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Harp Festival’s empty seats
Re “Crowded program, empty pews,” Tom Purdom’s review of the Philadelphia Harp Festival—
So sorry to hear that the audience was sparse for such a great festival! One can only hope that next year will attract many more music lovers.
Beth Levin
Brooklyn, N.Y.
October 20, 2010
I greatly appreciate Tom Purdom’s comments. It is very hard to produce such a large-scale event and not have a reasonably sized audience attend.
Regarding the value of Carlos Salzedo’s music, I would argue that it is of the first quality. But I am biased, being his grand-pupil. It’s unfortunate that Mr. Purdom was unable to attend my opening recital, where the unfamiliar works by Salzedo that I performed might have made a different impression. Like any composer, his music ranges a gamut from teaching pieces to pieces requiring utter virtuosity. I am well convinced that Salzedo’s Sonata for Harp and Piano is a masterpiece, and his suite, Pentacle, which was performed by the TrueNorth harp duo, is not far behind. But sometimes it’s hard for listeners who are not harpists to discern the musical values within his innovative techniques.
The harp is unique in that the overtones produced are part of the music, and many of our pieces deliberately take that into account. That can take getting used to, to fully appreciate. It’s not unlike opera, or art song: The more familiar you become with it, the more you will get out of it. I hope that our future programs will bear such fruit.
I should also like to compliment Mr. Purdom for his dedication to attending independently produced concerts such as Dolce Suono or the Harp Festival. Unlike other members of the press who seem to shun doing so, he is helping document one of the most vital and essential elements of the musical scene.
Saul Davis Zlatkovski
HarpMuscFest
Center City/ Philadelphia
October 20, 2010
Yo-Yo Ma at the Kimmel
Re BSR’s two reviews of Yo-Yo Ma’s concert at Verizon Hall—
I too was at the concert. Can you tell me what piece they played for an encore? It brought tears to my eyes, it was so beautiful. I have heard that piece many times before but cannot place it. Thanks
B.W. Briggs
Center City/ Philadelphia
October 22, 2010
Editor’s comment: It was “The Swan,” from The Carnival of the Animals, by Saint-Saëns.
Blaming the critics
Re “Blaming the critics: Jekyll and Hyde in Media,” by Jim Rutter—
I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t let this piece go without comment, having been on both sides of this fence. I know exactly how Jesse Cline feels. Many Philadelphia critics— including certain Inky critics who shall remain nameless— have often displayed elements of capriciousness, pettiness and mean-spiritedness. Media Theatre is certainly not alone in having disputes with the media regarding what is felt to be unfair treatment— and I’m sorry, Jim, but those complaints are often justified.
Given that your account of the incident is accurate (sometimes, critics’ memories are remarkably self-serving), Jesse was shockingly unprofessional. The dispute may have been justified, but for God’s sake, don’t air it out in front of the audience!
I and my company have no complaint with Jim Rutter or the Broad Street Review (other than being completely ignored for the past three years), but I definitely feel Cline’s pain, even though how Cline expressed that pain was childish in the extreme.
Gary L. Day
South Philadelphia
October 13, 2010
Editor’s note: The writer is a member of the theater group Fever Dream Repertory and a former features writer for the Philadelphia Gay News.
Since the Media Theatre fails to garner many (almost any) Barrymore Awards or nominations, it appears that Jesse Cline’s reign of terror is almost over. Talk about a self-possessed egocentric person with limited talent, you’re talking about Jesse Cline.
When will Media wake-up and get rid of him? He’s creepy.
Robert J. Walker
Collingswood, N.J.
October 15, 2010
I wonder if you’d like a list of the artistic directors in Chicago who have “banned” certain critics from their shows? It’s a comedy worthy of Aristophanes. Hee hee!
Bruch Reed
Chicago, Ill.
