I stumbled on the question of classical music’s relevance this morning and immediately though, “Relevant to what?” My next thought was that it would be answered by the usual complaints about dead white males and bygone eras.
In fact, the question is posed and answered by our own Professor Carol, who occasionally graces this blog with her writing. Today she took up this issue at a new blog called “Music After 50,” a site worth visiting.
The topic is highly relevant on this blog, despite our tendency to get mired in the ephemeral problems of the day. In the future, when every person holding office in the federal government has been replaced and the political debate has shifted to entirely new topics, people will still ponder the things that express our common culture (or that failed in that regard) and our highest aspirations. Today, unfortunately, the highest aspirations of many involve fracturing the common culture and replacing it with trendy pabulum.
So what does Professor Carol say about music?
It’s more than relevant. We can discard outmoded technology without discarding the science behind it. But our cultural heritage is a different matter.
Culture is defined by what gets passed from generation to generation. Symphonies, operas, oratorios, sonatas, and other “old” types of music retain their powerful, even life-altering message for us today. Deprived of that message, we are weakened as a society.
The problem is not that classical music no longer speaks to us. Rather, we have become too distracted to listen.
January 6th, 2010
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Fitzroy |
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If you have not visited Professor Carol’s “Circle of Scholars,” you should. There you will find the focus on things more enduring than politics. Think about it. Kings used music as a symbol of their power, and now the music remains long after the monarchies have crumbled.
On the other hand, the Church uses music as a reminder of things transcendant, and now unto us a child is born.
This Christmas Eve I commend Professor Carol’s elaboration on “O Holy Night.”
December 24th, 2009
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Fitzroy |
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What is the most famous four-note melody in the world? One where three of the four pitches repeat the same note?
Now that’s a toss-up: either the opening of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, a.k.a. “Fate Knocking at the Door” (dah-dah-dah dum) or . . . ready?. . . “Happy Birthday!” (dah-dah-de-dah).
But today, December 16th, you don’t have to choose. It’s Beethoven’s birthday! He’d be 239 years old today, not an anniversary that sparks commemorative festivals, but still a date to note.
Beethoven lived a tumultuous life of 57 years (1770-1827), a reasonable lifespan for his day. Subsequent generations took this restless, reclusive composer and turned him into the standard-bearer for Romanticism. And those portraits of his, the ones with rushes of hair and dark eyes piercing your soul [Joseph Carl Stieler]—well, they serve today as icons of “Artistic Genius.”
Beethoven would find all of this astonishing.
As it turns out, Beethoven’s music outlasted 200+ plus years of stylistic change. It still speaks to vast numbers of people. And although we consider Beethoven the quintessential “genius-rebel” today, he had little choice but to bow and scrape continually. It was customary, then, to write in self-deprecating prose to achieve every objective. Trying to learn in 1823 how King George IV responded to his gift of a score of Battle of Vittoria, Beethoven couldn’t simply ask. He had to write:
In thus presuming, herewith, to submit my most obedient prayer to Your Majesty, I venture at the same time to supplement it with a second [letter]. . . . For many years the undersigned cherished the sweet wish that Your Majesty would graciously make known the receipt of his work to him; but he has not been able to boast of this happiness. . . .
In other words “Hey, King George, what about that piece I sent you?”
Beethoven might have preferred our modern age, where celebrities’ personalities rise up flamboyantly and, if there’s enough media attention, give them leave for seemingly any action. But it’s highly unlikely our present age would inspire the depth, intensity, and originality found in those impassioned note he scribbled on paper.
Happy Birthday Beethoven!
December 16th, 2009
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For the record, I opposed the New York Philharmonic’s trip to North Korea in 2008, and I think it’s fair to say that many of those in the music world thought it was a splendid idea (Terry Teachout and Norman Lebrecht being notable exceptions). My reasoning included the fact that, although Lorin Maazel mouthed some platitudes about music remaining apolitical, Maazel himself politicized the event before embarking, equating North Korea’s human-rights record with our own:
“People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw bricks, should they?” Mr. Maazel demanded. “Is our standing as a country — the United States — is our reputation all that clean when it comes to prisoners and the way they are treated? Have we set an example that should be emulated all over the world? If we can answer that question honestly, I think we can then stop being judgmental about the errors made by others.”
