Apr 18th 2014

The Pulitzer Prize in music: Still out of tune

by Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson is a music critic with particular interest in piano. 

Johnson worked as a reporter and editor in New York, Moscow, Paris and London over his journalism career. He covered European technology for Business Week for five years, and served nine years as chief editor of International Management magazine and was chief editor of the French technology weekly 01 Informatique. He also spent four years as Moscow correspondent of The Associated Press. He is the author of five books.

Michael Johnson is based in Bordeaux. Besides English and French he is also fluent in Russian.

You can order Michael Johnson's most recent book, a bilingual book, French and English, with drawings by Johnson:

“Portraitures and caricatures:  Conductors, Pianist, Composers”

 here.

The $10,000 Music Pulitzer Prize went this year to Alaskan composer John Luther Adams, launching a heated debate in the music world over who was – or wasn’t – most deserving of this perpetually controversial award.

One exasperated critic present at the premiere tells me Adams’s winning composition, Become Ocean, seemed unworthy. He slammed its “interminable arpeggios up and down, rising and backing off again -- territory already plowed by the likes of Philip Glass and Steve Reich.” (The title comes from the late John Cage who wrote of a piece by Lou Harrison: “Listening to it we become ocean.”)

Adams himself made the composition sound almost trivial: “It really wrote itself,” he told an interviewer at National Public Radio (NPR). “All I had to do is sleep with the windows open at night and let the sound of the sea seep into my subconscious mind and get up in the morning and write it down.” Divine intervention? George Frideric Handel said something similar about his Messiah, but that’s another story.

Adams openly admits that global warming was the backdrop of the piece, telling NPR that climate change is always on his mind. “It was certainly at the forefront as I composed this piece,” he said.

The composition has not yet been recorded and has had only one public outing, barely meeting the rigorous Pulitzer requirements. Adams missed the premiere because of emergency eye surgery but he plans to be present at Carnegie Hall May 6 when the Seattle Symphony will bring it to an East Coast audience. Seattle conductor and music director Ludovic Morlot, who commissioned the work, will be on the podium.

In this interesting clip, attendees at the premiere last June deliver their off-the-cuff reactions as excerpts, intercut with samples from the performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGIEvUOf-JU

Leading critics disagree over the Pulitzer jury’s choice, some asking to what extent Adams’ work might influence future composition trend? In this case, that will be pretty close to zero, it seems to me. From what I have heard of Become Ocean, the music breaks no new ground and strives too hard to be accessible. Given the choice, I would rather listen to Debussy’s La Mer any day.

Yet in a gutsy bit of programming, Morlot has decided to pair up La Mer with Adams’ work for the Carnegie Hall performance. It will be a rare opportunity to compare the two in real time. Adams and Morlot should be braced for critical barbs.

One thoughtful violinist in a major orchestra goes beyond a mere criticism of Adams’ compositional output. She and others believe the music jury has been excessively swayed by a few prominent music writers who have in the past found fault with the entire process and now occupy positions of unhealthy influence. Today, she said, “one small-minded aesthetic has been replaced by another.”

Controversy and manipulation cast a long shadow in the Pulitzer music world, and she put it in perspective: “The Pulitzer used to be awarded only to academic composers no one listened to,” she recalled for me. “Then critics and bloggers like Kyle Gann, Alex Ross, and others knocked the Pulitzer and urged a style that they considered more forward-looking,” favoring such names as Steve Reich, David Lang, the Bang on a Can movement and even John Luther Adams.

“Ironically,” she concluded, “the revolutionaries of yesterday but have become the dictators of today. Now it's the turn of Adams and others to reap the rewards, but no progress has actually been made.”

But Alex Ross, music writer of The New Yorker magazine, has become the main “dictator” today. A friend of the composer, he was so impressed he allowed his prose to turn purple after hearing Become Ocean in Seattle last June. “Like the sea at dawn,’ he wrote, “it presents a gorgeous surface, yet its heaving motion conveys overwhelming force. Whether orchestras will be playing it a century hence is impossible to say, but I went away reeling.”

