The Well-Tempered Ear
Did Beethoven and his Fifth Symphony foster racism, exclusion and elitism in the concert hall? The Ear thinks that is PC nonsense. What do you think?
8 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Controversy has struck big among classical music critics and fans — just in time for the Beethoven Year that will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth this December. Plans call for celebrations by the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the UW-Madison’s Mead Witter School of Music, and others.
At question is what seems yet another fallout and dust-up from the Black Lives Matter movement and the current struggle to foster social justice and racial equality.
In some ways, it all seems inevitable.
Now the history-denying advocates of cancel culture are suggesting that Beethoven (below) and his music – especially the popular Fifth Symphony (you can hear the famous opening in the YouTube schematic video at the bottom) – fostered white privilege and the rise of racism, sexism and homophobia in the concert hall.
That seems like quite an accusation for a single composer and a single piece of music that was premiered in 1808.
The assertion is food for thought. But not much.
In the end The Ear finds it a stretch and a totally bogus argument. He thinks that Beethoven attracted far more performers and audiences than he repelled. Others, including famed critic Norman Lebrecht in his blog Slipped Disc and a critic for the right-wing newspaper The New York Post, agree:
https://slippedisc.com/2020/09/beethovens-5th-is-a-symbol-of-exclusion-and-elitism/
The Ear also thinks it is political correctness run amok, even for someone who, like himself, advocates strongly for diversity of composers, performers and audiences – but always with quality in mind — in the concert hall.
Just because Beethoven was such a great creative artist is hardly cause to blame him for the inability of other artists to succeed and for non-white audiences taking to classical music. Other forces — social, economic and political — explain that much better.
Yes, Beethoven is a towering and intimidating figure. And yes, his works often dominate programming. But both musicians and audiences return to him again and again because of the originality, power and first-rate quality of his many works.
Beethoven himself was deaf. That would certainly seem to qualify him as inclusive and a member of an important category of diversity.
No matter. The writers are happy to blame Ludwig and his work for exclusion and elitism. They argue that people of color, women and LGBTQ people have all felt alienated from classical music because of Beethoven’s legacy.
Of course, there is elitism in the arts. People may be equal, but creative talent is not.
And clearly, Beethoven was a towering and intimidating figure – more for the quality of his music than for the simple fact that it exists. Such exclusion and elitism have to do with other factors than the composition of the Fifth Symphony.
If The Ear recalls correctly, when he died Beethoven was given the largest state funeral up to that time for a non-royal, non-politician or non-military person.
And how do you explain that Beethoven’s music, so representative of Western culture, appeals deeply to and attracts so many Asians and Asian-Americans, and became both banned and symbolically central to those opposed to Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution in China?
But these days being provocative can become its own reward.
You can read the analysis and decide about its merits for yourself, then let us know what you think in the Comment section.
Here is a link to the opinion piece in Vox Magazine, a free online journal: https://www.vox.com/switched-on-pop/21437085/beethoven-5th-symphony-elitist-classism-switched-on-pop
What do you think about the idea that Beethoven played a large and seminal role in fostering an elitist and exclusive culture in classical music?
Did you ever feel alienated from classical music because of Beethoven or know others who have?
What is your favorite Beethoven composition?
