Dude, you're preaching to my choir! It's time for sting players to do what string players have done for the last 400 years--participate in their own popular musical culture. The 20th century is an anomaly because it is the first time in history that string players (or any musicians for that matter) were not only encouraged and trained primarily in the music of the past but taught (as I was) to disregard and disrespect the contemporary popular musical culture all around us. Bach didn't do that. Mozart didn't do that. Tchaikovsky didn't do that. The popular musical culture is the language they used and what gave them success and sustained their careers. Otherwise we would never have heard of them. And the contemporary string players of the past played the music of the contemporary composers, who were writing the equivalent of hit tunes. Let's do the same thing our classical music idols did and participate and excel within our own musical culture of pop and hip hop and rock and jazz and everything else so that we are recognized and appreciated for making contemporary cultural sense, as they were. Having an actual impact on the popular music culture! Let's do as they did--working within their contemporary popular musical context--and not just play the music they produced, as amazing as that is. We should never ignore that body of amazing work, the classical canon--but we also have a responsibility as artists to be relevant, or we risk becoming extinct as string players. Adapt or perish. Thanks for this wonderful post and wake-up call! Rock on!
Yaaasss Drew👏 Dredging out the shame and ostracism that happens in this so-called "divide" between Classical and other genres is such a potent and important topic to talk about. Even progressives in this movement (I would include myself) can intellectually understand it, but still unknowingly participate in the stunting of new ideas and the claiming of available resources. Out with scarcity, in with supporting the nuances that all of us bring to the table!
Wowww. Thank you for this thoughtful comment! I agree with you. I think the new ideas need new words. Words have more power in shaping our reality than we realize.
Dude, you're preaching to my choir! It's time for sting players to do what string players have done for the last 400 years--participate in their own popular musical culture. The 20th century is an anomaly because it is the first time in history that string players (or any musicians for that matter) were not only encouraged and trained primarily in the music of the past but taught (as I was) to disregard and disrespect the contemporary popular musical culture all around us. Bach didn't do that. Mozart didn't do that. Tchaikovsky didn't do that. The popular musical culture is the language they used and what gave them success and sustained their careers. Otherwise we would never have heard of them. And the contemporary string players of the past played the music of the contemporary composers, who were writing the equivalent of hit tunes. Let's do the same thing our classical music idols did and participate and excel within our own musical culture of pop and hip hop and rock and jazz and everything else so that we are recognized and appreciated for making contemporary cultural sense, as they were. Having an actual impact on the popular music culture! Let's do as they did--working within their contemporary popular musical context--and not just play the music they produced, as amazing as that is. We should never ignore that body of amazing work, the classical canon--but we also have a responsibility as artists to be relevant, or we risk becoming extinct as string players. Adapt or perish. Thanks for this wonderful post and wake-up call! Rock on!
Thank you for the gas, Tracy!!!!
Yaaasss Drew👏 Dredging out the shame and ostracism that happens in this so-called "divide" between Classical and other genres is such a potent and important topic to talk about. Even progressives in this movement (I would include myself) can intellectually understand it, but still unknowingly participate in the stunting of new ideas and the claiming of available resources. Out with scarcity, in with supporting the nuances that all of us bring to the table!
Wowww. Thank you for this thoughtful comment! I agree with you. I think the new ideas need new words. Words have more power in shaping our reality than we realize.
This is extremely on point! Thank you, Drew.
Thank you, Janet! I’m excited to embark on this new journey!!