America's Classical Music at 250: A Critical Assessment

In a New York Times essay, critic Joseph Horowitz assesses classical music in the United States at 250 years, arguing that the country has failed to develop a distinct concert canon despite early promise. He contrasts the ambitious founding of orchestras in Boston, Chicago, and New York around 1900 with today's reliance on European repertoire. Horowitz points to a 'culture of performance' that privileges celebrity conductors over composers, and a loss of lineage that makes modern orchestras 'feel it' less than their 1930s-40s predecessors. He highlights positive developments: the New York Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, the Los Angeles Philharmonic's innovative leadership structure, and the South Dakota Symphony's Lakota Music Project, which integrates Native American traditions. The essay notes that the sesquicentenary of Charles Ives was more celebrated in Germany than in the US, signaling eroded cultural memory. Horowitz calls for systemic change, citing a leaked Boston Symphony planning document that proposes thematic festivals and affinity programming.