Sorry this has taken so long to get posted. it's been a crazy weekend, but my fall concert at the Salvation Army went well. You'll all be glad to know that "Hip-Hip Cross Buns" was a big hit!
If a Tree Falls...
A collection of writings on concert performance, attendance, and relevance.
"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"
This may be an old, cliché philosophical question raised by people in an attempt to sound smart or be thought provoking, but it also has some relevance in the world of contemporary music performance. Its companion question might be: "If a telephone pole falls surrounded by an adoring crowed, is it really music?" You see, as orchestras declare bankruptcy and beloved (by some) "classical" music appears to be toppling, the role of music in the lives of 21st century Americans is growing. One can't walk across a college campus without encountering countless students accompanying their lives with a soundtrack provided by their Beats (by Dr. Dre) headphones. To the classical musician, music is a glorious tree growing from a central trunk of tonality and blossoming into countless branches of artistic and enlightening expression. Their tree is complex and intelligent, profound and exhilarating, but does it matter if no one's there to hear? These same champions of Art Music are angered and dismayed when they see the huddled masses gathered around and celebrating what to them is only the destroyed remains of their beloved tradition, only the trunk of what was once a beautiful tree.
Not all people agree about the state of Art Music. Some reject the idea that it is in trouble at all. Others suggest that its decline is not a bad thing. While still others believe that this is a problem that needs to be fixed. Even within these different viewpoints there is no consensus. The truth is that throughout history people have drawn similar lines in the sand at moments of cultural transformation. Those people who reject that something is changing are unlikely to read this anthology. Therefore, this anthology will look at this issue from two of these different perspectives:
1. Tree Huggers: an attempt to save.
2. Lumberjacks: encouraging the fall.
Dang! I had meant to try to catch that concert. Next time!
ReplyDeleteIn the first chapter of Listen to This, Alex Ross quotes Charles Rosen: "The death of classical music is perhaps its oldest continuing tradition." If Rosen has written further on this topic, I am certain it would make for interesting reading.