3 ms·

A counterpoint. You're describing the American situation. Most (central?) European orchestras are at least partially publicly funded and therefore relatively st

by sveme 12y ago

A counterpoint. You're describing the American situation. Most (central?) European orchestras are at least partially publicly funded and therefore relatively stable. As they do not rely solely on donation (by old farts as you imply), they are able to experiment far more and also provide a stage for new composers, new works. Same for opera houses. As they are modernizing the interpretations of symphonies and especially the screenplay in operas, they become politically and socially relevant again. There is little worse than enduring a ballet in the style of the 19th century, but watching a modern piece can be a really great experience. So government endowments enable orchestras to experiment and hence stay relevant. Without those your analysis is spot on.

vixin 12y ago
Each to their own. I find it depressing to watch yet another clueless director desperately trying to make his reputation as a 'fresh talent in opera' with a stage littered with the paraphernalia of modern life and a cast dressed in track and business suits. We can look forward to space suits I suppose or maybe no clothes at all. Are we too dumb to look beyond our own era?
yardie 12y ago
Here is this seasons concert line up for the 2 operas[1] (Garnier and Bastille) in Paris: Rachmaninov, Schubert, Schonberg, Brahms, Beethoven (x6!), Mahler, Herrman, Barber, Mozart, Rota, Dvorak, Lekeu, Chausson, DeBussy I'm not familiar with some of the names. I think Rota is a modern composer. But most of those names are composers who have been buried. [1] http://www.operadeparis.fr/en http://www.operadeparis.fr/en
- masklinn 12y ago
  Barber, Copland, Rota and Herrman are more modern than the others, but still buried. The Beethoven situation is a bit of an exception as they're doing a series with all 9 symphonies in a row. And I see a few more composers in http://www.operadeparis.fr/en/saison-2014-2015/concert--recital http://www.operadeparis.fr/en/saison-2014-2015/concert--reci... * Barber (1910-1981) * Beethoven (1770-1827) * Brahms (1833-1897) * Chausson (1855-1899) * Copland (1900-1990) * Dvořák (1841-1904) * Herrman (1911-1975) * Lekeu (1870-1894) * Mahler (1860-1911) * Mozart (1756-1791) * Praetorius (1571-1621) * Prokofiev (1891-1953) * Rachmaninov (1873-1943) * Ravel (1875-1937) * Rota (1911-1979) * Schubert (1797-1828) * Schönberg (1875-1951) * Spohr (1784-1859) * Strauss (1864-1949) * Suk (1874-1935) * Susato (1500-1561) * Tarrega (1852-1909) * Verdi (1813-1901)
- leoc 12y ago
  If what you want is state-funded or charitably-funded institutions commissioning and performing new art music without reference to audience tastes, well, that's already been tried: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darmst%C3%A4dter_Ferienkurse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darmst%C3%A4dter_Ferienkurse and so on. The results are generally considered to have been mostly not a success, both in terms of attracting an audience and of the quality of the music itself. The author of the Beethoven article happens to have written a book http://www.amazon.com/The-Rest-Noise-Listening-Twentieth/dp/0312427719/ http://www.amazon.com/The-Rest-Noise-Listening-Twentieth/dp/... which covers this among other things.

by sveme 12y ago

vixin 12y ago

Each to their own. I find it depressing to watch yet another clueless director desperately trying to make his reputation as a 'fresh talent in opera' with a stage littered with the paraphernalia of modern life and a cast dressed in track and business suits. We can look forward to space suits I suppose or maybe no clothes at all. Are we too dumb to look beyond our own era?

yardie 12y ago

Here is this seasons concert line up for the 2 operas[1] (Garnier and Bastille) in Paris: Rachmaninov, Schubert, Schonberg, Brahms, Beethoven (x6!), Mahler, Herrman, Barber, Mozart, Rota, Dvorak, Lekeu, Chausson, DeBussy I'm not familiar with some of the names. I think Rota is a modern composer. But most of those names are composers who have been buried. [1] http://www.operadeparis.fr/en http://www.operadeparis.fr/en

masklinn 12y ago
Barber, Copland, Rota and Herrman are more modern than the others, but still buried. The Beethoven situation is a bit of an exception as they're doing a series with all 9 symphonies in a row. And I see a few more composers in http://www.operadeparis.fr/en/saison-2014-2015/concert--recital http://www.operadeparis.fr/en/saison-2014-2015/concert--reci... * Barber (1910-1981) * Beethoven (1770-1827) * Brahms (1833-1897) * Chausson (1855-1899) * Copland (1900-1990) * Dvořák (1841-1904) * Herrman (1911-1975) * Lekeu (1870-1894) * Mahler (1860-1911) * Mozart (1756-1791) * Praetorius (1571-1621) * Prokofiev (1891-1953) * Rachmaninov (1873-1943) * Ravel (1875-1937) * Rota (1911-1979) * Schubert (1797-1828) * Schönberg (1875-1951) * Spohr (1784-1859) * Strauss (1864-1949) * Suk (1874-1935) * Susato (1500-1561) * Tarrega (1852-1909) * Verdi (1813-1901)
leoc 12y ago
If what you want is state-funded or charitably-funded institutions commissioning and performing new art music without reference to audience tastes, well, that's already been tried: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darmst%C3%A4dter_Ferienkurse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darmst%C3%A4dter_Ferienkurse and so on. The results are generally considered to have been mostly not a success, both in terms of attracting an audience and of the quality of the music itself. The author of the Beethoven article happens to have written a book http://www.amazon.com/The-Rest-Noise-Listening-Twentieth/dp/0312427719/ http://www.amazon.com/The-Rest-Noise-Listening-Twentieth/dp/... which covers this among other things.