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AsianHistory, #BeethovenYear, #BlackLivesMatter, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #CancelCulture, #ChairmanMao, #ChamberMusic, #ChoralMusic, #ClassicalMusician, #ConcertHall, #CreativeArtist, #CulturalRevolution, #DigitalMedia, #DisabilityRights, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FifthSymphony, #FoodforThought, #GenderEquality, #JacobStockinger, #LGBTQrights, #LudwigVanBeethoven, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #MaoTse-Tung, #MaoZeding, #MeadWitter, #MusicCritic, #NormanLebrecht, #OperaMusic, #OrchestralMusic, #People'sRepublicofChina, #PianoSonata, #PieceofMusic, #PoliticalCorrectness, #ProArteQuartet, #RacialEquality, #RightWing, #SlippedDisc, #SocialJustice, #StateFuneral, #StringQuartet, #SymphonicMusic, #TheEar, #TheNewYorkPost, #TheOther, #TheUW, #UniversityofWisconsin-Madison, #VocalMusic, #VoxMagazine, #WesternCulture, #WhitePrivilege, #WisconsinChamberOrchestra, #YouTubevideo, accusation, advocates, agree, alienate, alienated, amok, analysis, anniversary, appeal, applause, argument, artist, Arts, Asia, asian, Asian American, attract, audience, banned, Beethoven, Beethoven Year, being, big, birth, Black Lives Matter, blame, BLM, blog, bogus, cancel culture, category, cause, celebrations, Chairman Mao, Chamber music, China, choral music, civilian, Classical music, classicalmusic, clothing, comment, commentary, composer, Composition, Concert, concert hall, concerto, conservative, controversry, creative, Cultural Revolution, culture, days, deaf, death, December, decide, digital, disability, diverse, diversity, dominate, dust-up, economic, economics, elite, elitism, elitist, equality, exclusion, Facebook, fallout, famous, fans, favorite, Fifth Symphony, figure, first-rate, food, forces, foster, funeral, gender, gender equality, great, hear, homophobia, idea, inability, inclusive, intimidating, Jacob Stockinger, large, legacy, LGBT, LGBTQ, LGTB, like, line, link, Ludwig van Beethoven, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Mao, Mao Tse-Tung, Mao-Zedong, Mead Witter School of Music, merits, military, mind, movement, Music, music critic, Musician, Newspaper, noise, non-military, non-royal, non-white, nonsense, Norman Lebrecht, online, Op-Ed, opening, opera, opinion, Orchestra, orchestral music, original, originality, other, PC, People, performer, Piano, piece of music, plans, political, political correctness, Politics, popular, post, posting, power, premiere, Pro Arte Quartet, programming, provocative, quality, question another, race, racial equality, racism, racist, read, reader, recall, repel, return, reward, right-wing, rise, role, royal, schematic, seminal, Sexism, sexist, share, silence, single, Slipped Disc, social, social justice, Sonata, state funeral, story, stretch, String quartet, strong, subscriber, succeed, symbol, symbolically, symphony, tag, talent, The Ear, The New York Post, the other, think, thought, towering, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UW, UW-Madison, Viola, Violin, vocal music, Vox Magazine, want, Western culture, white privilege, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, woke, work, year, you, yourself, YouTube
Classical music: The Madison Opera’s superb and sensual production of “Fellow Travelers” broke both hearts and new ground
5 Comments
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
Walking out into the heavy snow last Sunday afternoon, The Ear left the Madison Opera’s production of “Fellow Travelers” – done in the Capitol Theater of the Overture Center – feeling sad and moved, but also satisfied and proud. (Below is the full cast in a party scene. All performance photos are by James Gill.)
He was proud that the Madison Opera chose this 2016 work by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce — based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Thomas Mallon — for its annual winter staging of a modern or contemporary opera.
It was a brave choice.
For one, it focuses on a same-sex love affair in the oppressive political environment of the McCarthy era with its Lavender Scare, which, during the larger Red Scare, tied gays to communists and tried to purge and ruin them lest they be blackmailed.
In addition, the opera speaks to today’s politics of smear and fear, as practiced by President Donald Trump and conspiracy theory proponents on the far right. The Madison Opera wasn’t afraid to point out possible parallels in the program notes.
But the real affirmation of the opera’s contemporaneity came from the first-rate quality of this memorable production.
The cast of nine made a tight ensemble in which each member proved equally strong in singing and acting.
The two leading men who played federal government workers – tenor Andres Acosta (below right) as the young Timothy Laughlin and baritone Ben Edquist (below left) as the older Hawkins Fuller – turned in outstanding performances from their first meeting on a park bench, through their sexual encounters, to the final breakup.
Particularly moving were the same-sex love scenes and moments of casual affection. Perhaps there are precedents in the history of other Madison Opera productions, but no one seems to know of any.
