he takes on cultural theorists, who look for musical meaning in judgment-free social practices He attacks 'chill-out classical, srunpledelia, all the munberless varieties of fusion musics' and targets composers who indulge in 'reach-me-down expressivity' and 'quickly digestible evocative elements'. Less controversially, he observes that "if people were to embrace singing and playing as part of their lives, they would really discover how to listen." Little people can have big dreams. We help make them come true. /17,(lfi/x.o,/ ~/Y l't..FJ /17 /Y. uuy~ki~y~t:r~t!/ Group Programs Music for You & Your Baby (0- 3 yrs) Orff I Kodaly I Dalcroze Eurhythmics (3- 8 yrs) Children's Chamber Choirs (Ages 6 & up) Creative Drama & Speech (Ages 6 & up) Music Theory & History (RCM Grades 1- 5) Summer Programs Available Private Instruction Piano Guitar Voice Violin, Viola and Cello French Horn, Trumpet and Sax Clarinet, Flute, Oboe, Recorder Sharon M. Burlacoff ARCT B.Mus. MA MFA, Executive· Director The Kingsway Ill"':~ 416-234-0121 C t 3086 Bloor St. W. onserva ory Toronto, Ontario of Music • Two blocks west of Royal York Rd. ' The North Toronto Institute of Music Private lessons in a wide variety of instruments including: epiano eguitar •Viola •Violin •Cello •Saxophone eclarinet eflute eaccordion Voice instruction Jazz Workshops Theory classes Acting and Scene study Pre-School classes Musical instruction by highly qualified teachers in the heart of Toronto

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