Who is leading the classical music scene today?

[jochanaan]

Maciek, I wonder what would happen if, as they've threatened from time to time, Texas and some other states would suddenly secede from the USA?  Would they be "ex-United States"?   (That's not just idle talk, either; there are many Texans who still feel that Texas' 1845 annexation into the US was illegal and wrong.)

[Maciek]

What I think? Well, if the majority of their inhabitants said they didn't feel more American than (say) Texan, then I think it would be appropriate to honor what they say about their identity and call them Texan without referring to their previous "Americanness"... But only in the very unlikely case of them actually seceding... 0:)

BTW, in the same context, I'd like to quote a post by Christo from the old forum (sorry for leading this thread so far off topic ):

it's not much more appropriate to discuss cultures as far apart as Armenia and 18th century Bohemia under the one heading of 'Soviet republics', than it would be to group the British Channel islands together with Norwegian and Ukrainian composers under the heading of 'Nazi territories'.

Besides, as the Nazi occupation wasn't generally considered to be a jolly good idea, the same applies to the Stalinist occupation of much of Central Europe. And especially this second occupation is still far too recent, with too many wounds left open, to regard it as no more than just a historical phenomenon.

Anyway, I don't think composers are the ones leading the classical music scene today. It's the performers, or even more so the old big labels. Yes, Naxos and the like are putting out enormous numbers of discs - but they are not as visible as the "old" labels which apparently spend a lot on advertising.

Maciek

[greg]

i would say Finnish composers are leading the way today, probably

[karlhenning]

You would, they are?

[greg]

You would, they are?

yeah, i think so. especially if you count Saariaho as being Finnish even though she's living in Paris.

[greg]

but in 2nd place, I'd say America, with Glass, Adams, Carter, Wuorinen, etc.

[karlhenning]

I guess the question is, what does "leading the music scene" mean?

[Harry]

Its very simple, I lead the music scene, by my excessive buying habits.
So, that's settled then, question answered.

[karlhenning]

Oh, that is inarguable, mijn vriend! 

[Harry]

Oh, that is inarguable, mijn vriend! 

Really, well I thought it was as sure as could be. But then again maybe I live in to narrow a space, surrounded only by piles of CD's.
Makes one rather onesided, and peculiar. The odd one out maybe?

[Steve]

Its very simple, I lead the music scene, by my excessive buying habits.
So, that's settled then, question answered.

And the rest of us form your loyal entourage.... 

[Harry]

I graciously accept this devoted bow. 0:)

[sidoze]

Which culture, country, school, or group is leading the classical (used loosely) music scene now and today?

In terms of piano performance--bringing new interpretations, new sounds to old classics--a few are clearly out there on their own. Sokolov, Pogorelich, Pletnev, Gekic and Mustonen come to mind first and foremost. All 5 offer new and sometimes quite shocking interpretations--enough so for some people to walk out of their performances. You could say they lead by example.

On the far side of the spectrum, although they fill large concert halls, pianists like Brendel, Pollini, Schiff, and Kovacevich do little else than an ordinary run-through. You could say they lead by sales.

[jochanaan]

...On the far side of the spectrum, although they fill large concert halls, pianists like Brendel, Pollini, Schiff, and Kovacevich do little else than an ordinary run-through. You could say they lead by sales.

*shakes head* If you think Alfred Brendel and Maurizio Pollini are mere "run-through artists," you have less musical sensitivity than I thought.  Brendel in particular is always dead-on yet eminently flexible in his readings, especially in his beloved Austro-German Romantics; and Pollini has laid down some of the most exciting records I've ever heard, including Bartok's Piano Concertos #1 and #2 with Claudio Abbado and the Chicago Symphony on DG.

[Choo Choo]

But Pollini's recent recitals lend more support to Tony's comment.  Just 2 weeks ago I heard him play Chopin and Liszt here in London, and if "run-through" is not an appropriate description of that, it's because "walk-through" would be better.  The programmed Chopin pieces were the identical "headline" items which I've heard him play many times now, and the Liszt programme was the exact selection to be found on his DG disk of a few years ago.  Even the encores were the same tried & tested old warhorses that he trots out on auto-pilot: La cathédrale engloutie, Revolutionary Etude, Ballade #1.  Very much a "greatest hits" tour.

Audibly he does not have the power in his fingers that he once had, and he seems to have lost inspiration as well.

I think those of us who were waiting for the rest of his Beethoven cycle should probably forget about it.

[sidoze]

*shakes head* If you think Alfred Brendel and Maurizio Pollini are mere "run-through artists," you have less musical sensitivity than I thought.  Brendel in particular is always dead-on yet eminently flexible in his readings, especially in his beloved Austro-German Romantics; and Pollini has laid down some of the most exciting records I've ever heard, including Bartok's Piano Concertos #1 and #2 with Claudio Abbado and the Chicago Symphony on DG.

I think M. Choo gave the example which mine lacked. When I wrote what you quoted, I should have emphasised *today* (which is what the OP asked). Pollini led and electrified the piano world in the '60s and '70s -- his recordings from that time are nothing short of phenomenal, and one of them is among my preferred recordings of Chopin's PC 2. You could say a similar thing about Brendel -- the only thing that stops me from doing so is that he plays music that I rarely listen to. These days, forgetting the matter of leading, I think you'd be hardpressed to say that they're even reassessing the music they know so well (and if you do say this, Brendel would fit it better than Pollini). It's true that Pollini is recording new things--Chopin Nocturnes, some Beethoven maybe?--but who knows how long those pieces have been in his repertoire. And some of them don't exactly sound heartfelt.

I might have trashed them too severely but I have no doubt that they're not leading anything at all (aside from sales). They're polite and quite perfect pianists, diplomats of the piano world on endless farewell tours. For new and challenging interpretations you'd have to look elsewhere though.

[Larry Rinkel]

I have enough trouble thinking of classical music as a "scene," let alone wondering who is "leading" it.

[greg]

I have enough trouble thinking of classical music as a "scene," let alone wondering who is "leading" it.

lol, i kinda agree, saying classical music is a "scene" is like saying scuba-diving is a "scene". Who's leading the scuba-diving scene, i wonder?

[Szykneij]

lol, i kinda agree, saying classical music is a "scene" is like saying scuba-diving is a "scene". Who's leading the scuba-diving scene, i wonder?

Sadly, no one since we lost Lloyd.

[Maciek]

Is it just me or is there some sort of gun barrel protruding from his right hand (palm; looks like one of the fingers, actually)?