The two men in bed — wearing only boxer shorts while kissing and caressing each other — seemed like another brave first for the Madison Opera. The explicit scenes of the two men being intimate were tasteful but also sensual and realistic, erotic as well as poignant. (Below are Andres Acosta, left, as Timothy Laughlin and Ben Edquist, right, as Hawkins Fuller.)
Acting seems the real fulcrum of this chamber opera, with the appealing music underscoring the scenes and the acting rather than standing on its own. Yet the two men proved to be powerful singers, especially in their solos and duets. (You can hear Andres Acosta sing an aria in the Minneapolis production in the YouTube video at the bottom.)
The haunting music was always accessible and atmospheric, disproving the notion that music in new operas is always discordant or hard to listen to. True, The Ear heard no tunes to take away from the opera, no earworm arias from a first hearing. But the singing by all the cast members was uniformly strong.
John DeMain’s conducting exuded both control and subtlety. He maintained a balance from the Madison Symphony Orchestra players in the pit and never overwhelmed the singers.
DeMain (below, in a photo by Prasad) knew exactly when to pull the music into the background and create a context for the action; and then when to push it to the foreground to accompany the singers or set a scene.
Stage director Peter Rothstein (below), who also staged the opera for the Minnesota Opera in Minneapolis with some of the same cast, kept the show moving at a brisk and engaging pace.
The 16 scenes moved quickly throughout the two-hour show, thanks in part to the austere and portable but convincing sets.
The atmosphere of the 1950s, for example, was believably evoked by a simple office setting — a desk, a few filing cabinets, an American flag and a portrait of President Eisenhower. (Below, from left, are Ben Edquist as Hawkins Fuller, Andres Acosta as Timothy Laughlin, and Adriana Zabala as Mary Johnson.)
Particularly effective and disturbing was the interrogation scene, from the embarrassing questions about whether Hawkins Fuller walks or talks like a homosexual to the lie detector test. (Below, from left, are Andres Acosta as Timothy Laughlin, Ben Edquist as Hawkins Fuller, Stephen Hobe as the Technician and Alan Dunbar as the Interrogator.)
One outstanding performance involved the resonant and expressive Sidney Outlaw (below) as Tommy McIntyre, the bureaucrat who knows all the secrets in the office of Senator Charles Parker (played by Andrew Wilkowske) and how to use them in order to get his way. (Below, from left, are Andres Acosta as Timothy Laughlin and Sidney Outlaw as Tommy McIntyre.)
Another outstanding performance came from Adriana Zabala (below) as Mary Johnson, the secretary who finally quits her job and leaves Washington, D.C., to protest the treatment of Timothy by the aptly nicknamed “Hawk” Fuller and the government inquisitors. (Below, from left, are Ben Edquist as Hawkins Fuller and Adriana Zabala as Mary Johnson.
Throughout the entire opera, the audience proved amazingly quiet, rapt in their attention as they laughed out loud at humorous moments and openly cried at the heart-wrenching plot.
At the end the audience — gay and straight, men and women, old and young – gave the singers and orchestra players a prolonged standing ovation and loud applause.
And walking out, you heard many people talking about the opera in the most positive and approving ways.
The underlying irony, of course, is that an opera with this much insight into both the human heart and the exploitative politics of oppression could never have been staged in the same era it depicts.
At least on that score, we can say we have made some progress in confronting and correcting the injustices and bigotry we witness in “Fellow Travelers.”
But in the end the opera tells us to keep traveling.
You can see what other critics thought of “Fellow Travelers”:
Here is the review that Jay Rath wrote for Isthmus: https://isthmus.com/arts/stage/forbidden%20love/
And here is the review that Lindsay Christians wrote for The Capital Times: https://madison.com/ct/entertainment/arts_and_theatre/theatre/opera-review-fellow-travelers-is-a-certain-kind-of-wonderful/article_0ebc5a83-afbe-5f50-99eb-51e4baa4df0e.html
What did you think?
Leave your own review or reactions in the Comments section.
The Ear wants to hear.