October 13, 2010
Re “Directors vs. critics vs. the audience,” by Dan Rottenberg (Editor’s Notebook)—
A most legitimate aspect of all this heat being generated is the often one-sided power relationship between critics and the artists and performances they review. This power is more extreme, and prone to unchecked abuse, in places like an Inquirer theater column, where one voice, one opinion, rushed on deadline, wields almost monopoly impact.
Sure, artists and performers have some ability and perhaps a right to respond, especially in a publication like BSR, which might give them a more visible answering voice than an Inquirer letters-to-the-editor column. But artists and performers also have lives and missions that don’t include riding herd on critics in the media.
There’s also a career risk in publicly taking on a critic, especially one with monopoly-like power who could be vindictive. One partial answer provided by BSR (and by no print media) is the use of multiple, bountiful reviews of a single event. But also needed is media criticism of reviewers that can expose arrogance, bias, sloppiness, ignorance, subjectivity gone wild and other common irritants that are worthy of public criticism.
Jonathan Stein
Center City/ Philadelphia
October 20, 2010
Theater and critics have a long history together, don’t they? Not being from this area or knowing the critic mentioned, I can only say that meeting the critic head-on in the audience lacks professionalism and seems a little too dramatic.
However, if you wanted to create buzz about a production...well, mission accomplished!
Allyson Shoshana
Spokane Civic Theatre
Spokane, Wash.
The critics were doing their jobs! Mr. Rutter was hardly trying to silence actors by reviewing them.
You are the editor. I have never seen an editor undermine the work of one of his/her own colleagues before. You might disagree with the point of view, but to quibble with the basic premise of criticism? Bizarre.
Margot H. Knight
Winter Springs, Fla.
October 25, 2010
Editor’s comment: My criticism of Jim Rutter solely concerned his announced practice of communicating privately with directors about actors he loathes.
You rapped the bunched knuckles of both director and critic so tartly that it reminded me of my eighth grade nun shutting me up.
Patrick D. Hazard
Weimar, Germany
October 28, 2010
My anger, your anger
I liked your column on “My anger and me” (Editor’s Notebook). It made me think of Indira Gandhi’s advice: “You can’t shake hands with a closed fist.”
Jim Kristie
Center City/ Philadelphia
September 30, 2010
Anger is OK, if it’s against the right things. The trouble with the American TeePee Party types is that they’re angry at the wrong things.
Always have been, alas. We American Exceptionalists have been Exceptionally angry at the wrong things. Everyone but us!
Patrick D. Hazard
Weimar, Germany.
October 2, 2010
Editor’s comment: In the entire history of human civilization, can you think of a single positive development that was generated by anger, righteous or not?
Here’s a reply to your challenge above. According to Wikipedia, in 1880 James Gordon Bennett, Jr. “and his infamous short temper” took umbrage at an insult by Newport’s most exclusive men’s club, The Reading Room, and set about creating his own retreat, which eventually became the Newport Casino, now home to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
As an aside, some would say John McEnroe’s famous temper helped him win a few tennis matches. And of course, the American Revolution came about as a response to various British taxes.
Joseph Glantz
Levittown, Pa.
October 6, 2010
Editor’s note: To read a response by Robert Zaller, click here. For my further thoughts, click here.
Re “How anger made me a star,” by Dan Rottenberg (Editor’s Notebook)—
You are the man! Your response to the responses to your comment regarding anger was so provocative that my own initially angry response to what you wrote about the long-range plan of Jesus mellowed into a more considered reflection on the place anger plays in my own life.
I agree that it is not anger that is the problem, but what follows from one’s anger— the mature man wisely makes the right choice regarding what he does beyond the moment anger may flare up, whereas the fool merely follows where his feelings happen to lead him.
P.S. Will you please autograph this football?
Craig R. Tavani
Phoenixville, Pa.
October 13, 2010
After reading Dan’s reply to my letter and Mr. Zaller’s letter I’m, well, in a word— angry.