Now comes this report on Clare College Choir’s planned trip to Israel.
The College Choir plans to visit Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Karmiel, performing J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, during their tour, which will last from December 23rd to 29th. On Christmas Eve they will be singing in the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, followed by Midnight Mass in Jerusalem.
Some are condemning the tour:
Concerns revolve around the tour’s potential political implications. Signatory Dr Raymond Deane, an Irish composer and political activist, told Varsity, “Those of us involved in culture can’t stand back and pretend that we inhabit some ethereal realm remote from the real world. Tours by artists such as the Choir of Clare College will be exploited by the lavishly funded Israeli propaganda machine as proof of the ‘normality’ and ‘acceptability’ of the Israeli rogue state - which is neither normal nor acceptable.”
What’s the difference between this trip and the New York Philharmonic’s trip to North Korea? Just to name a few: (a) performing a Christmas concert in the Holy Land has a bit more cultural grounding than performing Beethoven in Pyongyang; (b) Israel, a democracy with a free press, can express varying views on the visit whereas only one account of the Philharmonic’s visit would emerge from North Korea; (c) the Israeli government fosters a free exchange of cultural offerings.
But this is likely to be one of those instances in which people who opposed the New York Philharmonic trip to North Korea will support the Clare College Choir trip to Israel, and vice versa. And some will note that I am one of those people.
Quite right. While I generally support artistic exchanges, I think there is a fundamental difference between touring a democratic state with which the free world has diplomatic relations and touring a slave state with no diplomatic ties. I am happy to part company with the nihilists who can’t see that distinction, and to part company with those who would deny Israel a right to defend its citizens from the never-ceasing terrorist campaign aimed against it.
I might even change my mind about North Korea, if it were to host a performance of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in a Christian Church at which its citizens were free to worship. But unlike Israel . . .
November 30th, 2009
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Fitzroy |
Music, Politics |
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In the ongoing effort to normalize the public display of everything sexual, Adam Lambert has caused people to pause (probably only briefly) to consider whether this is a necessary or even good thing.
Lambert argues that he is subject to a double standard since same-sex kisses and other displays of intimacy among female entertainers have been broadcast by the TV networks.
Reuters reports that ABC received 1,500 complaints from Lambert’s recent antics – a pitifully small number. That may reflect the size of the audience, but it probably says more about the nature of the audience. A vast swath of normal people from almost every demographic has surely tired of the increasingly feckless efforts of the entertainment industry to shock us.
Long ago broadcasters stopped giving us any reason to tune in, and they are now running out of ways to convince their dwindling audience to tune out.
Lambert says he didn’t mean to offend anyone by sticking his co-performers’ heads in his crotch. And his protestation rings true to an extent. He wants his own peculiar amusements to be perceived not as offensive, but as normal.
On the other hand, when the public display of such things becomes truly normal, entertainers may have to rediscover art as a means of attracting and holding an audience. And therein lies Lambert’s problem. Is he an artist or just a queer? Can he offer his audience something they value, or is it all about him?
In short, do Lambert’s talents extend to music? People who happened to be homosexual have made tremendous contributions to the arts. Their art is widely celebrated; their homosexuality is celebrated only in college classrooms.
On a somewhat related topic, I was intrigued by the ironic title of Mary Eberstadt’s recent article in First Things: “How Pedophilia Lost its Cool.” The article demonstrates, however, that the title is not ironic at all. In fact, pedophilia was recently making a play for mainstream acceptance among self-appointed sophisticates. For example:
In 1998 the prestigious Psychological Bulletin, published by the American Psychological Association, printed a subsequently notorious study called “A Meta-Analytic Examination of Assumed Properties of Child Sexual Abuse Using College Samples.” In it, three researchers took issue with “the common belief that child sexual abuse causes intense harm, regardless of gender.” The authors further criticized the use of conventional terms such as victim and perpetrator and recommended that “a willing encounter with positive reactions” be labeled “simply adult–child sex.”
Roman Polanski’s arrest pushed this issue to the forefront and highlighted the isolation of those who jumped to Polanski’s defense. Only Hollywood, it seems, failed to understand that art is not a defense to child abuse.