Tags: #AdrianaZabala, #AlanDunbar, #AmericanFlag, #AndresAcosta, #AndrewWilkowske, #Army-McCarthy, #BaritoneSinger, #BenEdquist, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #BlogReview, #BoxerShorts, #CapitolTheater, #CastMember, #ChamberOpera, #ConspiracyTheory, #DonaldTrump, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #FederalWorker, #FellowTravelers, #FilingCabinets, #FirstLove, #GayHistory, #GregorySpears, #GregPierce, #IsthmusNewspaper, #JacobStockinger, #JamesGill, #JayRath, #JohnDeMain, #JosephMcCarthy, #KIss, #LavenderScare, #LGBTQrights, #LGBTRights, #LieDetector, #LindsayChristians, #LoveAffair, #MadisonOpera, #MadisonSymphonyOrchestra, #McCarthyEra, #MinnesotaOpera, #NewMusic, #OperaPlot, #OperaReview, #OrchestraPlayers, #OvertureCenter, #ParkBench, #PeterRothstein, #PresidentDonaldTrump, #PresidentEisenhower, #ProgramNotes, #RedScare, #RightWing, #SexualEncounter, #SidneyOutlaw, #SocialInjustice, #StageDirector, #StephenHobe, #TenorSinger, #The1950s, #TheCapitalTimes, #TheEar, #ThomasMallon, #WashingtonD.C., 1950s, accessible, accompany, acting, Adriana Zabala, affection, affirmative, Alan Dunbar, American, Andres Acosta, Andrew Wilkowske, annual, applause, aria, atmosphere, atmospheric, attentive, austere, background, balance, baritone, bed, Ben Edquist, bench, bigotry, bisexual, blackmail, blog, Book, boxer shorts, brave, breakup, brisk, Capitol Theater, caress, caressing, cast, cast member, Casual, chamber opera, choice, comment, communists, composer, Conducting, confront, Congress, conspiracy theory, contemporaneity, contemporary, context, control, convincing, Cry, crying, D.C., depict, desk, discordant, disturbing, Donald Trump, Dwight D. Eisenhower, earworm, Eisenhower, embarrassing, encounter, engaging, environment, era, erotic, evoke, explicit, exploitative, Facebook, fear, federal, Fellow Travelers, filing cabinets, first, first love, flag, Focus, foreground, forward, fulcrum, gay, gays, government, Greg Pierce, hard, haunting, hawk, hear, hearings, heart, heart-wrenching, History, homosexual, Homosexuality, human, injustice, insight, interrogation, intimate, irony, Isthmus, Jacob Stockinger, James Gill, Jay Rath, John DeMain, Joseph McCarthy, kissing, laugh, Lavender Scare, lesbian, LGBT, LGBTQ, libretto, lie detector, liketag, Lindsay Christians, link, listen, Love, love affair, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, McCarthy era, McCarthyism, memorable, memory, men, Minneapolis, Minnesota Opera, modern, move, moving, Music, New Music, nickname, noiton, novel, office, old, opera, Opera review, oppression, oppressive, orchestra players, ovation, Overture Center, Overture Center for the Arts, pace, pacing, parallels, Park, party scene, peformance, Peter Rothstein, photo, photogenic, plot, poignant, political, Politics, portable, portrait, post, posting, precedent, President, President Donald Trump, President Eisenhower, production, program notes, proud, pull, purge, push, queer, questions, quiet, rapt, reaction, real, realism, Red Scare, review, right-wing, Romance, ruin, sad, same-sex, scene, secretary, secrets, senator, sensual, sex, sexual, share, show, Sidney Outlaw, singer, Singing, smear, snow, social injustice, stage director, staging, Stephen Hobe, straight, subtlety, talk, tasteful, tenor, test, The Capital Times, The Ear, Thomas Mallon, today, transgender, travel, traveler, traveling, Trump, walk, Washington, winter, witness, work, worker, young
Classical music: Civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King Jr. was the Abraham Lincoln of his age – a Great Emancipator. To celebrate his birthday, here is Aaron Copland’s “A Lincoln Portrait.”
4 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
Today we celebrate the birthday of the civil rights pioneer Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Ear thinks of him as The Great Emancipator of the modern age.
As the Abraham Lincoln of our age.
