Who's the Audience for Contemporary Classical?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
While some music fans love contemporary classical, others consider it musical spinach, forced on concert audiences before they can enjoy their Brahms. On today's Soundcheck Smackdown, humorist Joe Queenan joins us for a debate on the merits of new music. Also: Afro-Peruvian ensemble Grupo Afroperuano Caracumbe perform live.
Soundcheck Smackdown: When Contemporary Met Classical
Like vegetables stuck into a delicious meal, contemporary classical music is forced on concert audiences before they are allowed to enjoy their Brahms. So says humorist, critic and author Joe Queenan. Today, Queenan and John Berry, Artistic Director with English National Opera, join us for a Soundcheck Smackdown debate on ...
Grupo Afroperuano Caracumbe
Old-school Dominican bachata and Nuyorican experimental rock meet at the indoor Queens Theatre in the Park for the annual Chase Latino Cultural Festival. The Grupo Afroperuano Caracumbe, which will open the festival, stops by Soundcheck to perform live.
John Schaefer on Contemporary Music
As longtime listeners will know, I am a huge fan of new music. My nightly “New Sounds” program here at WNYC has celebrated many types of new music since (gulp) 1982. So when I read Joe Queenan’s article, “Admit It, You’re As Bored As I Am,” my first inclination was ...