For starters, there is failure to appreciate that John McEnroe’s anger made viewers appreciate all the more the play of his opponent Bjorn Borg, who, without McEnroe to provide a contrast, would have been just a boring baseliner with topspin. And John’s anger and passion have now made him one of the best sportscasters in the game.
Even now I can see readers getting angry because this discussion is about sports when opera and ballet should rule. I can imagine that their anger will only lead to better articles about those artistic fields of endeavor, to which I can only say – ah, yes: Anger is a good thing.
And I’m angry because my editor left out a crucial part of the story on James Gordon Bennett Bennett. Why was Bennett angry enough to start the Newport Casino? It’s because his friend wasn’t allowed to ride his horse through the old casino.
As for Dan, shouldn’t the anger that inspired his tackle lead to more productive anger? Like, why was there a film named Rudy about a guy whose signature moment was making a tackle in his last game for Notre Dame, when Dan’s signature achievement would have made for the better story? If I were Dan, I’d be seeking funders for the sequel (really the prequel) right now.
The essence of theater is how people change, and one can see how this one tackle changed Dan and the nation forever. Dan! Dan! Dan! You The Man! Front row center tickets, please.
Joseph Glantz
Levittown, Pa.
October 16, 2010
There is a big difference between anger at self, and anger at others. Anger at one’s own stupidity can produce moments of pure glory amid a lifetime of introspective thought; anger at others, being the norm, produces the hostility we see expressed all over the world.
Great prophets find a balance between their own inner anger and their society’s discontents. They know how to find within themselves what the public wants to express.
When the poet Marianne Moore said, “There never was a war that was not inwards,” she first took the hard spiritual path toward being inwardly responsible for her own anger. Then she witnessed how it manifested itself in the world around her.
One wonders what our planet would begin to look like if our athletes (for example) took some time out to stare at their own navels.
Margaret Chew Barringer
Penn Valley, Pa.
October 20, 2010
Editor’s comment: Agreed. But how would they work off their aggressions, without an outlet like competitive athletics?
Dan Rottenberg asks: “In the entire history of human civilization, can you think of a single positive development that was generated by anger, righteous or not?”
Hmm, let’s see. How about Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony? Or his Coriolanus Overture? Do you think Beethoven ever really came to terms with his anger at the tough hand he was dealt?
How about the U.S. Constitution? Any of the many good accounts of the Constitutional Convention tell a story of productively managed anger. Read Hamilton’s opening of the Federalist Papers, soaring inspirational prose clearly generated by righteous anger.
Do you think any of the great chess masterpieces of Bobby Fisher could have been created without the desire to crush his opponents?
It is a cliché that stand-up comedy is harmlessly (and sometimes not so harmlessly) channeled anger.
Do you think I’d be taking the time to be writing this without being angered by Dan’s question?
We’re all angry to some extent, I think, some much more than others. The great artists, thinkers and competitors can channel their anger to a higher purpose, but I would argue that anger itself is an indispensable component of most of civilization’s great achievements.
Dan Coren
Queen Village/ Philadelphia
October 23, 2010
Abu-Jamal and Justice On Trial
I just read Robert Zaller’s commentary concerning Justice On Trial, and I thought he did a fair review of the film and the case. And, yes, it stinks to high heaven that Mumia Abu-Jamal remains on death row despite the obvious fact that he didn’t do it.
Perhaps you will cover the hearing on November 9. Mumia isn’t even allowed to be present for his own hearing. That is how much they fear him and the truth coming out.
Gwen Debrow
Ozone Park, N.Y.
October 21, 2010
Editor’s comment: It never ceases to amaze me: The farther people are from the scene of the crime, the more certain they are that they know what happened.
Michael Vick, scapegoat
Re “Michael Vick, scapegoat,” by Maria T. Corley—
Iraq, Afghanistan, and— yes— Michael Vick prove that we in particular aren’t doing a very good job of it. And noting the failings of earlier societies as justification is like dragging the car rather than powering it on wheels. If we don’t aspire to be something better than we’ve been, what hope have we?
