Steve Schwartz <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>I do agree.  I think we have to blame several trends and people.  The
>first is the educational system, which cut music programs as "frills"
>but kept the football team and the marching band.  Consequently, you
>have people with expensive educations who are nevertheless cultural
>ignorami.

Similar to the way Latin is rarely taught in schools anymore, leading
to folks believing that the plural of "ignoramus" is "ignorami".:-)

>You hear more about what a genius Beck is than about what a genius
>Brahms is.

That could just as well be due to the fact that one is alive and the
other is not.  A fairer comparison might be Beck vs.  Philip Glass, or
John Williams vs.  Stephen Foster, say.  I'd wager that you hear at least
as much - if not more - in the media about the "genius" of Glass or
Williams than either Beck or Foster (brewskies excepted).

>Brahms.  By the way, serious jazz also has a small, neglected audience.
>I've not met all that many people who recognize the name of Ornette
>Coleman or Bud Powell.

Even in Cambridge, MA ...  I once ran into a woman with a dog named
Mingus.  When I complimented her on the choice of name, she was pleased
that I recognized its significance; she said most people's reaction was
"Mingus?  What's that?"

 - seb