NY Times Sunday Dialogue on Saving Classical Music

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

The Times' Sunday Dialogue (basically, a selection of letters to the editor in response to a previous letter to the editor) tackles the future of classical music:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/opinion/sunday/sunday-dialogue-is-classical-music-dying.html?pagewanted=all

Interesting to note that the online edition published a lot more letters than the print one, and the online letters were (IMHO) a lot more interesting and pertinent (well done, Brian; keep up the good work!).

However, if you have the print edition, you can savor a certain irony: beneath the dialogue on saving classical music is an interview with the astronomer Geoff Marcy, who says how much he enjoys the PBS series "Keeping Score" with Michael Tilson Thomas.

[Szykneij]

A schoolboy recently asked me if Richard Wagner was a pitcher for the Yankees. At that moment I feared that classical music in America was doomed.

As a schoolboy, I had no idea who Richard Wagner was, although I was very familiar with Honus Wagner and even Leon Wagner.


Or is it? The dying of the classical recording industry, which began in the 1990s, is indeed a cause for despair. There seem to be, sadly, other harbingers of the death of classical music in America:

¶The recent labor disputes of American orchestras due to decreased budgets and donor support.

¶The reduction or outright cancellation of Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic tours and concerts in the parks.

¶The demise of classical music radio stations across America.

These are all legitimate causes of concern.


¶The increased media focus on rock and pop superstars, while classical music managements have difficulty booking concerts for their artists.

Nothing new. Same was true with the Beatles, Elvis, and even Sinatra.


The future of classical music lies with the younger generation, which must be weaned away from the cacophony of rock and the neon glitter of "American Idol"-type TV shows. Instead of dragging children to concerts, where they squirm with boredom, rent some old movies featuring soundtracks of classical music.

Why old movies? Current movies have excellent orchestral scores that steer kids towards classical music.


Even toddlers can be exposed to classical music through animated films like "Fantasia" and "Peter and the Wolf." Elementary schoolchildren would love "What's Opera, Doc?" (1957), with its thrilling Wagnerian soundtrack as Elmer Fudd chases Bugs Bunny.

Nothing new here, either. Elementary Music methods 101 from the 1960's.

LES DREYER
New York, Nov. 16, 2012

The writer is a retired violinist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

Well-meaning, but a little out of touch, I think, with kids and society in general today.

[Karl Henning]

Or is it? The dying of the classical recording industry, which began in the 1990s, is indeed a cause for despair. There seem to be, sadly, other harbingers of the death of classical music in America:

¶The recent labor disputes of American orchestras due to decreased budgets and donor support.

¶The reduction or outright cancellation of Metropolitan Opera and New York Philharmonic tours and concerts in the parks.

Keeping in mind that there is a periodic cottage industry for Chicken Little squawking that "Classical Music is dying! Classical Music is dying!" . . . perhaps these are not specifically signs of any decline in classical music, but (I should think, obviously) regular signs that the economy is in an extended rough patch.  We're all (or most of us) grown-ups, and we know perfectly well that in the US, when budgets need to be trimmed, the arts are the first in line for the axe.

Don't tell me you find this surprising : )

[Karl Henning]

. . . (well done, Brian; keep up the good work!)

+ 1

Sorry to see that in the "The Writer Responds" appendix, he doesn't acknowledge Brian's points, but instead is content to wring his hands at the low-hanging fruit (do I mix my metaphors? Very well, I mix my metaphors) of the pop music crowd . . . .

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

+ 1

Sorry to see that in the "The Writer Responds" appendix, he doesn't acknowledge Brian's points, but instead is content to wring his hands at the low-hanging fruit (do I mix my metaphors? Very well, I mix my metaphors) of the pop music crowd . . . .

Karl, the "low-hanging fruit" was the letters that appeared only in the print edition. Probably the policy is that the writer responds only to those.

Well-meaning, but a little out of touch, I think, with kids and society in general today.

That was my impression. I was amused by his statement that we have to wean kids off "the cacophony of rock." Rock & roll is grandparents' music nowadays.

[Karl Henning]

Karl, the "low-hanging fruit" was the letters that appeared only in the print edition. Probably the policy is that the writer responds only to those.

Ah, that makes a degree of regrettable sense.  Regrettable, too, in the editorial selection of what went into the print edition.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Ah, that makes a degree of regrettable sense.  Regrettable, too, in the editorial selection of what went into the print edition.

Indeed: they didn't publish my letter at all 

[Karl Henning]

Bring it on here!

[ibanezmonster]

I find it odd that he would think of general rock music as cacophonous, especially when compared to the last century of classical music.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Bring it on here!

Here ya go Karl:

Les Dreyer offers the self-evident proposition that "the future of classical music lies with the younger generation." He does not mention that taste is often a generational thing, and while there should always be a place for established classics, what appeals to one generation may not appeal to others.