When I think of giving a convict a second chance, I imagine an opportunity to wash cars or serve hamburgers until he demonstrates responsibility and maturity. I don’t think of a $7 million-a-year second chance.
Carl Anderson
Yeadon, Pa.
October 15, 2010
I think that if Vick’s chosen profession were accounting, the accountants in whose midst he worked would be quite upset. This man is a public figure. In that sense, he works in the midst of us all.
I object to the Eagles bringing this person to live in Philadelphia.
Lynn Hoffman
Mount Airy/ Philadelphia
October 13, 2010
Maria Corley replies: Goodness! Where should he live and what should he do? I guess he should be homeless, foraging in Antarctica, but nowhere near the penguins…
Week Between the Holidays
Re Janet Anderson’s Fringe Festival wrapup—
Thanks for the review of Week Between the Holidays. I’m glad that Janet Anderson was able to see it. We plan on putting it up again for Christmas of 2011 at the same venue.
In the intervening months we will be shortening, tightening, polishing and revising. I hope you come out to see the improvements.
Mickey Leone
Philadelphia Performance Project
Wyndmoor, Pa.
October 18, 2010
Cybill, Otto and me
Re “Cybill Shepherd, Otto Preminger and me,” by Bob Ingram—
I have always enjoyed Bob Ingram’s writing and the unusual take his perspective brings. It reminds me of the old days when we all felt so free and exuberant. My, how things change.
Marion Barber
Bangalore, India
October 2, 2010
Bob Ingram is a terrific storyteller, and this piece shows him at his best.
Dinny Zimmerman
Peterborough, N.H.
October 4, 2010
Thanks for the stroll down memory lane. And, Bob, thanks for the thoughtful, generous words. However, I wouldn’t be a truly passionate moviegoer if I didn’t point out something.
Yes, Jackie Gleason worked for Otto Preminger. But the film in question was Skidoo. Gleason did make a film titled Gigot, but Gene Kelly directed it.
By the way, for what it’s worth, I like both films. Very much.
Joe Baltake
Haddonfield, N.J.
October 3, 2010
Editor’s note: The writer is the former film critic for the Philadelphia Daily News.
OK, so I think it is fantastic that Bob Ingram has a history of getting stoned with this and that famous person. But, please, pray tell, what was the point of this name-dropping tome?
Maureen Otwell
Center City/ Philadelphia
October 6, 2010
Bob Ingram replies: Is there nothing to be said for a good old-fashioned story whose only point is entertainment? If you want a-point-a-page, try Pilgrim’s Progress.
Verdi would be pleased
Re Dan Rottenberg’s review of the Opera Company’s Otello—
In his excellent review, Dan Rottenberg describes how the dramatic power of the “Willow Song” cast a spell over the audience. His account reminded me of a similar moment in Bizet’s Carmen.
At the very end of the “Flower Song,” when José has just sung his heart out, Carmen, before José even has a chance to take a breath, sings over a pulsating, tension-filled bass line, ”Non, tu ne m’aimes pas!” and José is doomed. The impact of the moment, which for me is one of the greatest in all of opera, depends on the immediate segue into Carmen’s response, but, since audiences feel it is mandatory to shout “Bravo” and to carry on the way opera audiences generally do, the only way to hear the moment as Bizet clearly intended it is to listen to a recording. (The version in my head is the old RCA recording under Fritz Reiner from the 1950s, with Jan Peerce as José and Rise Stevens as Carmen.)
Verdi, who, unlike Bizet, had no naive expectations about audiences, allowed space for the mandatory ovation after the “Willow Song” But I can imagine how pleased Verdi might have been to hear that on this particular occasion, the audience was so enthralled by the drama that they forgot to disrupt the proceedings in the usual way. Maybe this triumph of drama over custom just goes to demonstrate the intelligence and sophistication of Philadelphia audiences.
