tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10680113.post5115672057252062884..comments2024-03-23T11:40:13.092-05:00Comments on Musical Assumptions: Natural Selection in MusicElaine Finehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14248422399226824168noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10680113.post-86498189616203936412011-06-13T23:46:59.708-05:002011-06-13T23:46:59.708-05:00The number of musicians who want to earn a living ...The number of musicians who want to earn a living by doing music is far greater than the number of musicians who actually do, even if they produce something that people want to hear. <br /><br />Oddly, I have played concerts that have combined Beethoven symphonies with newer music, and people have enjoyed the juxtaposition. What each listener prefers has a great deal to do with the interpretation of the individual work, and not the work itself. I have found that audiences tend to respond to the degree of engagement that performing musicians have in what they are doing. If musicians are engaged, audiences will be. Whether a given population has the wherewithal (financial and otherwise) to support its local performing organizations is another story. <br /><br />Live music, particularly of the "classical kind" has to compete with other forms of entertainment. Where I live there is a larger audience for church services and activities, pancake breakfasts, school sports events, 4-H events, and bingo games than there ever would be for a classical concert. I have no interest in attending those events, and I do most of my professional playing out of town.<br /><br />Another note: I find it sad to think that anyone would consider listening to a piece of music as a passive activity.Elaine Finehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14248422399226824168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10680113.post-29491446508929833512011-06-13T21:15:41.320-05:002011-06-13T21:15:41.320-05:00Sure, those arts all have burdensome pasts (burden...Sure, those arts all have burdensome pasts (burdens to the living creators who are expected to know about all of them), but only classical music pairs new works with old ones. A new symphony is never going to be as well received as the Beethoven symphony on the second half of the concert. And the audience really is there to hear Beethoven - again. A theater company doesn't have to produce Shakespeare to stay in business.<br /><br />Also, those other arts have essential narrative story lines which can be used to make commentary on timely issues; i.e. to make them lively. Music is essentially abstract - unless words are added. You'd never know what La Mer or Penderecki's Threnody were about except for the titles (which were both added after the music was finished).<br /><br />As for "music is about doing" - that's true ... if you're a musician. I have decided to go off in a corner and do my own music in whatever way I please, a luxury afforded by modern technology. <br /><br />Mostly, however, music is fueled by listeners. Musicians who want to earn a living doing music have to produce something listeners want to hear. Listening to music is just about the most passive artistic activity I can think of - more so than even watching television (which requires that you keep your eyes open). <br /><br />I'm not suggesting that classical music will disappear because it's no longer a living art form (IMO). (Although symphonies seem to be going out of business left and right.) I am suggesting that classical music is an art form focused primarily on the past. In my estimation, that's not a healthy situation.David Ockerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03468370745653879674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10680113.post-54331449782686004422011-06-12T23:16:29.639-05:002011-06-12T23:16:29.639-05:00How about visual art? That is as burdened by the ...How about visual art? That is as burdened by the past as music. How about poetry? How about literature? How about plays?<br /><br />There is a far longer "record" since musical notation has only been around for less than a millennium.<br /><br />The thing about music is it happens everywhere, especially "classical music." It happens in private places, in little towns, and it happens in apartments in big cities. It is about doing.Elaine Finehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14248422399226824168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10680113.post-73174569607633514222011-06-12T21:49:00.807-05:002011-06-12T21:49:00.807-05:00Elaine: I really like the phrase "The past is...Elaine: I really like the phrase "The past is vast." Let's hope the future is even vaster.<br /><br />I can't think of another art form as burdened by the past as classical music is. There are countless recordings of centuries of pieces which we're all supposed to know. There are huge institutions to support an orchestra ensemble whose instrumentation hasn't changed meaningfully in over a century. Musicologists dig up more manuscripts for ensembles to record. Conservatories turn out more and more graduates for which jobs? Most fans of classical music seem to be turned around facing into the past.<br /><br />Okay, that bothers me a lot. But there must be something back there in the music of the past that people want. Surveys have shown that the #1 reason people listen to classical music is because it's ... relaxing. Right now, just for the sake of this post, I tuned in to CalmRadio.com - guess what I happened to tune in on ... Beethoven #9. <br /><br />I changed the channel - I've sworn never to listen to that piece again ever. But somewhere, even this very second, someone is listening to Beethoven's Ninth for the very first time and they are incredibly moved by it. I would not have it otherwise. But if that person lives his or her entire life thinking that one particular piece is the most meaningful music can ever ever be, then I must conclude that listening to a live performance of it is like seeing a painting in a museum. Museums are where we keep the hallowed, dead art.<br /><br />Actually, I can go beyond suggesting that classical music is a form of museum. I can suggest that it is form of Church - but if I did that I'd be here all night. Church of Beethoven anyone? (Yes, it's real.)David Ockerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03468370745653879674noreply@blogger.com