John Proffitt makes some very good points:

>I fail to understand why elitism garners so much criticism on this List.
>
>I would predict that each and every person on this list is an elitist at
>one time or another:
>
>If you need a surgeon to remove a cancerous tumor, do you go to a resident
>fresh out of medical school, or do you look for the most highly trained,
>experienced specialist in the field? This is an elitist choice most of us
>would make without a moment's hesitation. ...
>
>Choices like these can be looked at as common sense.  Skill, training,
>experience, craftmanship and, yes, artistic inspiration all are factors
>that we weigh in our thought and reason to come to a value judgment.
>
>IMO, the same processes can be--and are--applied to music.

In my opinion, elitism has nothing to do with the merit of the object and
everything to do with the self-esteem of the elitist.  I don't apologize
for my taste.  I also don't believe my taste is more discerning or
wonderful or contributing to make me the fabulous human being I am today.
I don't congratulate myself for liking Brahms or Varese and I'm not ashamed
of it either.  The elitist (from the French for "chosen") uses the work to
validate himself and to denigrate others.  Think of all the condescension
Rachmaninoff and Mahler used to get.  The names change, but the attitude
persists.  I'm very happy that other people enjoy Brahms and Varese since
this means that an audience exists that performers might want to satisfy.
In other words, I have a reasonable chance of continuing to hear their
music.  I doubt, however, that any of us are "chosen" because of our taste.

Where the analogy breaks down is in a comparison of skill to taste.  I
don't agree with the restaurant example, for instance.  I live in New
Orleans, with more great restaurants per capita than any other North
American city, possibly excepting New York.  The hell of it is that the
great restaurants exist at all levels of cuisine, from street food and
country food to haute Creole.  In fact, it's that very range that makes
a great food city.  You can eat very well in Paris, for example, for all
sorts of prices.  Some of the best Parisian restaurants I've ever eaten
in were bistros in the Latin Quarter.  Furthermore, the country food of
Normandy and Aix have their own merits, not necessarily lower.  To
paraphrase Ellington, "If it tastes good, it *is* good."

Steve Schwartz