Dan Coren
Queen Village
October 5, 2010
You are right about Emilia, who is the only character in the play with her eyes open, and who could be a tragic figure— what is it like to be married to a monster, to know it, and yet to have (in that time and place) no way out of the union?
But I think Shakespeare wanted Emilia to have only a limited perception of Iago. She knows he has a nasty side, but can’t suspect his absolute depravity; after all, it would take one to know one, and in Iago’s case that could only be the Devil. That’s why Verdi and Boito’s attempts to “explain” Iago weaken the character.
Plenty of Shakespeare’s characters remark in disgust— and self-disgust— on the human condition. Hamlet is a prime example. But there’s only one Iago.
Robert Zaller
Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
October 5, 2010
Re “In search of Robert Driver’s voice,” by Dan Rottenberg (Opera, May 1, 2003)—
I am Robert Driver’s cousin of 82 years. I have followed his career for many years and have enjoyed seeing his successes.
You may not know it, but he owes his father, a very successful international cotton broker, a great deal for these successes. My uncle Robert insisted that young Bobby work in his New York bank for two years to gain some business experience before he pursued his passion of the opera. On the exact day that his two years was up, Bobby quit the bank and went to Europe to learn the opera trade.
Wilson Eliot Driver Shepherd
Lexington, Va.
October 9, 2010
The glory that was Dresden
Re “Tempesta di Mare revisits Dresden”—
Tom Purdom’s comments are right on. I attended the performance in Chestnut Hill, where the Fasch numbers were recorded for a CD to be devoted to his works. Fasch had always struck me as almost anticipating Haydn, but the second number was, as Purdom observed, surprisingly much more Vivaldian in character and expression.
Tempesta rendered its usual top-notch performance. I am amazed at the uniformity and coordination of a chamber group of its size with no conductor. That can only be attributed to its esprit de corps and the professionalism of the musicians.
Edith Coleman
Wilmington, Del.
October 5, 2010
‘America by Car’
Re Robert Zaller’s review of Lee Friedlander and “America By Car,” at the Whitney Museum—
Professor Zaller’s attempt to theologize American history is neither a sendup of America nor a rueful love letter. It’s mystiphysics, posing as historiography.
A photographer is free to be as gimmicky or cute as his rental cars permit, but deep insights into our history? Just about as deep as the Abstract Inexpressivism of Pollock, that sad dead end of Modernism.
The “official” closing of the frontier in the 1890s made the U.S. “no longer a destination but a journey”? The road novels of Kerouac led to “a cast of hipsters perpetually seeking the fix at the end of the night”? And Nabokov’s crisscrossing the USA to find Lolita’s sweet spot? Ugh.
Zaller’s connecting Ike’s Interstate Defense Highway with moral searchings is merely silly, like the bridges that were too small to let defensive weapons through. And Los Angeles was not the only place to lobby legislatures to cripple mass transit to free the auto to bamboozle US. “Whoever said that America was supposed to make sense?” Zaller asks. Has he already forgotten the John Winthrop-engendered hubris that led, step by false step, to our almost totally dysfunctional Republic?
Patrick D. Hazard
Weimar, Germany
October 4, 2010
Robert Zaller replies: Patrick Hazard thinks I take Lee Friedlander too seriously. May I suggest he takes my review too seriously? I won’t yield to Patrick or anyone else in my dismay at the sluggish imperial beast our once-promising nation has become. But it’s still a free country, so go right ahead and dislike Jackson Pollock.
Grofe’s Café Society
Re “Grofe’s lost Café Society rediscovered,” by Janet Anderson (May 4, 2010)—
What a neat surprise! I would love to hear this Cafe Society. Any suggestions?
I grew up with Grofe’s music, and I still get a bit teary-eyed listening to his Grand Canyon Suite, which I know well from beginning to end.
Jean Berardi
Anaheim, Calif.
October 2, 2010
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