Peter Rothbart

2 months ago | ithaca.com | Peter Rothbart

When the Ukrainian folk quartet DakhaBrakha takes over the State Theatre on March 13, they will be aiming their self-described “ethno-chaos”music at the larger world as much as atIthaca.DakhaBrakha is a Ukraine-based world music vocal group with a core of one male and three female voices whose homeland is under attack. In response, their concerts have increasingly become forums for political statement and their music has taken on an increasing urgency as a cultural response to aggression.

2 months ago | ithaca.com | Peter Rothbart

Ithaca’s geographic isolation – or weather – doesn’t seem to impinge upon its ability to attract world-class chamber music artists. Our venues provide an intimacy often missing from larger metropolitan concert halls. Smaller halls often mean higher overhead and more expensive tickets, but in Ithaca the opposite seems to be true.

2 months ago | ithaca.com | Peter Rothbart

Musicians and composers generally resist having their music pigeon-holed into a single genre. In a pre-streaming world, when record stores set trends by selling records, musicians worried about “which bin are we in?” Today, algorithms decide the virtual bins. This is why so many groups cite their musical influences rather than their style. Or they rename or invent a new genre.

Feb 13, 2025 | ithaca.com | Peter Rothbart

Orchestras love thematic programming. It allows them to organize their concert programs around a common idea that gives the audience focus and familiarity. It allows Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Music Director Guillaume Pirard more creative freedom to bring contemporary works to the concert stage. The Cayuga Chamber Orchestra’s upcoming Flight of Fancy concert on February 22 exemplifies the concept of thematic programming.

Feb 11, 2025 | businessinsider.jp | Peter Rothbart

友達や家族にお金を貸して欲しいと頼まれた時、筆者は返事をする前に６つの点を確認するようにしている。 貸せるお金がある場合、返済を望むか、そしてそれが相手との関係に害を及ばさないか自問する。 借金の使い道を考慮し、そして返済条件を明確にする。 1993年の秋、私の14歳の誕生日の少し前に、私は父と近所のシネコンに『ブロンクス物語／愛につつまれた街（原題：A Bronx Tale）』という映画を観に行った。その映画で主人公カロジェロが、20ドルを貸したままのルーイという男を見つけるシーンが印象に残っている。通りの反対側からカロジェロは大声でルーイに金を返せと怒鳴りつけ、何とか言い訳をして走り去るルーイに、カロジェロは暴言を浴びせるのだ。 カロジェロが憧れる地元マフィアのソニーは、このやりとりを見てカロジェロに聞く。 「そいつは友達か？」 「いや、嫌いだ」とカロジェロが答える。 それに対しソニーがカロジェロを諭すように言う台詞が、私の脳裏に焼き付いている。 「それなら答えは簡単だ。20ドルで縁を切ったと考えろ。二度とカネを貸せと言われない。たった20ドルで済んだんだ」...