Opera and the Morbidity of Music

The death of classical music, the distinguished critic and musicologist Joseph Kerman declares, is "a tired, vacuous concept that will not die." In this wide-ranging collection of essays and reviews, Kerman examines the ongoing vitality of the classical music tradition, from the days of Guillaume Dufay, John Taverner, and William Byrd to contemporary operas by Philip Glass and John Adams. Here are enlightening investigations of the lives and works of the greatest composers: Bach and hisWell-Tempered Clavier, Mozart's and Beethoven's piano concertos, Schubert's songs, Wagner's and Verdi's operas. Kerman discussesThe Magic Fluteas well as productions of the Monteverdi operas in Brooklyn and theRingin San Francisco and Bayreuth. He also includes remembrances of Maria Callas and Carlos Kleiber that make clear why they were such extraordinary musicians. Kerman argues that predictionslet alone assumptionsof the death of classical music are not a new development but part of a cultural transformation that has long been with us. Always alert to the significance of historical changes, from the invention of music notation to the advent of recording, he proposes that the place to look for renewal of the classical music tradition in America today is in operain a flood of new works, the rediscovery of long-forgotten ones, and innovative productions by companies large and small. Written for a general audience rather than for experts, Kerman's essays invite readers to listen afresh and to engage with his insights into how music works. "His gift is so uncommon as to make one sad," Alex Ross has said.

Joseph Kerman is Professor Emeritus of Music, University of California at Berkeley. He received a B.A. from New York University and a Ph.D. from Princeton University. He joined the University of California Music Department in 1951. An honorary fellow of the Academy of Music in London and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Kerman was a Guggenheim Fellow in l960, a Fulbright Fellow in 1966, and recipient of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Deems Taylor Award. Some of his many books include Write All These Down, Opera as Drama, and Contemplating Music.