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Sun, 1 Aug 1999 00:20:48 -0400 |
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Don Satz wrote:
>Strirling Newberry wrote in response to me:
>
>>>There's a time for sophmoric activities and a time for music - in my
>>>world, they are mutually exclusive to one another.
>>
>>Beethoven and Haydn did not think they were exclusive of each other.
>
>This is at least the 2nd time in recent weeks that Stirling has made
>comments that would naturally lead a reader to assume that he places
>priority on adhering to the personal views/preferences of great artists.
>Now, I don't believe for a second that Stirling actually does this. He's
>much too strong and independent. So, my basic question is - why does he
>write irrelevant comments that are not true to himself? Shape up, my man.
<VOICE TONE="VERY DRY">
Merely commenting that if I were given the choice between giving up the
wit and wisdom of Don Satz, or forgoing the high jinks of Beethoven being
"unbuttoned" in the 8th symphony along with say Haydn skittering with
rhythms in Op 76 No 2 - I would, with a heavy heart, be forced to choose
the latter two works over the prose of our esteemed collegue.
What I find interesting is that Mr. Satz characterisation of the Kronos
quartet is so far off the mark, far from being pranksters - the way Satie
often was - they are very serious musicians. Too serious sometimes. While
the result often seems to lack seriousness, what is really going on is
something far simpler - they are holding a mirror up to our own times, and
if the music that they play lacks certain virtues, it is because we do not
promote them enough in our musical life in general.
Anyone who can learn a 6 hour feldman quartet is either deadly serious or
in serious need of medication to treat obsessive compulsive disorder. I
doubt the latter in the case of the KQ.
I can understand his desiring to dismiss many of their recordings and
performances, and in truth I think that time will not judge most of their
output kindly. But I think Mr. Satz misses the point. A museum, or
ensemble that preserves the past has the bruden of promoting that which is
good, and asking us to have faith that what we see is good - even if at
first we don not understand it. The Kronos Quartet is more like a gallery
or the contemporary section of a fine arts museum - there is no presumption
of value - merely a presentation for general consideration. Mr Satz is
enttiled to express his opinion on their work - and may well be as right,
or more so, than anyone else. Only engagement in the works will tell.
I do place priority on what artists demonstrate by their works over the
claims of scribblers. Being a composer, it is a congenital defect which
has visited the kind of misfortune on me that a humped back or club foot
would have in an earlier age. It has the most unfortunate tendency to
make me point out the truth, when I ought to be engaged in the universal
obsequiousness which is the hallmark of the truly contemporary artist of
any age....
</VOICE>
Stirling Newberry
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