Random Monday: Sad Musicians, Blogging from IHS and AZ in crisis

Back from a 2-week break.

• Sad musicians

  At Expressing the inexpressible blogger Max Levinson asks, “why are orchestra musicians so very, very, very unhappy?”

  As a solo pianist his perspective is an interesting read. It offers a different perspective for a ensemble musician who sits in a large group. Since I blog on that topic here quite a bit, I gave a shot at addressing the issue in his comments section.

• The cost of a college degree

  An op-ed article at The Chronicle of Higher Education wonders if academia is experiencing a bubble that is about to burst. As costs rise for a college degree, students from lower income families may get left behind.

  With tuitions, fees, and room and board at dozens of colleges now reaching $50,000 a year, the ability to sustain private higher education for all but the very well-heeled is questionable. According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, over the past 25 years, average college tuition and fees have risen by 440 percent — more than four times the rate of inflation and almost twice the rate of medical care. Patrick M. Callan, the center’s president, has warned that low-income students will find college unaffordable.

• IHS Symposium

  Several bloggers have posted reports from the recent International Horn Society symposium held in Macomb, Illinois.

  • Tina Barkan at the Newhornist’s Blog posted 7 reports — start here with Day One.
  • John Ericson at the Horn Notes Blog compiled his impressions in one post, updated five times.

• Wedding bliss

  A story in the New York Times features two young musicians: Ariella Perlman, a daughter of the violinist Itzhak Perlman, and Robert Johnson, the newly-appointed principal horn of the Dayton Philharmonic.

• Traits of great players

  David Thomas over at The Buzzing Reed offers some deliciously superb food-for-thought in “Five Traits of Great Players.”

• Dry humor

  From Robert Levine at Abu Bratsche:

  It’s truly remarkable how often in the Mahler 8th I have to play inaudibly, even when the dynamic is mf or greater. I find myself having to remember to play forte in the rare passages where there are no singers. Just how many thousands of children did he have in his childrens chorus, I wonder?

  It takes a lot of kids to out-shout 12 horns, or however many there are back there (as a violist, my numbering system is “1,2,3,…many.”)

• Arizona budget crisis

  A post at the District 20 Democrats blog sums up the current atmosphere in the Arizona legislature. Basically if it has anything to do with Arts, it gets cut. Severely.