Missouri Classical Music News

Not long ago, the typical maestro would ride into town, bark Central European-accented commands at the orchestra, conduct some concerts, attend a banquet, and move on. These days, music directors have an expanded job description: they must not only convey the repertory to an extant audience of music lovers but also try to explain it to the great silent majority who rarely go to concerts. A singular thing about Robertson, who was born in Santa Monica, California, and has led the Ensemble Intercontemporain, in Paris, and the National Orchestra of Lyon, is that he actively enjoys his evangelical duties; not many maestros at his level condescend to lead Young People’s Concerts on a Tuesday morning. He’s also a brilliant musician and a master programmer. The St. Louis Symphony, which has gone through various financial crises and labor blowups in recent years, has seldom sounded so wide awake. It proved as much to New York audiences before Thanksgiving, with a strong pair of concerts at Carnegie Hall.

1. Go with what you like. There are plenty of DWMs (Dead White Males) we have been told we should like but don’t. If Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique” turns you off, skip Berlioz and go on to Bernstein.

2. Start with something manageable, not a composer’s biggest, most boffo piece. Pick Mahler’s tuneful First Symphony, not his huge Third. If you like it, venture forth. With operas, start with a sampler from various operas by someone whose voice you find appealing, like tenor Ben Heppner (hint, hint).

3. Picking the right version can be crucial. For most major works of classical music, you’ll find several performances by different musicians or ensembles. As a youngster I yawned through Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony until I found Bruno Walter’s 1959 version (remastered on Sony and available for $5.99), which brought it to life.

Turns out Halloween's soundtrack also has been cloaking its true form: The Toccata and Fugue probably was not written by Bach and almost certainly wasn't written for the organ.

In music circles, that assertion is as scary as it gets.

It's not every day such a famous work gets shaken to its foundations. However, scholarly consensus is building that the baroque master did not write his most well-known organ work. . . .

Scholars now think the Toccata was originally a violin piece Bach transcribed.