Donald Satz raises the battle cry:

>...  I keep reading that classical music of the 21st century will take
>on a new face of eclecticism and fusion with other musical categories as
>classical melds with Asian, Middle East, African, and any other type you
>want to mention.

Where are you reading this? Can you give examples? I'd really like to see
what the "spin doctors" are doing.

>and, likely, respond well to it.  The spin-doctors are carving out their
>approach to 21st century classical music, and they intend to control it.
>They don't love classical music; they only love the joy of knowing they
>have exploited us thoroughly and with our ignorance.

I don't mean to provoke, Don, but I'm wondering why you're being so vague.
If you're interested in "stirring people up," well, that's what you've
done.  But you're making me skeptical...call me weird, but what you've
posted sounds like your own form of "spin doctoring," if not propaganda.
I wonder who you mean when you say "they don't love classical music." Are
you talking about the PR/Marketing folks at recording companies? Or are you
talking about public relations folks who represent artists? Or are you
talking about anyone in general who doesn't push "authentic" classcal
music?

Why the hyperbole? The sad fact of the matter is, the corporate, capitalist
world dictates that people get the information out into the world with the
"right spin." So record companies and artists and whomever else call up
magazines and newspapers and get interviews and send the press information
and then the reporter writes the story the way he or she sees it.  In this
business and many others, it's all image.  And that means, for the record
companies who sell classical music, they have to get the image out that
best "jives" with the general public to sell the most cds.  Or what
happens? They fold.  And I think that pertains not only to the "hyped"
cds (I think) you're talking about but also to the "good ones."

>What can we do? Don't buy this music and buy more of real classical music.
>Before you know it, what's "real" will be up for grabs if it isn't already.
>We can't change the course of events, but we can surely stay one step ahead
>of these immoral and characterless spin-doctors.  I flatly hate people who
>try to control others.

I won't say that there aren't fields out there devoted to putting the
"right spin" on one thing or another.  And you're right, it *is* a control
thing to a certain extent.  On the other hand, people like what they're
going to like, and all the "spin" someone puts on a Three-Tenors cd or some
"Dummies guide to the Classics" isn't going to coerce a more serious music
lover into buying one of those discs.  Buy what you want.  You're going to
anyway...

Lindsey, climbing off her soapbox