Although our culture does not systematically place a high value on learning through listening,
almost everyone knows how to read. A great way to reach audience members is through writing
about the music that they are about to listen to. When I attend a concert as an audience member
myself, the first thing I do after sitting down is find the program notes and start reading them. As I
look around the hall, I see that many regular concert-goers join me in this practice.
Some program note annotators are excellent. Other times, the notes can have a dutiful flavor to
them, as though the person writing them is thinking, “I have to say something about this piece for
the booklet.” I try to follow the lead of the better writers, which is to look at notes as an
opportunity to address the audience, to let them know what I think about the music, why it’s
important to me, and how I understand its place in the literature. I put a lot of effort into my
program notes, and sometimes I think they come out pretty well. They can get a little long at
times, but I figure people can always stop reading if they aren't interested in as much detail. I was
especially flattered when the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, an organization with which I
have no affiliation, found my notes on line and borrowed them for their performances of Pictures
at an Exhibition a few seasons ago.
As examples, I have included links to some of my program notes below. If you would like to use
them for your own orchestra or some other purpose, you may, but please contact me first.
Ives: Symphony #2
Mahler: Symphony #1
Nielsen: Symphony #4, "The Inextinguishable"
Shostakovich: Symphony #8
Stravinsky: Suite (1919) from The Firebird
Tchaikovsky: Symphony #6, "Pathétique"
