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MusicJanuary 1997 Harnoncourt conducts Beethoven On Nikolaus Harnoncourt & the Chamber Orchestra of Europe at Carnegie Hall, New York Classical musicians in the late twentieth century appear to have largely abandoned the ambition to compose new and attractive music. And who can blame them? An indifferent population with a steadily decreasing attention span has made up its mind about new music. Kingsley Amis, with characteristic subtlety, put it best: “Twentieth century music is like paedophilia. No matter how persuasively and persistently its champions urge their cause, it will never be accepted by the public at large, who will continue to regard it with incomprehension, outrage and repugnance.” This is no revelation, particularly to musicians. Drawing on the risk-allocation techniques developed by their brethren in the financial world, the more adaptable of the musical breed have hedged the risk of creative downside (i.e., composing a dud) by simply choosing works by name-brand members of the canon and devising novel renderings for t ... This article is available to subscribers and for individual purchaseSubscribe to TNC (Print and Online editions) Subscribe to TNC (Online only) This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 15 January 1997, on page 50 Copyright © 2009 The New Criterion | www.newcriterion.com http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/hamoncourt-penrose-3411
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A review of The Triumph of Music: The Rise of Composers, Musicians and Their Art by Tim Blanning. On Ludwig Alois Friedrich von Köchel, compiler of the Köchelverzeichnis. On Chanticleer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Abbey Simon, Magdalena Kožená, and Christopher Prégardien & Michael Gees at Alice Tully Hall, Ricardo Muti with the New York Philharmonic; Bernard Haitink with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, René Pape, and Pierre Boulez with the Staatskappelle Berlin at Carnegie Hall; Emmanuel Pahud, Trevor Pinnock & Jonathan Manson at Zankel Hall; Bernard Haitink with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; and Barber of Seville at the Metropolitan Opera. On Maris Janson & the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestras and André Previn's 80th Birthday at Carnegie Hall; La sonambula, Rusalka, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, & The Elixir of Love at the Metropolitan Opera; and the all-Handel night with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall. On James Levine and the Boston Symphony Orchestra; Ann Sofie von Otter and Stephen Hough at Carnegie Hall; Adriana Lecouvreur, Eugence Onegin, and Il Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera; Montserrat Caballé at Avery Fisher Hall; the Chamber Music Society of Licoln Center at Alice Tully Hall; Pinchas Zukerman and Marc Neikrug at the 92nd St. Y; Danielle de Niese at Weill Recital Hall; and Zubin Mehta with the Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall.  The New Criterion is now optimized for Mobile Devices 
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