Embracing the opportunity of 2 lifetimes
“It must be soooooo different !!!! ”
That’s what many readers, friends and, yes, even colleagues have been saying to me since last summer, when I added classical music to my decades-long coverage of jazz.
Meaning, I suppose, that I must be experiencing culture shock by reviewing performances in plush concert halls and lavish opera houses, as opposed to the usual dingy jazz clubs, forlorn cabarets and other hovels.
Uh, no.
For though the worlds of classical music and jazz may seem diametrically opposed – and in some ways perhaps are – they have a lot more in common with each other than with everything else out there.
Just to back up a bit: Last spring, when John von Rhein announced his retirement as the Tribune’s classical music critic, my editors asked if I’d be interested in adding that role to my work. It took me about three-quarters of a second to say, “Yes!”
Because, to me, classical and jazz are fundamentally the same: complex, sophisticated musical languages that reward study and preparation. The more you know of music history and theory, the more you derive from symphonies of Mahler and suites of Mingus. Though anyone can enjoy a tune by Mozart or a riff by Charlie Parker, these visionaries created music so profound in meaning On Music