Just as Lincoln freed slaves, Martin Luther King Jr. (below) helped free so many members of different social groups from discrimination.
Blacks, of course.
But also women.
Asians.
Gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people.
Disabled people.
The poor.
The old and elderly.
So it seems fitting, then, to listen to Aaron Copland’s “A Lincoln Portrait.”
The Ear loves the way that the Gertrude Stein-like repetitions of Lincoln’s own words build into a moving testament of the need for both compassion and democracy – a combination that today’s right-wing freedom-spouting and Constitution-citing bigots might do well to cultivate.
So we can listen about one man and think about the other.
Here is a great version, in a YouTube video at the bottom, with actor Henry Fonda as the narrator. There are other fine versions, including one with Leonard Bernstein conducting and composer Aaron Copland speaking the narration. But this version is the one that most moves The Ear.
And please leave your COMMENTS about this offering or other music appropriate to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day for others to read.
Tags: Aaron Copland, Abraham Lincoln, ageism, Arts, asian, bigot, bigotry, bisexual, blacks, choral music, civil rights, Classical music, Constitution, disabled, elderly, freedom, gay, Great Emancipator, Henry Fonda, latinos, Leonard Bernstein, lesbian, LGBT, Madison, Martin Luther King Jr, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Music, narration, old, Orchestra, poor, right-wing, slavery, slaves, transgender, U.S., United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, vocal music, Wisconsin, women, YouTube
Classical music: Oh say, Can You See Common Sense? On Independence Day -– the Fourth of July -– let us recall how the national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” has evolved. Standards of social justice and definitions of independence should also do so.
4 Comments
By Jacob Stockinger
Today –- July 4, 2014 — is Independence Day in the United States.
We will celebrate with food, drink and fireworks as well as parades and social events.
But make no mistake: Our celebrations have changed, necessarily, with history.
Despite what some misdirected U.S. Supreme Court justices like Antonin Scalia (below top), Clarence Thomas and others think with their so-called “originalism,” we all live in history.
The assumptions and interpretations of Originalism have been debunked by many scholarly professors who specialize in 18th-century American discourse and law, and whose research disproves those same assumptions and interpretations to be mistaken.
To The Ear, it is kind of like hearing the radically conservative activists of the Right Wing accuse leftists and liberals of being activist: Name-calling hypocrisy dressed up in new clothes.
Here is a link to an overview critique of Originalism, both the new and old kinds:
http://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/new-originalism-a-constitutional-scam
It amounts to this: Whether as individuals or a society, we all change through time.
And so justice and so does music.
The Ear recalls the movements, once fringe and now mainstream, that brought us period instrument and historically informed performances.
That is why we now hear such Baroque masters as Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel and Antonio Vivaldi so differently.
It is also why we hear many other Baroque composers and early music masters that were ignored before.
That is why we now say, “The United States is,” while before the Civil War we said “The United States are.”
Usage evolves. It has to.
That is also why we hear and sing the country’s national anthem -– “The Star-Spangled Banner” -– differently today than we once did. (below is a first edition of the national anthem from the Clements Library at the University of Michigan.)
Here is a line to an extended story with more details about the historical evolution of our national anthem in The New York Times:
Have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July.
And here is the most popular version — with more than 7 million hits and many outrageous listener comments to read — of the national anthem that The Ear could find on YouTube:
Tags: Antonin Scalia, Arts, Clarence Thomas, conservative, Early music, evolution, Fourth of July, George Frideric Handel, History, Independence Day, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, justice, leftist, liberal, Music, national anthem, New York Times, originalism, right-wing, Star-Spangled Banner, the Right, U.S. Supreme Court, United States, YouTube
Classical music: Court victories favoring same-sex marriage equality and an extended Valentine’s Day weekend add up to a magical and loving mix for musical partners, including opera star Patricia Racette, who comes out as a lesbian.
