Iskender Savasir writes:

>There seem to be several un- or semi- stated assumptions running
>through this thread. .. esp.  the prejudice (excusethe term) agains
>"cross over".  Would people care to expound on what is
>wrong with "cross over" or "fusion"?

A good many of today's composer chat groups hover on this topic, but
the nut is otherwise: advocating greater openness to include many kinds
of music within the new-notes mix.  Where - if at all - do we place
boundaries?  It's a composer's issue that doesn't go away.

In fact, working out just what one's personal style is nowadays is tough
-- much harder than in Stravinsky's time.  In a world where pluralism
and tolerance to all viewpoints are espoused (even if only via lip-service),
the question for a creator of what is *genuine* becomes quite complicated.

I've written about this several times (see for example "The Matter of
Style" in the American Music Center's online magazine, NewMusicBox:
http://www.newmusicbox.com/article.nmbx?id=4767).

External pressures to bow to the collective fancy play havoc with a
composer's slow process over time to refine, refine, refine her own
artistic language.

~ NB   My just-released CD -- Prestidigitations - Contemporary Concert
Rags by J. L. Zaimont (MSR Classics) -- is not a cross-over project.
I've written ragtime on the side for more than 30 years, all the way
through my concert composing career.

Judith L. Zaimont

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