So there is something to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day. We can hope that the world took a look a pedophilia and indeed decided that it was not cool. We can hope that the entertainment industry, despite having an enormous megaphone for its opinions, truly is out of touch with society.
We can hope that Adam Lambert will either discover aesthetics and find an audience, or be largely forgotten – merely a social commentator with nothing much to say.
November 26th, 2009
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Fitzroy |
Media, Music |
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November 4 was an interesting day.
At the White House, it was “Classical Music Day.” A day for paying attention to one of the cornerstones of Western Civilization. The other 1,460 days of Obama’s four-year term will apparently be free of such tedium. Obama seemed ill at ease with high art. Somewhat refreshingly, however, he turned his sights away from Bush and took a cheap shot at another former President, pointing out that John Kennedy also didn’t know when to applaud.
As everybody else in the country focused on the election returns and what they portend for the Democrat’s agenda, the White House claimed that Obama did not watch the election returns on Tuesday night. Are we to believe the President is less interested in politics than everyone else? Contrary to earlier reports, he did not spend election night watching an HBO documentary about himself. He had seen it a few days earlier. Despite having that pressing chore accomplished, Obama apparently still has not made a decision on Afghanistan or invited General McChrystal over for a chat.
People in Teheran noticed that November 4 was the 30th anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy and the taking of hostages. Protestors there continue to blame America for their problems, despite the administration’s decision to abandon belligerence in favor of sweetness and light.
Obama did have time to issue a “masterpiece of appeasement” as Michael Ledeen calls it,
and all but groveled in begging the leaders of the Islamic Republic to make a deal:
I have made it clear that the United States of America wants to move beyond this past, and seeks a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran based upon mutual interests and mutual respect.
He could not spare a single word for the plight of the people of Iran, who were being beaten, clubbed, stabbed and shot as he issued his statement. He went on:
We do not interfere in Iran’s internal affairs. We have condemned terrorist attacks against Iran. We have recognized Iran’s international right to peaceful nuclear power. We have demonstrated our willingness to take confidence-building steps along with others in the international community. We have accepted a proposal by the International Atomic Energy Agency to meet Iran’s request for assistance in meeting the medical needs of its people. We have made clear that if Iran lives up to the obligations that every nation has, it will have a path to a more prosperous and productive relationship with the international community.
NBC News reported the Iranian protestors chanting “Obama, Obama, either you’re with them or with us.” Somebody needs to tell them that quoting George Bush is not likely to win over the current White House.
Meanwhile, Joshua Bell accomplished what General McChrystal has not: he got quality face time with Obama.
Memo to McChrystal: think about taking up an instrument, and make sure there are no HBO paeans to Obama on the day you want to visit the White House.
November 5th, 2009
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Fitzroy |
Music, Politics |
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Professor Carol offers her thoughts on the ever-popular Carmina Burana in a podcast entitled “A Modern Medieval Mega-Hit.”
Carl Orff selected vivid poems from a Medieval manuscript and super-charged them with color and energy to create the mega-hit “Carmina Burana” in 1937. An innovative music educator and proponent of Eurhythmics, Orff poured his understanding of natural melody and rhythm into this theatrical work, a spectacle for ear and eye.
September 15th, 2009
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Fitzroy |
Education, Music |
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The 60s are alive and well in Germany. What was billed as a light show on the Marktplatz in Weimar this past weekend came with mountains of technical equipment and molehills of creativity.
When it started at 9 p.m., I couldn’t help thinking how it reminded me of our student composition recitals as an undergraduate. It comprised a grand effort to do everything that could be done. It spared no pretense.
