The Friday Informer: Spreading the New Music Gospel
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New York’s newspaper of record has—gasp!—put up a big spotlight on new music this month (though only the selected can get in to read). Meanwhile, however, other scribblers have suggested that the composer is on the brink of “irrevocable desuetude“. Okay, I needed a dictionary before I felt adequately insulted by that, so I’m sort of questioning the veracity of research like this. I suspect it’s a fraud perpetuated on behalf of mothers everywhere desperate to get their offspring to practice. Honestly, they would do better to rig their kid’s video games.
Raised a violinist myself, it never even occurred to me to try and have mine stolen to escape the required practice time. If only I had known such antics could have brought down the entire classical music establishment!
Now, it appears that I’m more given to reflective and complex music, but some of you have been talking about what you can do with a beat this week. If you’re freaked by the Music For Dummies associations, this guy can school you. Approached with some measure of creativity, composers have the darnedest way of making the mundane fresh again. That’s more than we can say for the record industry. Even Starbucks is a few lengths ahead of them in that race.
Relegating classical music to ring tones is one sort of sin, but other suggestions have hit some listeners as equally misguided. In this debate, measured reason wins the day without excommunicating anyone.
Now go forth and spread it.