Posted by Rick Denney on February 16, 2004 at 14:44:03:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Try this: posted by Bill Nazzaro on February 16, 2004 at 14:08:57:
Yes, I think both tendencies grow out of a deep-seated anti-establishment core within modern society. We are still seeing the fruits of the 1960's, which were themselves fruits of post-WWII selfishness.
Yet many of the orchestras that only hired a few part-time pros or that were semi-pro and paid by the service have become full-time, so the strong trend towards much greater individual wealth has probably done a lot to slow the effect of hatred for the establishment on classical music. People make and spend a lot more money than they used to, with a much higher expectation of quality of life. Orchestras need to find a way to tap into that, and some have done so. But every community is different, and there is no one solution.
It is striking to me that the places where the orchestras are having the most trouble are those places that glamorize their relaxed and informal lifestyle, including South Florida, Houston, San Antonio, the South Bay, and so on. Those places where people still like to show off their culture, such as, for example, Dallas, are doing much better.
One thing that will be required for the pendulum to swing back is that people will be expected to know not just how to do things but also why they work, or our advancement will stagnate. I'm not sure what influences out there have any hope of that effect, however. But the distrust and disrespect for expressions of intelligence is just a symptom of a larger distrust and disrespect for the establishment.
Rick "who balances a bit of his own anti-establishmentarianism" Denney