Bernard Chasan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>This list and others like it are indeed expressions of pluralism and
>independence.  Long may they thrive.  But in an age of increasing
>centralization (Disney, Warner) pluralism cannot be taken for granted.
>Seen in this light, the existence of Naxos and other strictly classical
>labels is a positive sign, a strong indication that classical music can
>still find its place in the marketplace.

The Professor touches on something very important about our
self-reflections.  The more I come into contact with popular culture the
more I discover how it seems to converge into commercialism (and all that
commercialism entails).  Increasingly, television programs have become
vehicles by which to watch commercials.  Popular music a means of capturing
one's attention to a particular product.  Even sports like football have
advertisements permeating the game.

And, what is there in the marketplace that is separate and distinct from
this over commercialism infusing our whole lives? Once and awhile film
makers make a truly remarkable film; PBS broadcasts a provocative and
uninterrupted program; classical radio stations take that bold gamble and
broadcast a new and challenging work.  But these events are far and few
between.

Rather, we no longer form our own tastes and interests so much as
our commercial and marketing firms mould them for us.  Luckily, as the
Professor notes, a firm like Naxos comes along and invites us to explore
experiences not cast in the mold of Madison Avenue.  We are invited to
partake in the banquet of the unusual, the truly different.  But Naxos
won't last forever, and will go the way of Decca, Phillips, Deutsche
Gramophone, and the like.  And there aren't enough firms like them to
go against the grain of the marketing place.

In a country with so many supposed freedoms, it's amazing how many of them
have been voluntarily surrendered for the quick-pleasure fix -- in all too
many cases where the pleasure is purely an illusion.  How many SUVs are
driven off the paved road?

D. Stephen Heersink
San Francisco, California
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