Kapilow Channels Seuss

As a composer, conductor, and classical music commentator, Rob Kapilow truly knows classical music—from its creation to its presentation to its reception by the general public. The National Public Radio veteran and former Yale music professor has dedicated his career to attuning the untrained ear to the pleasures of classical music. He recently sat down with The Harvard Crimson to discuss his efforts to make classical music accessible to all. His upcoming performance of the Dr. Seuss adaptation “Green Eggs and Hamadeus,” a children’s musical, takes place February 28 at the Tsai Auditorium.



The Harvard Crimson: Many people complain that they feel distanced from classical music, yet music is a powerful communicator. What do you think is lost in translation? What can be done to strengthen the communication between the composer, performers, and audience members?



Rob Kapilow: The fact that so much is lost in translation is at the heart of why I wrote the book “All You Have to do Is Listen: Music from the Inside Out.” My entire life’s work has been an attempt to be a translator between something that seems to be lost in translation but is actually much closer than you would believe.

The whole idea of that book was to explain to the general public how music works. My inspiration for the book grew out of a show called “What Makes It Great,” in which I had 15 minutes per week to explain 15 seconds of music. The show was an attempt to talk about music in an extremely non-technical way and to change the way Americans listened.



THC: You are bringing “Green Eggs and Hamadeus,” a musical that pairs Dr. Seuss’ timeless children’s book with Mozart’s delightful “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.” What did you find compelling about Dr. Seuss’ book and about Mozart that inspired you to combine the two into a musical?



RK: The idea of writing this opera for children grew out of the fact that all the barriers between classical music and the general public—however great they are for adults—are even greater for kids. I wanted to pick an opera libretto that every child would know. Every kid in America has said, “I am Sam. Sam I am.”

I knew that millions of kids and families would flock into a concert hall, because they know every word by heart, but they’ve never heard them sung or set to Mozart’s music. It’s become the most performed piece of music written in the last 50 years.



THC: So you are trying to attract an audience of people who would never have considered attending a classical music concert?



RK: Yes. In order to get audience members to come who normally wouldn’t, I go on AM call-in radio shows and offer four free tickets to people who seem to hate classical music the most. In Omaha, Nebraska, the winner was a woman who complained that classical music had no plot.

I thought that was truly insightful—there are just notes going by, just random sounds. My job is to get people to follow the plot of the music and to understand the language that the plot is being spoken in.

THC: What is it about the stereotypical classical music concert experience that seems to discourage untrained listeners from participating?



RK: There’s so much bad feeling around it, so many “coulds” and “shoulds” and “woulds,” and all of it is nonsense because it has nothing to do with the fundamentals of the music. An author once said, “Two hundred years ago we used to have great love for music but little respect; today we have great respect but no love.” I think there’s nothing worse than respect.

Stravinsky used to say if given the choice between love and respect, he’d take love any day. There is this fake affectation of respect for music, but people aren’t really getting inside it.



THC: Since “Green Eggs and Hamadeus” is targeted towards families, what kind of atmosphere would you like to create for parents and their children at performances?



RK: What’s important to me about all of my events is that they are human experiences rather than one of those artificially stuffy things with all these rules. It’s also really important for kids to know that a concert hall is the most fun place they could possibly go to.

There are few things in our culture that parents can bring their kids to that are enjoyable for both parties. I wanted “Green Eggs and Hamadeus” to be as interesting to the adults as it was for the kids. Dr. Seuss operates on multiple levels, and for me “Green Eggs and Ham” is a parable about prejudice, in which the child teaches the adult. It represents everything we’re sure we won’t like, so we try it....All you have to do is listen, but you have to listen.