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CONTEMPORARY MUSIC REVIEW
April 15, 2006
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Midori's Idea By Jeff Dunn
For a majority of classical music fans, the prospect of hearing "contemporary" music is greeted with the same enthusiasm as an IRS audit notice. Taxing music, painful music, music by which to leave a concert before it happens. Hence the standard ploy of placing such music first, like a dose of cod-liver oil before dinner, to "do you good" but prevent mass exodus.
The famous violinist Midori, long a student of psychology, has been hoping to change such reactions through a pioneering program of cognitive immersion in selected works written since she became "musically aware" in 1979 (she was born in 1971). In collaboration with Ruth Felt of San Francisco Performances, and with the help of a grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation, Midori has brought her Contemporary Music Recital Program, begun 18 months ago in Japan, to San Francisco. The program consists of a full day of lectures, master classes, a panel discussion, audience Q&A, and reception (all constituting the workshop), followed by the actual recital. The program is split here: She conducted the workshop on traditional Tax Day at the Jewish Community Center; the recital will occur at Herbst Theatre on April 27. As Midori explains on her extraordinarily detailed Web site, a model of its kind: "I wanted to explore ways to reach out to the audience, not only from the stage but in other ways as well ... It is very important that we experience the music of our time, music that expresses the thoughts and emotions of today's composers and of composers of the recent past. Most contemporary music relates to the great musical traditions of the past, even if this is not immediately apparent." Midori then goes on to distinguish different kinds of listeners. There are those who seek understanding only through hummable and familiar music; those who want to come to concerts as blank slates, without any preconceived ideas (e.g., those who disdain preconcert lectures); and, finally, her target audience: those who "can become more engaged in the music after having learned a bit about the composers and the context in which their lives unfolded." For these souls, who aren't afraid of removing one of the chief (false) roadblocks cited by the general public as a reason not to attend concerts — "I don't know enough about classical music" — Midori and Felt put together a sequence of activities.
How did it go? For the hundred or so attendees who gave up a dreary Saturday to attend, quite well. Very few left; most joined the reception. Among those I interviewed afterward, many were impressed by how much they learned from observing the master class and hearing parts of the music repeated many times after the initial run-through. As one gentleman put it, "The master class was a wonderful way to get to know new music." Another told me she still didn't understand the music, but she now wanted to hear more of it. For this attendee, the highlights were many, the problems few.
First was Greenberg's lecture, especially the marvelously condensed yet effective portrayal of the history of Western music from 1750. As he put it, "musical merde hit the fan" with Wagner's Tristan and composers' increasing emphasis on the need for "expressive relevance" within self-determined systems and/or evolving styles. (Disclosure: Greenberg is a member of the artistic board of Composers Inc., where I currently serve as president.) Midori's teaching skill was eye-opening. She used her gorgeous voice far more often than her violin to illustrate her points. The music itself was a highlight, even when it was not played by Midori. Steffens and Carl were technically excellent, and responded quickly to Midori's suggestions for expressive improvement. The first movement of the Kurtág in particular was a revelation: so much accomplished with so little, yet with deep passion.
On the debit side, the press photographers are the first item to mention. The New York Times and the San Jose Mercury News sent folks to cover the event, which will be repeated in New York later this month. They clambered up and down the stage like Kongs on the Empire State Building, clicking their SLR shutters for more than an hour during the master class, ruining the exquisitely quiet passages in the Kurtág. At one point Midori had to ward them off with her sheet music, causing laughter to erupt from the hitherto annoyed audience. A minor item is the fact that, when the workshop was conducted in Japan, the music was projected on a screen. Not so here. Greenberg partially compensated for this by reproducing a few pages of the scores in his useful handouts (they also are on Midori's Web site). Another was that Kim was not an experienced speaker. She should have practiced her presentation more so that she wouldn't have had to bury her head in the notes. Projected images of the composer and of the Korean instruments mentioned would also have been helpful. All in all, however, Midori's idea is a wonderful quest to heighten appreciation in willing listeners for what Charles Rosen calls "difficult" music. Midori also deserves gratitude for selecting great "difficult" music that repays the investment of the audience's attention — and for reducing her normal fees to make events like this workshop and recital possible. Still, a hundred listeners are not enough. The recital, which would have sold out by now had the program been all-Beethoven, still has far too many unsold seats. Making "difficult" music easier is only part of the solution. Not all great music was rejected at first hearing. There is plenty of great music written today that takes less effort to appreciate. These pieces, in addition to the "difficult" ones, should replace the warhorses from time to time to help the general public realize that not every piece of new music is a visit from the IRS. But that an individual of Midori's stature strives so passionately to raise our understanding: This calls for our profound respect and support.
(Jeff Dunn is a freelance critic with a B.A. in music and a Ph.D. in geologic education. A composer of piano and vocal music, he is a member of NACUSA and president of Composers Inc.)
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Midori