The show began with alphorns on top of the control booth played by people in white sheets and chef hats, performers in windows all around the platz, a center stage with shadow dancing behind white drapes, search lights scanning the area, red lights in a few rooms of the Rathaus, a Männerchor on the Rathaus balcony. A children’s chorus entered purposefully in a long line and headed for the stage by the control booth, taking three steps forward, two steps backward, dip, repeat. People dressed in metallic costumes posed as statues on ladders, moved the ladders and posed again. Neptune stood waist deep in the fountain. A jazz ensemble played from a cage like the go-go girls in the 60s. Technical glitches, electronic sound effects, painted faces, narrations, and balloons abounded. The searchlights searched for the balloons. Amateur dancers, clowns, people of dubious gender, acrobats, and brass bands took turns attempting to add energy to the lethargic pace. The children’s chorus sang African songs with clapping routines. The shadow dancing was replaced by a trampoline. When 10 o’clock rolled around it seemed to be hitting a climax and I thought maybe the end of the hour would cause an arbitrary cessation, like John Cage would have done, and put us all out of our misery. But no, it continued on with the rap episode, the band playing Russian music, Japanese robotic dancers above the Thuringian restaurant (which a friend assured me symbolized Hiroshima), the bass player in the jazz band climbing around the outside of his cage, the Männerchor crossing the square to switch places with the children’s chorus, narrated breathing in and out exercises (altogether now, “atmet ein; atmet aus”), the sax player breathing in and out, more balloons and a rope trick. Finally the children’s chorus reentered the square on bicycles, and I thought surely this is the finale. But no, we needed to have a bad brass band (on par with a 1A middle school band in rural Texas) march on stage, more clowns, and the emcee trying to whip up the crowd with chants of “Bauhaus is coming.” The crowd muttered. The children’s chorus and the band marched leisurely out of the square. There was hope. But then the clown fire department had to come in and take the emcee away (an event that might have brought cheers an hour earlier). And then a new emcee had to take the stage and spend ten minutes reading off the list of credits. He brought his buddy on stage for some hugs. A single roman candle went off, and at 11 o’clock the crowd offered tepid applause and drifted away. It was so much like a 60s “happening,” so unbelievably self-indulgent, so pointless, I finally understood why smoking dope was important in the 60s. We could not endure the artistic nonsense without it.
September 14th, 2009
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It is becoming easier to hold people accountable these days. The PR professionals with big budgets can’t do much in the face of some pointed and well-executed criticism on YouTube, this time from Dave Carroll.
“This struck a chord with us,” said a spokeswoman for United. “We are in conversation with one another to make what happened right.”
No kidding. With YouTube views in six figures, what United thought was just Dave Carroll’s petty problem is becoming United’s public relations nightmare.
July 9th, 2009
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Fitzroy |
Commerce, Music |
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John Hinderaker at Power Line took a sensible position on the death of Michael Jackson:
I once did a post called “My Thoughts on Britney Spears,” which for some reason I can’t find in our archives, at a time when she was in the news. It set the record as shortest blog post ever. I don’t have anything to say about Michael Jackson, either; his career mostly coincided with a period in which I wasn’t listening to popular music and I never thought much about him one way or another.
I have been fortunate, I think, to keep company with Hinderaker in this regard and to be blissfully unconcerned about Michael Jackson throughout his career.
But that requires some clarification. It is Michael Jackson the musician and entertainer that bored me. In other respects, he aptly represented some of the most disturbing trends in modern culture, and we would do well amid all the wailing to consider the column by Linda Stasi: “Shed No Tears for this Twisted Sicko.”
OK, I said it — and it’s about time somebody had the nerve to say what millions of people must feel and believe about the once-talented black man who turned himself into a white woman before turning himself into a monster.
But you’d never know any of that if you’d listened for the past week to the endless prattle from the sickening, fawning media and all those Hollywood music phonies who were crying crocodile tears over someone they’d mostly avoided like, well, a pedophile.
Pop music stopped being interesting when it stopped being about music. As a purely social phenomenon, it has nothing positive to offer. Jackson’s life and career epitomize this shift as he moved from talented musician to carnival freak, foraging on an infantile indulgence of every urge.
In his defense, he probably didn’t reach the depths of his personal hell without a lot of help from his friends. The most troubling part, though, is that he had millions upon millions of such friends, fans, willing enablers, or whatever you want to call them.
Stasi concludes:
The King of Pop was a great entertainer — innovative beyond anyone the world had ever seen — but he turned into a disgustingly depraved man who hung an infant off a balcony and forced his kids to walk around with masks, veils, towels and even nets over their faces.
I take issue with the parenthetical. The world has seen innumerable innovators that far surpass Michael Jackson. Jackson will not merit even an honorable mention in the realm of musical innovation, and there is no honor in the other innovations that will define his legacy.
July 2nd, 2009
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Fitzroy |
Music |
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