Posted by Rick Denney on October 24, 2000 at 17:54:43:
In Reply to: Re: Are orchestras dying? posted by Chuck on October 24, 2000 at 13:10:03:
When I was a kid in elementary school in Houston, we had orchestra visitation (at least once a year) to hear school-funded school-kid matinees. The Houston Symphony Brass Quintet played at my school one year, again for free. And we had a program called Music Appreciation, which required us to identify, from memory, several dozen works from the standard orchestral literature. Guess which city has a strong symphony?
But even then, as now, the Houston Symphony was subsidized, both by government and by wealthy benefactors.
But maybe we need to consider some history. A boom in orchestral music occurred in the late 19th century, including the rapid expansion of symphony performance for the middle class (e.g. The Proms at the Crystal Palace, etc.). What fueled this expansion? In part, it was the overwhelming fame of a few composers, notably Wagner. In the present era, we do not have composers who have blown us away with their music working with the orchestral medium. Orchestral composers have not cracked the popular consciousness. John Williams is probably the most famous currently living composer.
What we need is that rare true genius to come along and capture the attention of the public and focus it back on the orchestra. Americans move in fits and starts, by inspiration and impulse. It takes something dramatic to push into that consciousness and create a boom.
A quick example from another hobby, cycling: Bicycle racing was a non-sport in the U.S., with the best cyclists here not even being good enough to serve the typical Europro, let alone dominate them. Then, along comes a fellow named Greg Lemond, who is exceptional and pushes through that boundary. Suddenly, bike racing is cool and lots of folks are doing it. Then, the excitement fades, and competitive road cycling dwindles (but nearly so low as it was before Lemond). Then, along comes Lance Armstrong. Then, wonder of wonders, Lance comes down with cancer, nearly dies, and then comes back to win the biggest race in the world, twice, with a mostly American team, no less. A best-selling book and a zillion talk-show appearances doesn't hurt. I predict a huge boom in bike racing in the coming few years. I was an early member (in the 70's) of my college bike racing team. We had 15 members. Three years ago, before Lance's latest fame, that same college fielded 125 members on its cycling team. That was the residual effect of Lemond and the '84 Olympics. Who knows where the coming boom will go.
So, what we need is just what we can't predict: An overpowering musical force, someone whose story and music is so compelling that heretofore non-musical people are sucked in. That will fill the seats.
But what does it take to allow that genius to emerge? That's what we should be talking about.
And I must admit a fatal possibility--that modern composers of whatever greatness have nothing left to say with this old medium. But if we can't connect modern composers with modern ears, we may never know. The language of modernism, atonality, and music bordering on notated noise does not resonate with middle-class ears, however educated, except in the rare case. When that connection is reestablished, we may yet see a new rise in orchestral music among the hip.
Rick "weary of the aural museum--and modern cacophany" Denney