Donald Satz writes:

>Denis Fodor writes:
>
>>It's about Denis Fodor's personal experience with attenders of big-hall
>>concerts.  It's about his contention that these attenders generally find
>>avant garde stuff (eg atonal, serial, aleatory) ugly.
>
>I don't doubt that Denis is on target about the preferences of current
>concert-goers, but I do have a question based on the identity of these
>concert-goers.  I assume that those who attend concerts with any regularity
>do so because they expect the "traditional" programming.  But couldn't
>there be a different potential audience which stays away because of that
>type of programming who would flock to the concert hall if the programming
>did become more adventurous and feature more of the "obscure"?

There is no vast hidden market for the avant-garde just dripping with
anticipation for it.  On the other hand there are a body of people who
would be more amenable to it than currently, if packaged and presented
carefully.  As one must cultivate an audience for Bach and Beethoven, one
must also cultivate any other audience.  Even so called "Popular" music
spends millions on marketing, videos, promotions, placements, publicity -
there is no such thing as a "natural" audience large enough to support most
expensive art forms or entertainment styles.  There is, instead, a constant
effort to integrate art and entertainment into the totality of a person's
view of the world.  One must show people why picking a particular music
fits with the other choices they have made.

A very few conductors have been able to cultivate an audience for some
of the 20th century avant-garde:  the most notable example being Micheal
Tilson Thomas in San Francisco.

Rather than this particular "BUT MUST HAVE MY WEBERN OR I WILL GO HOME"
versus "GET THAT ATONAL SHIT OUT OF MY FACE" fight all over again, a more
constructive use of the various supporters time would be constructive ideas
on how to promote the music they are interested in.  High art is always in
trouble, always on its last legs, and always in need of a shot in the arm.
Entertainment brings them in droves - until it ceases to be entertaining.

The problem with this is, of course, that it requires dealing with nuts
and bolts policy - how to run galas, how to set up schedules, how to market,
whom to market too.  Much simpler just to take over the board of directors
and legislate ones tastes into the schedule, surely.  But then expedient
failure is always a great deal easier than difficult success.

It must be remembered that this list, almost by definition, consists
of extremists.  Just as polling a hall filled with party loyalists - of
any party - will be misleading as to what the policies that general party
members want, so too will a poll of people willing to spend their time
writing for free on the topic of classical music be misleading as to what
the classical listening public wants.

The activity of politics is taking the desires of the motivated and
translating them into actions that will make the case for those who are
not motivated.  The short cut of simply imposing, however appealing it
might seem, generally leads to counter-productive results.

stirling s newberry
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