The jury found more purple prose to express its adulation, calling it “a haunting orchestral work that suggests a relentless tidal surge, evoking thoughts of melting polar ice and rising sea levels”.

The respected West Coast critic Melinda Bargreen was less bowled over, and noted that some of the audience even walked out. The piece “was a rather murky ‘ocean’ at first,” she wrote in the Seattle Times, “with deep rumblings that slowly evolved in complexity… But after the first 20 minutes or so, the musical ideas had pretty much run their course, and there were no further developments to justify sustaining the piece. Some listeners in the balcony areas made a discreet but early retreat.”

The other John Adams composer (no relation to this year’s winner, who added his middle name “Luther” to distinguish himself from his more famous namesake) won the prize in 2003. He subsequently wrote, “I am astonished to receive the Pulitzer Prize. Among musicians that I know, the Pulitzer has over the years lost much of the prestige it still carries in other fields like literature and journalism.”

Indeed, the music Pulitzer has something of the poor cousin about it, barely winning mention in mainstream media where newspaper writing, fiction and drama grab the biggest headlines. In the Pulitzer official listings, music always comes last, almost with a whimper.

Although Ross includes no disclaimer in his writings, his friendship with Adams goes back several years. He has traveled to Alaska to spend time with him in the northern wilderness. And he has written that Adams reminds him of the actor Clint Eastwood, and “speaks in a similarly soft, husky voice”. He gives off a “regular guy coolness”, Ross writes.

Was the jury swayed by Ross? One hopes not. This year’s five-member group, which rotates annually, brought an unquestionably high level of musicianship to the task. Ara Guzelimian, provost and dean of The Juilliard School was the most senior member. He was joined by Justin Davidson, classical music and architecture critic of New York Magazine; Jason Moran, pianist and composer, New York; Caroline Shaw, a previous Pulitzer winner; and Julia Wolfe, composer and co-founder of Bang on a Can. Their closed-door deliberations have not yet leaked but will be fascinating when they do.

Also chosen as finalists were The Gospel According to the Other Mary, by John Adams, and Invisible Cities by Christopher Cerrone,

The criteria for prize have been frequently revised in response to the annual outcry over jury decisions. The present language reads: For a “distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States” during the previous calendar year.” One critic has likened such vague guidelines to the literature prize that might be opened up to airport novels.

A look at the past ten years of winners says something about the shifting sands of the music world. Some of these composers have made a lasting impression, others not:

2005: Steven Stucky, Second Concerto for Orchestra

2006: Yehudi Wyner, Chiavi in Mano, (piano concerto)

2007: Ornette Coleman, Sound Grammar

2008: David Lang, The Little Match Girl Passion

2009: Steve Reich, Double Sextet

2010: Jennifer Higdon, Violin Concerto

2011: Zhou Long, Madame White Snake, opera

2012: Kevin Puts, Silent Night: Opera in Two Acts

2013: Caroline Shaw, "Partita for 8 Voices"

2014: John Luther Adams, Become Ocean




     

 


This article is brought to you by the author who owns the copyright to the text.

Should you want to support the author’s creative work you can use the PayPal “Donate” button below.

Your donation is a transaction between you and the author. The proceeds go directly to the author’s PayPal account in full less PayPal’s commission.

Facts & Arts neither receives information about you, nor of your donation, nor does Facts & Arts receive a commission.

Facts & Arts does not pay the author, nor takes paid by the author, for the posting of the author's material on Facts & Arts. Facts & Arts finances its operations by selling advertising space.

