Opinion

Editorials are posted and archived on JNonline.us .

Editorial

In Pursuit Of Greatness

A

t a time when the news seems

to reflect only decline and
retrenchment for this area, it
was refreshing to learn that one of its
major cultural institutions, the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra, has renewed a com-
mitment to the highest standards in its
field.
The hiring of Leonard Slatkin as
music director brings in one of the great
names in American classical music. Just
as important, he is someone devoted to
educational outreach and accessible pro-
gramming.
As a Jew, Slatkin follows a trail
marked in our community by Ossip
Gabrilowitsch, who first led the DSO to
national prominence during his 18-year
tenure, and, in more recent years, by Antal
Dorati.
The California-born conductor wants
to restore a distinctive sound to the DSO,
a feature that once was the hallmark
of all great symphony orchestras. He
announced that he would move to this
area when he takes over the position
fulltime next year and plans to become
directly involved in the life of the Detroit
community.
He also says that among his favorite
musical selections are any of the albums
Frank Sinatra made for Capitol Records in

the 1950s "in which the cover showed him inclined to attend one of their perfor-
wearing a hat!'
mances.
The remark is a tacit acknowledgment
The recent death of Luciano Pavarotti
of the problem that all great symphonic
may have marked the last such interna-
organizations face in the 21st century.
tional figure. Also working against Slatkin
Classical music has dropped off the media is the fact that music education has been
charts. Across the country, their subscrip- absent from most public schools for many
tion lists are the most elderly demograph- years, a victim of cost-cutting priorities.
is of any major cultural institution.
So he has his work cut out for him in try-
Up until two decades ago, figures such
ing to expand the DSO's audience.
as Leonard Bernstein and Beverly Sills
Music critic Greg Sandow has writ-
were major celebrities. They were staples
ten that classical music, along with the
on network television and even those
other fine arts, can no longer consider
with no particular interest in "highbrow"
itself apart from the wider culture. "Any
music knew who they were and might be
attempt to revive [the arts] will have to

mean that they engage popular culture
and everything else going on in the out-
side world."
Or as another critic, Terry Teachout,
put it: "Elitist enterprises cannot survive
without the whole-hearted support of a
non-elite democratic public that believes
in their significance."
In Slatkin, the DSO seems to have
picked the right man for that job. His hir-
ing, combined with the re-opening of the
expanded and improved Detroit Institute
of Arts, is heartening developments. Great
cities are defined by their support for
great endeavors. I I

Forever Chelm by Michael Gilbert

RA531, To SimPLIF.

M8 LIFE CAN .YoU
GIVE ME ONE SING1,E
PIECE of ADVICE To

USE IN At\49 SITUATION?

CERTAIM.9 ZALMAN..,

WHENEVER W)U'RE
GIVEN ONI- ONE PIECE
OFAPV
(11.14)AS
"LSE'UK A SECOND

I

04 1

al Vint fill
a ti I I 14 f I P

\..

\\X

O.K. THEN,
OJHE/s.OU HAve-
HOW ABOUT A ONtb Two
SECo N17 PiEcu AtTeg ?ATI l/RS,
OF ADVICE? CHOOSE THE
THIRD I

sr

Airt.i/ 11

.41

Reality Check

Let's Fire Everybody

I

think it was Maurice Chevalier who
said that old age is when a woman still
has the capacity to make you happy
but can no longer make you miserable.
Or maybe it was Pancho Villa. I get them
mixed up sometimes.
But that's how I've come to feel about
sports, if not about women.
If you grow up in Detroit, you soon come
to realize that it probably will not end well
for our teams. "Let's almost win" is encoded
somewhere in our DNA.
The occasional championship is so unex-
pected that its every nuance is treasured
and the triumphant moments nurtured
and analyzed for decades. For most of us,
all we ask is a good run. When it turns out
to be more, we are ambushed by delight.
I think that's why disappointment was so
muted over the Tigers' 2007 season. They
were still playing meaningful games until
the final week; they had the batting champ
and it was an altogether acceptable perfor-
mance.
When the Yankees, on the other hand,

were eliminated from the play-
offs, citizens started running
through the streets of the city
with lighted torches, demand-
ing an end to manager Joe Torre.
Leading the mob was the team's
owner. Odd bunch, Yankees fans.
When I was writing a book
about the University of Michigan
football fan experience, A Season
in the Big House, I was told by
several people that the best com-
parison of the Wolverines program was
with the Yankees.
I rejected this out of hand, since I hate
the Yankees unreservedly. But I've got to
admit the parallels are closer than I'd like
— aside from the fact that the Yankees win
a lot more often.
It is a matter of expectations. Michigan
fans demand a championship going into
every season. They seem to feel it is an
entitlement. Forget the Big 10. That's small
potatoes nowadays. They want it all, the
national title that Michigan has won just

twice in the last 60 years (or
three if you want to count the
disputed 1947 vote).
When those hopes are
dashed, they do not take
it well. In fact, they are
miserable. Unacceptable!
Disgraceful! Lloyd Carr
should be drawn and quar-
tered and his head mounted
on a pole.
I can't argue with the con-
cept that it is time for regime change in
Ann Arbor. The reign of Bo Schembechler
and his acolytes has now gone on for 38
years — a span longer than either Fielding
Yost's or Fritz Crisler's and their successors.
I think the world of Carr. He is a mentsh
in every sense of the word and has done
me kindnesses that I will never forget. But
it's time.
Still, his record as head coach compares
favorably with anyone in the country and
it's hard to understand the depth of the
anger directed at him. Well, maybe Torre

would understand it because all he ever did
was win four World Series.
When I attended the Michigan football
fantasy camp last year the most mov-
ing moment came during a question and
answer session with Carr.
One of the participants — and these
were all people immersed in Michigan
football — got up and said: "This isn't
exactly a question, Coach, but we want you
to know that to us you represent everything
that is good and admirable about football
at Michigan."
Carr was deeply touched as were we
all. But admirable doesn't cut it anymore.
Anger is in, instead.
I'd be a bust on sports talk radio where
anger is the coin of the realm. I'm even
amused by the Lions, who prove year in
and year out that great comedy is timeless.
Maybe I'm growing old. Or maybe just
growing up. I I

George Cantor's e-mail address is
gcantor614@aol.com .

October 18 • 2007

25A

