Early Music America Spring 2014 - (Page 14)

U nique... musings By Thomas Forrest Kelly My No Early Music Dream Makers of historical flutes and recorders of the highest quality. www.wennerfloeten.de Guntram Wolf Modern and historic wind instruments North American contact: Henry Skolnick Imports 7477 Hoover Ave. St. Louis, MO 63117 (314) 302-1078 hskolnick@charter.net www.guntramwolf.de 14 Spring 2014 Early Music America Every year The New York Times publishes What I really think is that we should an end-of-year list of favorite classical stop doing this. We should declare victorecordings, and several times I have ry and leave the ﬁeld. For a long time I commented on that list. Pretty soon and others have dreamed of a day when you'll think that it's my way of avoiding there would be no early music-just thinking up any actual new idea of my music. And we may just have arrived own. In part you're right, since it hasn't there. If half of the recommended been easy coming up with four columns recordings are claimed by us, does it a year once I swore off mentioning a cer- mean that Early Music America has tain quartet of highly seaachieved its goal? We can sonal concertos by a cerstop paying our dues? I It's not the past tain Venetian composer hope not, partly because that gives the music of my love for Mahler, whose name starts with its value for us- "V" and whose concertos Stravinsky, and the music number in the hundreds of a few of my friends it's the music. even though the unmenand colleagues. But also, tionable four get played partly because this exerall the time in restaurants, elevators, cise is silly. There is no line between earon hold, etc. But I am not mentioning ly music and real music. Music is music. them.... Essentially, all music that is not being So, the Times asks its music critics to premiered right now is early music; choose favorite new recordings from the it's music from the past. previous year, no repetitions allowed. But it's not the past that gives the music its value for us-it's the music. If The headline this year was "Favorite it's early, well, ﬁne. If not, that's ﬁne, Sounds, Early to Environmental." too. The critics of The New York Times We are in the headline! have suggested that it's OK for half of In previous years, I've been pleased to report the signiﬁcant presence of early their recommendation to be chronologimusic-or sad to report that we seem cally challenged, and it does my heart to be losing ground. But this year the good to see that list. But that's because I situation is different. We don't exist. come from an older world that doesn't Of 25 CDs recommended, six are ear- exist any longer. Now, I think, music is ly music recordings as determined by music. We should continue to love the their "historically informed" performers, music we love; we might even look while six are early music recordings by around for some more music, even virtue of their repertoire (I'm including some music outside our favorite period. Beethoven and Mozart, composers who There's quite a lot of it, no matter how are often co-opted by us.) broad our chronological period is. The earliest is the Orlando Consort's So, perhaps you'll join me in congratwonderful recording of music from ulating the Times and its critics in the Machaut's "Livre dou Voir Dit" (great to breadth of their taste and rejoice with have Medieval music in there); and the me in the fact that we have left our little latest is Cecilia Bartoli's recording of parochial corner behind and joined Norma. But there's a lot that is and isn't the grown-up world of music. early music. Jordi Savall's Homage to Syria? And should we really include modThomas Forrest Kelly is a professor of music at Harvard University and a board member ern instrument Beethoven and Mozart and past president of Early Music America. on our side of the ledger? I http://www.wennerfloeten.de http://www.guntramwolf.de

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Early Music America Spring 2014

Editor's Note
Reader Forum
Sound Bytes
Musings: My No Early Music Dream
Profile: Choral Conductor Amelia LeClair
Recording Reviews
Donors ex machina
Three Small Nails
Early Music Is a Capital Idea
Composing Electronic Music for Baroque Instruments
2014 Guide: Workshops & Festivals
Book Reviews
Ad Index
In Conclusion: 4,568 Pages Ago

Early Music America Spring 2014