In Thursday’s (4/29) Chicago Tribune, John von Rhein reports, “Greg Sandow was in town last week to conduct a workshop on the problems facing classical music for the Institute for Cultural Policy at the University of Chicago. He lectures widely and maintains a blog on the subject at the invaluable Web site artsjournal.com. He’s busy converting his blog entries into a forthcoming book titled ‘Rebirth: The Future of Classical Music.’ … Sandow doesn’t pretend he has any quick fixes for a complex socio-cultural problem, but he does believe part of the solution involves thoroughly overhauling the ways classical music is being packaged, marketed and presented. … To that end, I’m encouraged by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s recent hiring of Anna Clyne and Mason Bates as resident composers. Both young composers move comfortably among the worlds of classical, pop and electronica, and their works reflect a natural melding of these genres. I expect to hear really interesting things from both of them and welcome whatever they can do to make Symphony Center a bigger umbrella for audiences of many musical persuasions—traditionalists as well as adventure-seekers.”
Posted April 30, 2010
