Music is Hard

Often, the most difficult part of making music is finding an idea. Where do ideas come from? How are they conveyed in music? What kinds of ideas to performers have to come up with? How and when do we go back and evaluate our ideas?

All too often, composers spend months (years?) writing a new work, performers spend months (years?) preparing them, all for only one performance? Why do we have this problem? What can we do to help new works receive subsequent performances?

This week, we're inspired by the always brilliant David Smooke's NewMusicBox piece "Repeat Attendance." How do we balance the value of newness and novelty with the seemingly inherent appeal of the familiar?

Peter Gelb, managing director of New York Metropolitan Opera, has had a rough couple of weeks dealing with journalists. What are the implications for new journalists covering the arts in new kinds of media?

Tim and Dave respond to Kurt Ellenberger's piece published on the Huffington Post. Ellenberger thinks that education has failed to create new audiences for jazz and classical music, and therefore it doesn't (or won't) work. Tim and Dave disagree.

What is a lyric? Tim and Dave disagree. Can we translate the text without losing it's meaning? Should we? What is lost (or gained) in translation? Thanks to Chloe Veltman for getting us started on the topic.

What happens when musicians become "dancers"? Do players bouncing and swaying around look like idiots, or do their motions contribute something to the performance? Is there a point at which a performer's movement can detract from a strong performance?

Chloe Veltman got us thinking about the nature of the encore. Why do people give encores? What is the value to the audience? What does it take to get a standing ovation? (hint: not much)

Even the style-curmudgeons at the New York Times are throwing around terms like "alt-classical" and "indie-classical." What do these terms mean? Are they valuable labels? Are any such labels helpful?

We return to our award-eligible series of Picks. Tim and Dave talk about what music they've been listening to lately and what's so great about it.