 

 

Browse articles by author

More Music Reviews

Mar 28th 2023
EXTRACT: "The young ex-dancer from Italy first burst upon the piano scene three years ago with 20 of her hand-picked Scarlatti sonatas. Now comes her second CD (Academy Classical Music) even more original and powerful, performing six of Baldassare Galuppi’s 18th century sonatas. Margherita Torretta‘s early training as a dancer gives her playing a swaying, graceful air while she maintains Alberti bass for control of the rhythm, momentum and especially continuity. Her ornamentation is boosted with some of her own improvisations, producing a fresher feel. It’s a magic combination."
Mar 24th 2023
EXTRACT: "Driven by a sense of mission and determination over several years, French pianist Lydia Jardon has completed a rare cycle of nine piano sonatas by Nikolai Miaskovsky. Her new CD  of numbers 6, 7 and 8 completes the task and offers a particularly rich sample of Russian experience in the worst of times. Miaskovsky may be only vaguely remembered today but he was a leader in the Soviet music world until the end of World War II. He left a wide range of engaging sonatas that have been brought back to life by Mme. Jardon on her own label AR Ré-Sé (AR 2022-1)."
Mar 16th 2023
EXTRACTS: "The most ambitious application yet of Steinway’s new digital piano, Spirio r, delivers stunning levels of sound and color in the new CD release of The Richter Scale, an hour-long keyboard drama written by well-known German composer and pianist Boris Bergmann." ----- "For the first time, the Spirio has been configured on a Steinway D grand to enable four-hand pieces to be played by two hands. The secondo score is first recorded in playback mode then combined with the live primo part. Liu is the live player who has to coordinate and fuse the two."---- "I took Bergmann’s advice and listened to the full composition from start to finish to best feel the gathering emotional turbulence. I was gripped by the melodies, harmonies, rhythms and percussive explosions along the way."
Feb 10th 2023
EXTRACT: "The piano music of Belgian composer Joseph Jongen is rapidly emerging from obscurity where it has reposed since his death in 1953. One of the champions of this rebirth is the Serbian-American pianist Ivan Ilic who acknowledges he discovered Jongen only by accident. Researching early 20th century music, he recalls, “somehow Jongen appeared on my radar.” He quickly dived into archives in Belgium and became immersed in Jongen’s prolific output."
Jan 5th 2023
EXTRACTS: "One duo of special interest today is the pairing of brother-and-sister pianists of Slovenian origin,  Zala and Val Kravos. Both are veterans of solo performances and joint four-hand playing internationally. Their new CD offers....... The musicality and the technical perfection achieved by this team sets it apart from others in the same category."
Dec 23rd 2022
EXTRACT: "One of the festival’s best surprises was the glamorous Russian-born Irina Lankova. Her evening was dominated by Rachmaninov and perfectly suited her origins. She has invented a program of music and fireside chats, creating a quick and pleasant connection with her audience. At ease between numbers, she chatted in relaxed manner notable for her erudition. Dressed in a modest ankle-length gown, she was all about music, not showboating. Contrary to several other women headliners in the piano world today, she says “I do not need to eroticize my looks”. ---- Her opening Rachmaninov  Elegie No. 1 cast a silent spell over the Femina Concert Hall and she carried her charm through nearly two hours of graceful pianism. It is not unusual, she told me in an interview, to leave members of the audience in tears. 'I also cry, at least internally, when I play,' she says."
Nov 13th 2022
EXTRACTS: "Classical guitarist Jose Manuel Lezcano breaks new ground with his first solo CD,  “Homage: Spain & Latin America”. He combines two Scarlatti sonatas and his adaptation of works by Maurice Ravel, Bill Evans and the great Paraguayan guitar virtuoso Augustin Barrios. Mood and tempo jump from the contemplative to familiar classics to dance to jazz. I found the CD so captivating I played it in loop for hours." ----- "Twice a Grammy-awarded  composer and guitarist, Lezcano lives in retirement in the U.S. northeast and teaches at Keene State College in New Hampshire where he holds the title emeritus professor."
Sep 11th 2022
EXTRACT: "When I try to understand my life as a critic in the dazzling world of piano music, I am at a loss. We have inherited so much over 300 years that I feel overwhelmed. There is no obvious focal point. What is at the heart of piano world? -- Personally I could not make it through the day without the stimulation of piano performance. My home resounds with music all my waking hours, constantly renewed from the thousand-odd CDs I have accumulated." ----- Picture: The author, Michael Johnson.