3 Comments
ALERT: If you are undecided about going to this afternoon’s concert at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall by the Madison Symphony Orchestra with Norwegian trumpet soloist Tine Thing Helseth (below), here are links to positive reviews by John W. Barker for Isthmus and by Greg Hettmansberger for Madison Magazine’s blog “Classically Speaking”:
http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=42078&sid=4d977189e5be9d039af0d641c547219f
By Jacob Stockinger
Well, when a holiday falls on a Friday – like Valentine’s Day this year — one can be forgiven for prolonging it over the weekend, don’t you think?
But it seems a good chance to blend two recent stories and trend lines that are increasingly coming together.
And coming out.
One is the recent various court victories for marriage equality, or same-sex marriage, or gay marriage. Whatever you want to call it, it seems to becoming more and more a legal and social reality with every week that passes.
And those legal victories lead to more and more gays and lesbians coming out, including the star football player and top NFL draft possibility star Michael Sam (below top) and “Juno” actress Ellen Page (below bottom).
Here is a link to a New York Times story about Michael Sam:
And here is a link to a Washington Post story about Ellen Page:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/juno-actress-ellen-page-comes-out-as-gay/2014/02/15/f3327800-9627-11e3-ae45-458927ccedb6_story.html
As for Valentine’s Day, imagine what how rewarding it could be to work cooperatively in the performing arts with your life partner and love.
That is exactly what was documented in a recent story on NPR’s great blog “Deceptive Cadence.”
NPR highlighted various musical couples in classical music who met in a musical setting and fell in love while working, and who now get to work together.
And for good measure, they included the Metropolitan Opera star soprano Patricia Racette (below top, out of costume, and below bottom in the title role of Puccini’s “Tosca”), who openly talks about what a great marriage she has with her female partner. (You can hear Patricia Racette as the title character Cio-Cio-San sing the finale of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” at the Metropolitan Opera in a popular YouTube video at the bottom.)
Of course, most of the couples are heterosexual in the story just as they are in real life. And we have seen some of them – tenor Stephen Costello (below top) at the Madison Opera‘s Opera in the Park as well as cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han (below bottom) at the Wisconsin Union Theater, in Madison.
But it is both sensitive and brave of NPR, which is always under the gun and budget knife of the self-righteous and nutty right-wing extremists and homophobes, to do the story.
Here is a link:
One can only hope and imagine the chain reaction that is to happen as each coming out brings several more, as bravery and tolerance build, and as the visible becomes visible.
Saint Valentine -– at least my Saint Valentine — would be very pleased.
Tags: Arts, Chamber music, Classical music, David Finckel, Ellen Page, football draft, Friday, gay, Gay Lesbian and Bisexual, gay marriage, Giacomo Puccini, homophobia, Jacob Stockinger, lesbian, Madama Butterfly, Madison Opera, Madison Symphony Orchestra, marriage equality, Metropolitan Opera, National Football League, New York Times, NFL, NFL draft, NPR, opera, Patricia Racette, Puccini, right-wing, Saint Valentine, Same-sex marriage, Stephen Costello, Tine Thing Helseth, Tosca, Valentine's Day, Washington Post, Wisconsin Union Theater, Wu Han, YouTube
Recent Comments
The Well-Tempered Ear 
To celebrate Pride month, here are lists of LGBTQ+ composers, performers and musical ensembles
1 Comment
PLEASE HELP THE EAR. IF YOU LIKE A CERTAIN BLOG POST, SPREAD THE WORD. FORWARD A LINK TO IT OR, SHARE IT or TAG IT (not just “Like” it) ON FACEBOOK. Performers can use the extra exposure to draw potential audience members to an event. And you might even attract new readers and subscribers to the blog.
By Jacob Stockinger
June is Pride month.
And this weekend will see Pride marches and celebrations in some major cities including New York City, Chicago, Paris and Rome.
As time passes, scholars are finding out more about the LGBTQ+ composers, performers and musical groups that have been hidden by history.
And some ironies emerge. One can only imagine the response of conservative, right-wing Evangelical Christians who find out that the composer of “Messiah” – George Frideric Handel (below) — was queer, at least according to some researchers.
For most listeners, surprises abound.
