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James Judd on Music, Politics, and the Future of Orchestras By JONATHAN YATES
James Judd will conduct the Juilliard Orchestra for the first time this month.
His 11-day residency, packed with rehearsals, will culminate with the
orchestra's performance in Alice Tully Hall on February 27, of a program that
includes works of Ravel, Dutilleux, and Schumann. Judd brings with him an
impressive musical resume: At 24, he was invited by Lorin Maazel to be the
assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra. Shortly thereafter, Claudio
Abbado hired him as associate conductor at the European Community Youth
Orchestra. Judd is particularly well known for his exceptional tenure as music
director of the Florida Philharmonic, a post he held for 14 years. During that
time, he took singular steps to try to shore up the orchestra's shaky
finances: In 1995 he suspended conducting the orchestra to devote his energies
to fund-raising, and during 2000 declined most of his salary. Though the
orchestra eventually folded, Judd has been widely lauded as having brought a
new level of artistry to South Florida. He is currently the music director of
the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and will assume the post of music director
of the Malaysian Philharmonic in 2005. Yet in conversation with Maestro Judd,
his achievements take a back seat to his remarkable passion for music itself,
and for its importance in contemporary society. During the course of our
telephone interview, he articulated a clear vision of the direction he feels
classical music needs to move in order to thrive—and, indeed, survive.
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| James Judd |
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He links many of the problems in the American classical music scene to the
current state of U.S. politics. "There's such a lack of truth in politics
today, and of course it is very convenient not to have the arts around,
because the arts are all about truth—and that's why we do music," he observes.
Judd is further disheartened by the lip service the government pays to funding
for the arts. "Surely, there has to be some kind of sane balance between
public and private money—that seems to be how it works well in the other parts
of the world. If the government were to make a real statement, rather than
just giving a cosmetic kind of nod to the arts—if they gave the money they
spend on one missile to every orchestra—that
would show that they recognize the importance of the arts. After all, what do
we remember about a civilization? I think countries like England and the
United States have a great deal to learn from some of the smaller countries.
Look at Finland, for example; look at Spain. In Spain, concert halls are
springing up all over the place, and they're full of people. It's not
something unusual; it's just part of life. They listen to their rock music and
eat their food and they're passionate about their sports—but there's a quality
of life, a roundedness to it, that is more than just bottom-line materialism."
The condition of politics being what it is, Judd feels that modern composers
have a special responsibility to make sure that classical music remains
relevant. "I wish more composers today would be writing about really burning
causes," he says. "We forget that Beethoven wrote the "Eroica" and then
scratched out the dedication to Napoleon. It wasn't just a nice little story;
it was because he was so fervently angry with Napoleon, whom he thought of as
a democrat, and then discovered wasn't. What would he be doing today? What
would he be writing today about the current situation? What would Bernstein be
doing? Where is the passion? That's one of the reasons why classical music is
disappearing. It's because the anger and the outspokenness are in the popular
culture. Classical music is just sort having a nice day."
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| James Judd conducts the New Zealand Symphony. He is music director of that ensemble.
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Having witnessed the closing of a major regional orchestra, Judd is
particularly passionate on what will be required of musicians to ensure that
many more American orchestras don't succumb to the fate of the Florida
Philharmonic. "One has to examine the entire economic equation. But probably
some of us are just too demanding. Some of us who are paid rather
nicely—soloists and conductors—we've got to look at the fees we get," he
suggests. "We've got to all put the arts first, and reorganize—restructure a
little bit, in my view. Musicians in orchestras have got to have more control
over their lives, and work in harmony with those who are running orchestras.
The current systems need to be examined … if something's not working and we're
looking ahead to a time where there can be real catastrophes, let's change
something. Let's do something fundamental to give all musicians a better life,
and more sense of involvement and freedom—and where we can get back to really
addressing the music they love."
But for all of the changes Judd sees that need to be made, he asserts that a
substantial audience for classical music does exist, one which the mainstream
media has failed to portray fairly. "There are more people listening today to
classical music than ever before," he insists. "More people are listening to
recordings than ever before. Yes, the big recording companies have been taken
over by bigger companies who want bigger profit lines, who see that the profit
line on classical isn't big enough and just jettison the classical. Concert
halls are twice as big as they used to be, so when you see a hall that's
three-quarters full, you say it's half-empty instead of saying that there are
more people here than there would have been at a concert 40 years ago in a
smaller hall."
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Juilliard Orchestra
James Judd, conductor
Alice Tully Hall
Friday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m.
For time and ticket information, please
see
the calendar.
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Judd is no less idealistic in his approach to conducting. The paradigm he
promotes is far removed from the autocratic method of great conductors
past—and yet, it is evident that the integrity of his vision also derives from
a reverence for them. "The music director must be the soul of the orchestra in
a way—must bring things together, be a chef, a great catalyst … I think what
Szell said in Cleveland, and others have said, is true: it's all chamber
music," he states. "It's all give-and-take between the music director and the
musicians. It's that lightness and that extraordinary, telepathic kind of
communication which is so wonderful—when you see it with a great orchestra,
it's just miraculous." He will no doubt bring these high standards to his new
post in Malaysia, but he is also drawn to larger-scale issues there. "It's a
really international orchestra, from all over the world. It's at a very high
level. The Malaysian government and Petronas have devoted the resources to
bring music into the culture; I think there are more Malaysian music students
studying what we call the associated board exam than in any other country in
the world. There's this huge undercurrent of music-making." About his new
post, he continues: "I think it's a very interesting challenge. It's a country
where there's an interesting mix of religions and of cultures. It'll be
fascinating to see how music in that part of the world will be able to bring
peoples together, how music can perhaps be a signpost towards better
understanding. It might be too grand to think in those kinds of terms, but I
think that's what it's all about."Jonathan Yates is a graduate diploma candidate in conducting.
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