Robert Peters <[log in to unmask]> writes:

>Now that's interesting: how do you distinguish between intellectuals and
>pseudo-intellectuals.

An intellectual is a person with a substantial intellect who develops
that intellect.  A pseudo-intellectual is someone without a substantial
intellect that wishes to appear as if he has one.

>Is every music critic a pseudo-intellectual?

Of course not, but it is a tendency I've noticed.

>...  Mozart was so innovative and liked a good expensive life so much he
>would have jumped headfirst into what electronic music, pop music, rock
>music, jazz, classical music and sampling could offer him.  He would be
>the king of the charts and I would fancy this.

This is where this thread reaches an inevitable limitation, as neither of
us can possibly prove our stances under this hypothetical.

>>The fact that Mozart's father and publisher were on his case to write more
>>to the public's taste shows that he went where his artistry took him rather
>>than pander to the masses.
>
>Sorry but this sentence makes no sense unless the public's taste and the
>real artistry were accidentally the same.

It makes perfect sense because, one, it is a fact, and, two, style and
substance are not the same.  There were many who composed in a style
similar to Mozart's, but lacked his substance.

>What I don't like about a lot of classical music lovers is that they treat
>their heroes like gods and that it is blasphemy to say things like "Mozart
>was a pop musician"

It's not blasphemy, but it does suggest to me that those who say it like
classical music without investing much thought into it.  I like some pop
music, too, but much in the same way I like green tea ice cream, and I am
under no illusion that it achieves the same level of artistry.  Classical
music requires concentration, an intellectual effort that is almost never
required of pop.

>Classical music is the finest form of entertainment for me but still
>entertainment.

It is entertainment, yes, but it is much than only entertainment.

Jocelyn Wang
Culver Chamber Music Series
www.bigfoot.com/~CulverMusic