Was Johannes Brahms as sweet and comforting as the lullaby that bears his name? Actually, as conductor Manfred Honeck told the New York Times, “There was nothing cozy about Brahms.” He never had students in the formal sense. Brahms’s manner was described as “not encouraging,” when younger composers would beg for his attentions. But Antonin Dvorak didn’t have to beg. Read More
His radical combination of symphonic and popular music comes eight years after a controversial statement about the word "jazz." Continue Reading Nicholas Payton Reimagines Musical Tradition With ‘Black American Read More
Early American composers could have shaken off their European sound and mined the rich trove of African American music. They didn't. And one historian believes we're worse off because of it. Continue Reading Why Is American Classical Music So White?Read More
Sometimes it takes an outsider to see a culture clearly. Czech composer Antonin Dvorak's Ninth Symphony was an ode to what American music could become. Continue Reading How Dvorak’s ‘New World’ Symphony Introduced American Read More