Last December the executive council of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association met Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. The “football” in the association’s title does not, of course, refer to our ellipsoid American pigskin, but to the checkered sphere of futbol, or soccer, the game that doesn’t allow blocking. In his brief address, … Read more
Last month, I wrote about the rough treatment American composer George Rochberg received from the artistic “community” when he turned away from systematized cacophony toward tonality in the 1970s. “Why is George writing beautiful music?” asked one shocked colleague. “That’s already been done.” Rochberg felt an arctic blast familiar to many other American composers who, … Read more
The Judeo-Christian God, Yahweh, seems off-base in denying some proper place for other gods in the first three of the ten commandments. All religions and philosophies are said to be created equal. Yahweh, however, is not ecumenical. What is this aberration about our God that He demands exclusiveness? Why can we not worship multiple gods? … Read more
The Crisis Columnist B.F. Smith was in Washington from Atherton, California, with her daughter Whitney, once a student at Georgetown University, where I teach. They were visiting their Pentagon-stationed son/brother. Knowing Smith’s almost infallible instinct for precise language (her daughter is not far behind), I asked her, “What is the most common verb appearing on … Read more
The Cold War was so cold that only now, more than ten years after its end, are some composers’ works being thawed out for a general hearing. Hungarian composer László Lajtha (1892-1963) is finally emerging from the deep freeze in which the Hungarian Communist regime placed him. In 1947, when Lajtha (pronounced “Loy-tah”) returned to … Read more
When it seemed like a long way into the future, I saw a spectacular film called 2001. The beginning focused attention on a mysterious monolith. This monolith was somehow connected with the meaning of the universe, although my memories of this are vague. The film was not explicitly Christian because for us, the center of … Read more
I was considering a lovely invitation to the Flanders Music Festival in Belguim this fall, wondering whether its extraordinarily broad and ambitious program could have any connection to the general interests of our readers. Pondering the scores of concerts over several months’ time, I almost gave up. What could possibly tether this welter of riches … Read more
In the Phaedo, Plato tells of the punishment handed out in Tartarus for sins committed in this life. He pictures those swept along through the Acherusian Lake crying out to those they have “killed or misused.” It seems that “there is no relief for their suffering until they prevail upon those whom they have wronged; … Read more
The two giants of 20th-century Scandinavian music, Danish composer Carl Nielsen and Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, were born in the same year, 1865. Though they sound nothing alike, together they account for my initial love of music. Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony and Nielsen’s Fourth, both written around 1915, are the two works that revealed to me, in … Read more
The Holy Father dedicated this millennial year, 2000, to the Trinity. How do we grasp this theme? In my memory, I associate the Trinity with Frank Sheed, who wrote so well about it. I recall two addresses Sheed gave, one at Catholic University of America in the 50s and the other at the University of … Read more
Two composers dominated the music of the 20th century: Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) and Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951). Robert Craft was especially close to the former and knew the latter, whom he called “the one composer who challenged Stravinsky’s supremacy in 20th-century music.” Maestro Crafthas had a front-row seat on the most important musical developments of our … Read more
As Halloween approaches, our thoughts turn to horror movies—at least mine do, since I am a Halloween baby and have a disordered soul. I have followed this genre avidly and find that it contains some interesting and unexpected messages beyond “Boo!” While working for the Reagan administration, I was once dispatched on a speaking tour … Read more
Oh, we got trouble my friend / Trouble at the Neil Simon Theater / Oh, I bet you’re wonderin’ what could be the matter with a saccharine-sweet, apple pie, all-American, brass-band, flag-waving show like The Music Man? How ’bout the lead? Yes, my friends, Susan Stroman’s truly glorious revival of Meredith Willson’s musical chestnut has … Read more
A short but curious 1780 passage in Boswell reads, “Of a certain noble Lord, he [Samuel Johnson] said, ‘Respect him, you could not; for he had no mind of his own. Love him you could not; for that which you could do with him, everyone else could.’” No doubt, this lack of respect or love … Read more
Why, you are probably wondering, have there been so few, if any, French symphonists? What about Arthur Honneger (1892-1955) and his five symphonies? Sorry—though the French claim him for their own, he was Swiss. Yes, Cesar Frank (1822-90) wrote one symphony, and Vincent d’Indy (1851-1931) wrote several, but that hardly qualifies them as symphonists (and … Read more
On finishing my annual eight-day retreat at lovely Georgetown Preparatory School on Rockville Pike, I returned to my room. Checking over e-mail, I noticed an unfamiliar source. It was entitled, “Possible Useful Information.” I am rather a sucker for possible useless information. This particular citation was about natural law. Its Web site address was www. … Read more
Relax. Premised on pleasure, summer is not the time to delve into the complete works of Arnold Schoenberg or bring Alban Berg’s Wozzeck to the beach. It is a fun period to explore more accessible music and to pretend that you have the leisure to do so. Happily buried under a flood of superb new … Read more
“Original sin is called ‘sin’ only in an analogous sense: it is a sin ‘contracted’ and not ‘committed’—a state and not an act,” according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Chesterton, in a famous passage, quipped that original sin is the one doctrine of the Church that we do not have to “believe.” He … Read more
For almost 18 centuries, Christians built chapels and churches without any universal legislation from Rome. With almost no written direction to the pastors and architects, Christians built beautiful, durable churches that accommodated the liturgy wonderfully and that we are the grateful beneficiaries of. Why then do we need a document on art and architecture today? … Read more
Since 1938, Lucerne, Switzerland, has been the venue for one of the world’s famous music festivals, attracting each summer the highest-caliber orchestras, soloists, and conductors. Ten years ago, the International Festival of Music Lucerne expanded its program to include a spring session, which, this year, coincided with the week and a half preceding Palm Sunday. … Read more