David Lamb <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >You rang? Here I am -- still waiting! Who is going to do anything >meaningful about the loss of fine tonal music during those dark, 12-tone >years? I guess I don't see those years of 12-tone music to be dark years. What I find problematic is the notion that a particular mode of expression is ignored as the result of notions of what is "trendy." For me, a piece of music should be judged based on what it says, versus the vocabulary used to express those ideas. >It is essential that these bypassed scores be brought to light and performed in order to fill out our understanding of 20th century music. >Established conductors are not going to do this for a variety of reasons. >>It will require grant money from foundations -- foundations that see >beyond the allure of commissioning new work -- foundations that can see >the value in seeking the treasure that lies unheard in drawers, boxes, >and attics of composers who never had a chance to be heard. We need a >few prestigious patrons to take on this rewarding task. Any volunteers? I would agree that those who write the histories of music have a distorted perspective on the history of music of the 20th Century. My concern is that one find a balance. As to getting conductors to perform anything out of the ordinary...good luck. Even if a conductor had some interest in exploring the literature, they have less and less control these days over what is programmed. We have symphony boards with repertoire committees. We have executive directors choosing soloists and repertoire. Then we have the expanding role of the artistic administrators. And then we have that dreaded Knight report which took a very myopic look at the economics of art music. For me, its publication was one of the most tragic events in the history of art music. It was a major step in the relegation of art to bean counting. As I have mentioned before, it is informative to check the program listings provided by the Symphony Orchestra League. You will find the expected standards plus, what I like to refer to as the composer du jour. There are several who are "hot" these days...Theofinidis, Puts, Adams, Higdon, Golijov, Lindberg, Tan, et al. Yet, there are many fine composers who are, or were never or rarely performed. It doesn't matter if the music is tonal or non-tonal, they just aren't heard anymore, even if they were ever performed. Indeed, perhaps there could be a foundation to underwrite such performances, or even better, record those works. As I may have mentioned before, one of my fantasies was a repertoire orchestra. It could be located anywhere. They would provide a 90 minute program every other week. The musicians would all be young people looking for their first orchestra jobs. The programs would be broadcast nationally and the performances would be available for download or on CD. The programs would include previously unrecorded works. Of course, to accomplish such a goal would require a substantial amount of rehearsal time and a resident conductor fully devoted to the process of making music. It would require musicians of uncommon reading skills. Repertoire choices could be submitted by the public, researchers, etc. I would prefer that no living composer be performed by the orchestra. So, for about $4M a year, you could, in about ten years time, pretty much get a representative sampling of what's on those dusty shelves. Of course, that is assuming you had a group of informed individuals making repertoire decisions. However, when you get a panel of "experts" together, they won't know repertoire...how could they, unless they have done some digging...well its all on those dusty shelves. Sad to say, I am not optimistic. So where is Warren Buffett when you need him... Karl *********************************************** The CLASSICAL mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's HDMail High Deliverability Mailer for reliable, lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html