Opera and the Morbidity of Music

Opera and the morbidity of music by Joseph Kerman. New York : New York Review Books, 2008.

Joseph Kerman’s Opera and the morbidity of music is a collection of thirty essays, most of them published previously in various magazines. Written for general fans of classical music, the pieces avoid getting too technical and the scope of the collection is wide. It includes commentary on composers from early days such as Taverner and Byrd, up to today’s Glass and Adams, taking in Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Verdi, Wagner and others along the way. There are memorial essays for Maria Callas and the conductor Carlos Kleiber offering insights into their special contributions to music.

The book’s title encapsulates its argument. Kerman brushes aside the notion that classical music is in decline or in any danger of losing its audience, and states that opera in particular is vibrant and innovative.

Kerman writes well; he is informative, he offers insights and he makes you want to listen (again or for the first time) to the music he writes about. He has created a good book, one that can be recommended to those who are curious about classical music’s past, its current condition and where it may be heading. ( )

Opera and the Morbidity of Music, although immensely interesting, was a bit of a letdown insofar as I felt as though it was badly mistitled. Opera, a subject on which Joseph Kerman is incredibly well-versed, is tangential at best to the bulk of the essays, and the "morbidity" of concert music is only dealt with in the first two, and never touched upon again. The vast majority of the book deals with composers long dead, usually an invitation for me to avoid a book altogether, but Kerman manages to make each essay engrossing (or, in a few instances, at least skimmable). One can't help, however, but draw the parallel between this book and the concert music world in general - it's hardly any wonder that orchestras etc are struggling, and no longer vital cultural institutions, when new music and living composers (Kerman mentions only six living composers by name, and spends 20 of 355 pages on music written after 1900) are given such short shrift in favor of endlessly beating out the works of composers long dead. The endless discussion and worship of dead guys - there's the morbidity! ( )

I received this book as an ARC quite a while ago and have delayed reviewing it because I have been consuming it essay by essay (30 in all). For me this was a wonderful read; accessible, intelligent and enlightening. It is filled with musical memories and suggestions for future listening.

The premise of the book is that classical music in general is neither morbid nor moribund, using opera as the modus operandi. Kelman argues that classical music is evolving and re-inventing itself and scoffs at the idea that music in classical form is dying.

Of the 30 essays the first 27 are all book reviews - commentaries on several books. There are four book reviews about Mozart, four about Beethoven, one about Berlioz, two about Verdi and three about Wagner which particularly stand out - these essays are wonderfully erudite.

The last three essays (The Art of the Program Note, Maria Callas, Carlos Kleiber) are not book reviews but independent chapters written by the author himself, and again, are amazing with lots of new knowledge encased in an original, and engaging text. The remembrances of Maria Callas and Carlos Kleiber illustrate why they were such extraordinary musicians.

Cogent of historical changes, from the invention of music notation to the advent of recording, Kelman suggests that the venue for continuation of the classical music tradition is opera—noting the plethora of new works, the ongoing production of known and unknown masterpieces and the continuing success of opera companies large and small.

Highly recommended for every music lover, but also for the general public. ( )

This is a collection of newspaper articles. Interesting, if you like the subject ( )

I received an Early Review copy of this book, and tried to read it, but never got past the first 4 or 5 chapters. It's too dry for me, and too remote. I love classical music, but am not really an opera buff, nor a New Yorker. I'd rather listen to the music than read learned essays about it, or about composers or performers, or about performances long past. Trying to read a chapter in bed each night was hopeless. A year later, I still haven't forced myself to try again - too many other more appealing books to read. This book just wasn't as accessible or interesting to a general audience as I had hoped. Oh well... ( )