Jun 21st 2022
EXTRACT: "This novel is nothing short of a Tolstoian epic.   Author Lawson, a true polymath, is up to the task. He is an accomplished pianist and composer, retired archdeacon of the Church of England and author of some 14 books." ---- "Rounding out his career, Lawson is also a trained psychotherapist who has worked with several pianists, including child prodigies." ----- "I know of no other writer who can draw on such a varied and pertinent background and weave them into a single tale."
Dec 18th 2021
EXTRACT: "......, I read all the time in Russian, French and English. Right now I’m finishing the new book of my favorite Russian author Ludmila Ulitzkaya. Of course, I have read most of classics to Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Bulgakov, Pushkin, Akhmatova. I think it’s important to read Russian literature to understand Russian music, to understand the suffering and the spirituality of the characters of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Bulgakov in order to feel the depth of Rachmaninov’s music. I also read a lot in French and English. For me, it’s important to go from contemporary writers to the classics and back."
Dec 9th 2021
EXTRACT: Q: "Your new CD is a turning point. Why is it so important to you?" ----- "A: It is all Brahms. I really wanted to do it this way. It is very important to me because it is my first solo CD. I’ve been spending a lot of my time working on Brahms, especially the Brahms Paganini Variations and the Handel Variations. I almost grew up with them. "
Dec 3rd 2021
EXTRACT: "A musical theatre legend has died. Stephen Sondheim, the greatest composer-lyricist of his generation, passed away on November 26 at the age of 91. His dramatic genius combined a rare blend of elements, that of an astonishingly versatile and sophisticated composer, and an incredibly witty wordsmith. His extraordinary output includes a staggering 16 musicals as composer and lyricist, a further three as lyricist alone, as well as four musical revues featuring compilations of hit songs from his shows."
Nov 27th 2021
EXTRACT: "Most important  to him, he explained, is maintaining his individuality in interpretation. He feels it was a mistake in his past to pick and choose bits from different teachers and combine them into a finished performance. He has decided to create his own perspective, and 'go for it'."
Oct 28th 2021
EXTRACTS: "The 16th International Beethoven Piano Competition came to a rousing climax in Vienna on 21 October with first prizewinner Aris Alexander Blettenberg’s lyrical rendering of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No 1." ---- "The other two finalists, Austrian Philipp Scheucher and South Korean Dasol Kim, played Beethoven’s Fourth and Fifth Concertos respectively."
Sep 21st 2021
EXTRACT: "Top prize, worth 22,000 euros, went to Jae Hong Park, a flamboyant, emotive player with and a firm grasp of Rachmaninov, and second prize went to Do-Hyun Kim, who played Prokofiev’s second concerto with some considerable verve. Placing third was Lukas Sternath, a young Austrian who performed Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto with cool charm -- the opposite of Park’s style."
Jul 9th 2021
EXTRACT: " .....I have to give everything in these concerts,.... "
Jun 26th 2021
EXTRACT: What do you want to be known as? --- As “Stewart Goodyear, composer and pianist”.
Mar 15th 2021
EXTRACT: Denis Pascal, founder of the French Trio Pascal: ".....recording studios began working again. We recorded our Schubert trios at the end of September. And musicians everywhere are finding that the crisis allows time for a certain introspection and questioning into the way music is performed. Music will play a much more important role after the crisis."
Feb 12th 2021
EXTRACTS: "She began her piano training rather late in life – age 8." ..... "I want to contribute a sense of joy by discovering atypical works that might surprise an educated public. I have great experience and am inclined to share them with anyone who can appreciate them, or as André Gide wrote, anyone “who has an open mind”."
Jan 31st 2021
EXTRACTS: "A new recording of Franz Liszt’s piano compositions presents ten carefully balanced pieces in a double-CD album aptly titled Between Light and Darkness, launched by Piano Classics. The pianist, the veteran French virtuoso Vincent Larderet .... Larderet opens his CD with a moving exploration of Après une Lecture de Dante with a tortured lyricism unmatched by many of his contemporaries who play it. I was stunned the first time I heard his performance. In our interview below, he describes lyricism as “an essential facet of my musical conception. The piano must be able to sing like the human voice.” "