In my experience, much of the interest in new and unusual music comes from younger people. Some of the youngest and most enthusiastic classical audiences I have seen were at concerts of modern and contemporary music. I can likewise endorse Mr. Dreyer's recommendation that cinema can provide a good introduction. The films of directors like Stanley Kubrick introduced me to some great music – and not just by long-established classics like Beethoven, but also by modern composers like Ligeti, Bartok and Penderecki.

In short, while the orchestras and opera companies do a good job of upholding a centuries-old cultural legacy, that legacy will wither if it is not part of a living tradition.

[Karl Henning]

I find it odd that he would think of general rock music as cacophonous, especially when compared to the last century of classical music.

He's a retired violinist, and the big orchestras (to a degree, out of deference to the bluehairs) rarely program anything more raucous than the William Tell Overture.

[Karl Henning]

Here ya go Karl:

Les Dreyer offers the self-evident proposition that “the future of classical music lies with the younger generation.” He does not mention that taste is often a generational thing, and while there should always be a place for established classics, what appeals to one generation may not appeal to others.

In my experience, much of the interest in new and unusual music comes from younger people. Some of the youngest and most enthusiastic classical audiences I have seen were at concerts of modern and contemporary music. I can likewise endorse Mr. Dreyer’s recommendation that cinema can provide a good introduction. The films of directors like Stanley Kubrick introduced me to some great music – and not just by long-established classics like Beethoven, but also by modern composers like Ligeti, Bartok and Penderecki.

In short, while the orchestras and opera companies do a good job of upholding a centuries-old cultural legacy, that legacy will wither if it is not part of a living tradition.

Well done.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

He's a retired violinist, and the big orchestras (to a degree, out of deference to the bluehairs) rarely program anything more raucous than the William Tell Overture.

LOL, but I have noticed that the local part-time and semi-pro orchestras often have some pretty innovative programming. If I want to hear a symphony by Franz Schmidt this season, I'll have to go to Northbrook (a suburb).

[Brian]

Here ya go Karl:

My full letter's at home, but I think they excised my own reference to contemporary composers - I think I'd name-checked Lutoslawski?

Your point about rock is correct. Although practitioners of varying quality do persist, rock music is essentially dead, innovations having ceased long ago. It's certainly in a more fragile state than classical, in terms of current practice and future outlook.

[Karl Henning]

I mean, when figures like Patti Smith, Keith Richard and Pete Townshend are selling autobiographies . . . this is the nostalgia after-market, innit?

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

These photos of aging rock stars make the point perhaps more graphically than is decent:

http://www.mandatory.com/2012/08/20/rock-stars-age-just-like-the-rest-of-us-and-it-aint-pretty/

At least classical performers tend to age gracefully.

[Karl Henning]

No Mozart effect for them weasels . . . .

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

No Mozart effect for them weasels . . . .

Elliott Carter looked better at 90 than these guys do in their 50s-60s.

[Brian]

That said, Classical music will never have the kind of audience Popular music has.  There's nothing wrong with that.

Exactly. An excised part of my letter pointed out that even in Beethoven's time, the mass populace was not all flocking to see Beethoven live. Classical music has lost some of its status-symbol prestige and expense (that is, we're not all dukes and counts with court orchestras!), but it's still expensive and it's not going to ever be something with top-40 popularity. People who think that the 1800s were a golden age are forgetting that back then everybody whistled stuff like Yankee Doodle, not tunes from Reger viola suites.

[Brahmsian]

Classical Music may be "dying" or waning in some places, but in my beloved city, Winnipeg......it is thriving!

The arts have always been very vibrant here in Winnipeg.

We have a world class, world renowned ballet and ballet school - The Royal Winnipeg Ballet

We have the WSO (Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra) that has risen from the ashes about a decade ago.  Attendance and subscriptions are up, and a lot has to do with the varied programming and our forward thinking, excellent conductor - Alexander Mickelthwate.

We also have several Chamber Music ensembles and organizations, not just in Winnipeg, but in the province of Manitoba.

Brandon, MB - Manitoba's second largest city - is also a thriving arts community (hometown of James Ehnes!) 

The Manitoba Opera is doing better than it has in decades.

The WSO has a tremendously popular and well attended "New Music Festival" that runs every year for a whole week between the end of January and beginning of February.

I am blessed.    I know other cities are following a similar programming model similar to the WSO, and perhaps other cities could take a page from Winnipeg and others.

PS - There was a great fear that once we got our Winnipeg Jets NHL hockey team back in 2011, that it would negatively impact the arts organizations in Winnipeg.   In fact, the opposite has occurred.  The Jets return has revitalized the energy and optimism in our city, and people are flocking to all sorts of events.