Here is a good place to start. It is the very large Wikipedia entry of LGBTQ+ composers and performers, both contemporary and historical. The Ear finds it very informative. It is organized by the kind of musicians they are and the category of their sexual identity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:LGBT_musicians
If you want to be more selective, try these: https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/greatest-lgbtq-conductors-you-should-know/. They include Marin Alsop (below top) and her teacher and mentor Leonard Bernstein (below bottom).
Here is longer essay that focuses on lesbian conductors as well as gay men and reaches back to the Middle Ages: http://www.glbtqarchive.com/arts/conductors_A.pdf
And here is one with some great photos or pictures of the individuals: https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/great-classical-composers-who-were-gay/
Finally, here are some of the international music ensembles – with audio samples of their performances — made up of LGBTQ+ singers and instrumentalists, including the Rainbow Symphony of Paris (in the YouTube video at the bottom, performing the beautiful Gloria by the gay French composer Francis Poulenc in a benefit Concert Against Homophobia for UNESCO): https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/best-lgbtq-classical-music-ensembles/
Inevitably, some readers will react by asking: What difference does the sexual identity of composer or performer make? All that matters, they argue, is the music.
Here is a reply to that specious argument that focuses on Yannick Nézet-Séguin (below), the music director of the Metropolitan Opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the City Symphony of Montreal. It appeared in The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/arts/music/yannick-nezet-seguin-met-opera-gay.html
Happy Pride – this month and every day of the year!
Do you have questions, additions or comments?
Leave them below.
The Ear wants to hear.
Share this:
Like this:
Tags: #BaroqueMusic, #BenefitConcert, #BlogPost, #BlogPosting, #ChamberMusic, #ChicagoIllinois, #ChoralMusic, #FacebookPost, #FacebookPosting, #GayPride, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #Handel'sMessiah, #HumanRights, #InstrumentalMusic, #JacobStockinger, #JesusChrist, #LeonardBernstein, #LGBTQrights, #MarinAlsop, #MetropolitanOpera, #MichelPignoletdeMonteclair, #MiddleAges, #MontrealCanada, #NewMusic, #NewYork, #NewYorkCity, #PhiladelphiaOrchestra, #PhiladelphiaPennsylvania, #PrideMonth, #PrideParade, #RainbowSymphonyOrchestraofParis, #RomeItaly, #SacredMusic, #SoundSamples, #TheEar, #TheMet, #UnitedNations, #VocalMusic, #Wikipediaentry, #YannickNezet-Seguin, #YouTubevideo, addition, Alsop, Arts, audience, Audio, Baroque, Baroque music, beautiful, benefit concert, Bernstein, bisexual, blog, Canada, category, celebration, Chamber music, Chicago, choral music, Christ, Christian, Christianity, cities, city, Classical music, comment, composer, Concert, conductor, conservative, contemporary, day, difference, Early music, emerge, ensemble, entry, Europe, evangelical, Evangelicals, Facebook, Facebook post, Facebook posting, female, Focus, forward, France, French, gay, gay Pride, George Frideric Handel, Gloria, good place, great, groups, Handel, happy', hear, help, hidden, historical, History, homophobia, homosexual, Homosexuality, human rights, imagination, imagine, individual, inevitable, instrumental music, instrumentalist, irony, Italy, Jacob Stockinger, Jesus, June, kind, Leonard Bernstein, lesbian, LGBT, LGBTQ, like, link, list, Madison, major, male, Marguerite Luksik, Marin Alsop, Medieval, men, mentor, Metropolitan Opera, Middle Ages, month, Montreal, Music, Musician, New Music, New York, New York City, NYC, one, opera, oratorio, Orchestra, Paris, pass, Pennsylvania, performer, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, photo, Piano, pictures, place, post, posting, pride, Pride month, Pride parade, queer, question, Rainbow Symphony Orchestra of Paris, research, researcher, right-wing, Rome, sample, scared music, scholar, selective, sexual identity, share, sing, singer, start, sub-category, surprise, symphony, tag, Teacher, The Ear, the Met, time, transsexual, UNESCO, United Nations, United States, video, Violin, vocal music, weekend, Wikipedia, Wisconsin, women, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, year, YouTube