In this well-written work, the author argues that the present situation regarding the music of the classical tradition is fundamentally untenable. While change is, of course, inevitable, the author posits that teachers of the classical music tradition, nonetheless, have a moral responsibility to do as much as possible to advocate and work toward goals that will hasten and most positively influence the direction of change. The author believes that the present relationship between the music of the Western classical tradition and the culture of the present is an unhealthy one. The music of dead composers comprises the overwhelming preponderance of music heard today, especially in the larger venues such as symphony halls and opera houses. Specifically, the author argues that we must promote and provide for (at least) an equal place in our teaching, recordings, and performances for the music of composers who are living at the time we undertake these activities. He further advocates that this is not simply a matter of currency, it is a matter of cultural vibrancyeven survivaland it is an ethical and aesthetic concern toward which we must direct our most serious attention and effort. As both a singer and a teacher, the author delivers a resounding perspective in this book. He also brings the important insights of others from other fields such as literature, philosophy, and theater. The authors discussions revolve around the situation of classical music, a situation that in many ways exemplifies the gradual transformation of the rationalization of the world, into the radical commodification of the world. This outcome will be shown to be intimately linked to ethical and aesthetic issues, whichwill be developed by means of an extended consideration of the conflict between the rational and the a-rational as it plays itself out in contrasts between music, art, and literature, and science and philosophy. The book delves into the problem of teaching music, particularly the problems commonly dealt with in the teaching studio. Teachers of the Western music tradition have developed tried and true techniques for dealing with these problems as they occur in teaching, generally by helping students toward an understanding of historical, musical, technical and stylistic problems, among a host of others. These common problems of teaching are, however, symptomatic of very deep, complicated, and endemic philosophical issues that have, so far, been insufficiently discussed in a form that might be useful to teachers, performers, and lovers of the music of the Western classical music tradition. The most unique contribution of these discussions is the investigation into what is not discussed to any depth in pedagogy bookswhat lies behind or beneath these commonly experienced problems. This is a critical book for collections in music.

Winner of the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism A New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book of the Year Time magazine Top Ten Nonfiction Book of 2007 Newsweek Favorite Books of 2007 A Washington Post Book World Best Book of 2007 In this sweeping and dramatic narrative, Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker, weaves together the histories of the twentieth century and its music, from Vienna before the First World War to Paris in the twenties; from Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia to downtown New York in the sixties and seventies up to the present. Taking readers into the labyrinth of modern style, Ross draws revelatory connections between the century's most influential composers and the wider culture. The Rest Is Noise is an astonishing history of the twentieth century as told through its music.

There′s dreadful news from the symphony hall-the composer is dead! If you have ever heard an orchestra play, then you know that musicians are most certainly guilty of something. Where exactly were the violins on the night in question? Did anyone see the harp? Is the trumpet protesting a bit too boisterously? In this perplexing murder mystery, everyone seems to have a motive, everyone has an alibi, and nearly everyone is a musical instrument. But the composer is still dead. Perhaps you can solve the crime yourself. Join the Inspector as he interrogates all the unusual suspects. Then listen to the accompanying audio recording featuring Lemony Snicket and the music of Nathaniel Stookey performed by the San Francisco Symphony. Hear for yourself exactly what took place on that fateful, well-orchestrated evening.

Classical music in our society is a window to the past. While social attitudes are increasingly forward thinking, backward-looking preferences in classical music have stayed relatively unchanged since the mid 19th century. Why isn’t the music of living composers listened to and respected as much as that of dead composers? I begin this paper by briefly outlining the beginnings of our modern musical landscape—that is where we came from and how we got here. I then made a series of observations on performing groups that are presenting contemporary classical music in innovative ways. Lastly, I discuss the concert of new music that I curated, ways I attempted to make it more relevant to a general audience, and insights I gained from the experience