There's an article in today's Wall Street Journal that gave me pause. It talks about how some producers and directors of musical theatre are tinkering with many musicals' original playbook; adding or subtracting songs, replacing dialogue that might sound out of date--essentially changing something written in or for a specific place and time.

When I was in high school, I took the Metro-North into New York City every weekend to study classical music. Those weekends I would often end up hanging out with friends in Greenwich Village, and I soon discovered the fading--but still vibrant--jazz scene in places like the Village Vanguard and Smalls.

As with many states across the country, lawmakers in Georgia are facing a big budget shortfall. One of their proposals to help close the gap would eliminate the Georgia Council for the Arts, which supports the arts statewide.

Greetings after a grand hiatus in my blogging activity, due to a healthy-sized sojourn back on home soil (East and West coasts of the U.S.), and some adventures within Italy too, including a recent visit to nearby Palestrina, birthplace of Giovanni Pierluigi da... (Palestrina), memorialized here as the Prince of Music:

This Thursday, the beloved American mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade (known as ‘Flicka’) will sing her farewell recital at Carnegie Hall. When I was a young singer, Frederica von Stade was an important role model for many of us--a young, talented, attractive, hometown girl who made it big! Needless to say, her retirement will serve as a major benchmark in my life.

Do state-subsidized arts companies have a bigger responsibility to present great art or to sell tickets to the tourists who make up a good chunk of their audience?

Hear the New York Philharmonic’s second CONTACT! concert this week on Q2, and read what the blogosphere is saying right now.

Earth Day is this Friday. The idea has come a long way in the four decades since it was first observed, but it seems to me that one of the most obvious consequences of Earth Day must be New York City’s recycling laws, which have us all sorting the paper from the glass, and the glass from the plastic (and the plastic from the plastic--nothing is easy).

Mondays through April bring back a long running vocal recital series to WQXR. On Wings of Song was the brain child of mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne. The series started on stages in 1995 and shortly after that, on the radio. But this series is coming to a halt. Or rather, a change. After this season, it will be folded into The Song Continues, a series at Carnegie Hall.

Who was the most ‘green’ composer? Verdi? OK, a good suggestion, but not where I’m going. My vote would be Vivaldi. It has been said that Vivaldi didn’t write a thousand pieces...he wrote the same piece a thousand times. As Earth Day approaches, our minds are turning to those who were great at RECYCLING. You might call it stealing, borrowing, appropriating, arranging, an accident or (you who are more generous) might call it the use of homage, but we like recycling.

This Saturday, April 17, Hungarian-born singer Marta Eggerth will celebrate her 98th birthday. Knowing Marta, as I’m fortunate to, she will surely have a lively celebration with humor and music.

The article in The New York Times about people who don't like cilantro, and/or manage to acquire a taste for it, reminded me, in a strange way, of Maria Callas.

I’m looking forward to seeing Madama Butterfly at New York City Opera this Friday night with a special group of WQXR Opera Lovers. Naturally, I’ve been thinking about what to wear.

I spent a few hours this weekend in renewed admiration and affection of George Jellinek. We’re planning to re-broadcast some of The Vocal Scene this summer. What are some of your favorite memories of George and of The Vocal Scene?

On my coffee table (more like empty glasses/laptop table) are small stacks of CDs that include Garrick Ohlsson‘s recording of Chopin's Nocturnes and Glenn Gould’s “The Young Maverick” set.

Multi-faceted musician Bobby McFerrin is well known for his style of vocalizing that addresses many musical genres. Perhaps less known is Bobby's father, baritone Robert McFerrin who made history when he sang with New York City Opera in 1949. He also made history when he won the Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air in 1953, which led to a historic appearance at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955.

In January, the innovative string-band Ethel recorded works by eleven student composers of the Chickasaw Nation. The album will be released on Thunderbird Records in June, and is the first of its kind. Q2 brings you exclusive interviews with Chickasaw Nation composers Courtney Parchcorn and Cruise Berry by Ethel violinists Cornelius Dufallo and Mary Rowell, along with excerpts from their compositions.

Some artists, for one reason or another,

Zhou Long simultaneously embraces and transcends our notions of traditional Chinese classical and contemporary Western classical music. Madame White Snake is a beguiling articulation of Zhou's vision.

Over the weekend, I checked out a chamber music concert.