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LISTENERS' BOX
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Responses to Recent Issues
On Music Journalism
Regarding "Come to the Aid of Music Journalism," in the Oct. 17 issue: This was an excellent piece. I'm an erstwhile columnist (for a trade magazine), on the board of the Newark Arts Council, and on a first-name basis with Steve Waterhouse, the editor of Fremont's The Argus. Hints are dropped from time to time that more needs to be done for the programs offered by, for example, Ohlone College Presents, the Fremont Symphony, and Newark's League of Volunteers (the umbrella organization for the Newark Arts Council), and others. Being persistent eventually pays off. But commercial and advertising interests clamor for editorial space (and pay the bills). And there's a lack of personnel capable of reporting on the music scene. The San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune, and The Argus are now apparently under one roof (ANG), but it isn't clear how, when, or who in the staff hierarchy talk to each other. It might be worthwhile for the public to make more noise about articles dealing with local musical events. Your timely article should move a few folk into action. — Frederic Jueneman
As a new subscriber, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Robert Commanday's article. It was informative, educational, and underlined what I have been lamenting for years in regard to editors not giving the arts equal time with sports. We are the smallest of small professional performing arts companies. On the rare occassions when editors have given us print space, our audience attendance has always increased considerably. When I bring this to the attention of various newspaper editors and ask why they do not do more of this for the smaller struggling arts companies, I am told, "Newspapers are not in the business of promoting the arts!" Well, why not? Maybe they should be. (Of course, we know that sports bring in the money.) During the past three years, we have been performing a series of concerts on Sunday afternoons, and we don't repeat the program. We are always told (as Commanday noted in the article) that since the performance will not be repeated, it will not help ticket sales to review it. This is not true. If the arts had as much hoopla delivered on a daily basis as sports events, think of the number of kids who might gravitate toward them. This would be a challenge for publishers and editors. It could be the beginning of a great cultural change.
— Marilyn Kosinski
Thank you, Robert Commanday, for the very good article on the needs of music and arts critics in our everyday lives. As you know, we have struggled here in Marin for over one year without coverage by our local paper — there is only what is provided on an occasional basis by your original and excellent publication, SFCV. I sincerely hope that your comments are presented and listened to by the right people. I have sent your article to every member of the Marin Symphony Board for their information. Thanks for all you have done during your career on behalf of all the musical ensembles in the Bay Area. — Lou Bartolini
I could not agree more with Mr. Commanday. From the 1950s onward, there has been first a gradual and then an epidemic decline in the sources from which I can read about music. I have read every shred of news I can from national publications — The New York Times, The New Yorker, Hi-Fidelity, Musical America, Stereo Review, American Record Guide, Gramophone, and Fanfare — to the newspapers in Boise, Walla Walla, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Memphis, where I have lived. I now live in Deptford, N.J. I maintain subscriptions to ARG, Fanfare, Gramophone, International Piano, Piano Today, and BBC Music, and I read just about everything I can on the Internet. Why do I read SFCV? Honesty, news, reliability, the coverage of many events in the San Francisco area — sometimes about particular musicians or groups, sometimes about events that have occurred in Philadelphia and San Francisco (Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire, for example). — John Turner
I really appreciated your piece about the withering of music journalism. It's part of a larger story of shrinking newsrooms, media consolidation, and shareholder-based journalistic organizations — and it affects so many parts of our culture. Thanks for calling attention to how this affects the arts, and for reminding the Bay Area's papers that they have a responsibility to participate in the maintainance of the area's cultural life.
— Josh Seidenfeld
To the reader who is looking for the instrumentation for the Schicksalslied, Op. 54 ("Song of Fate"), it is available through Kalmus, and is as follows:
two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, strings, plus mixed chorus.
— Thalia Moore
Sound(ing) Off
I have seen nothing in the San Francisco press or in SFCV about the fact that Cal Performances is now using amplification at Zellerbach. This is not a rumor; they actually issued a press release.
— David Lieberman
Thanks
Regarding "High Hopes", in the Oct. 17 issue: I would like to thank Jonathan Rhodes Lee for his review of our joint concert with Pacific Collegium last Sunday. I thought it was balanced and fair, and we really appreciate the coverage. We had a good discussion of the review at our rehearsal last night. We've been a fairly isolated group over the years and this has really helped bring us to the fore. Thank you.
— John Renke
Regarding "Chord Resounding", in the Oct. 10 issue: I agree with Janos Gereben's review. There was one silly episode at the end, when the dead Tristan stood up and joined Isolde, but I guess it was a necessity because Brewer was probably unable to collapse.
It was the most memorable evening we have attended in SFO for a long time. During the past year, we were fortunate to see seven other Wagner opera performances — in Budapest, Los Angeles, and Orange County — all of which confirmed my previous belief that Tristan is the most perfect piece Wagner wrote.
— Laslo Somogyi
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