{"id":14553,"date":"2013-08-22T06:35:59","date_gmt":"2013-08-22T11:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=14553"},"modified":"2017-01-20T13:51:08","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T18:51:08","slug":"commentary-the-classical-music-worlds-status-symbols-wrongly-imply-associations-with-merit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2013\/08\/22\/commentary-the-classical-music-worlds-status-symbols-wrongly-imply-associations-with-merit\/","title":{"rendered":"Commentary: The classical music world’s status symbols wrongly imply associations with merit"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Musician<\/a>
Musician and Classical 96 FM host Kathleen Kajioka with conductor Peter Oundjian during a Toronto Symphony Orchestra rehearsal break at Carnegie Hall in 2011 (Kathleen Kajioka photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On his blog Eatock Daily, Toronto composer and music critic Colin Eatock recently shared some thoughts about the snobbery many people take for granted in the classical music world. Here is that post, reproduced with his permission:<\/em><\/p>\n

Some years ago, a composer I know told me that he was writing a commissioned work for the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet. And then he added an interesting observation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI notice,\u201d he said, \u201cthat people\u2019s eyes tend to widen for a second, and then return to normal size, as I say the words \u2018Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet.\u2019 For a brief moment, they think I\u2019m writing a piece for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra!\u201d<\/p>\n

The incident made me aware of just how status-conscious the classical music world is. Of course, there\u2019s nothing shabby about composing for the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet. But mere idea of writing for the whole BPO is strong medicine \u2013 a heady cocktail of authority, excellence and celebrity.<\/p>\n

This is what I like to call \u201cpushing snob buttons:\u201d invoking an association with the great and famous in a way that automatically impresses other people. In the classical music world, it is the coin of the realm.<\/p>\n

You played a concert last week? That\u2019s nice. The concert was in New York? Even better. The concert was at Carnegie Hall<\/em>? Wow \u2013 you must be something special! To a classical musician, the mere mention of Carnegie Hall pushes a snob button.<\/p>\n

Is this fetishization of prestige a good thing? Probably not.<\/p>\n

First, this way of thinking assumes that the musical world is a just place, where the cream naturally rises to the top. Anyone who doesn\u2019t advance to the upper echelons of the profession clearly doesn\u2019t deserve to. Also, it encourages laurel-resting \u2013 permitting the those at the top of the heap to grow complacent, while less glorified and more deserving musicians and institutions struggle in relative obscurity. Moreover, it skews the economics of the business, ensuring that the stars command enormous fees the while rank-and-file musicians \u2013 the backbone of classical music \u2013 must struggle as best they can.<\/p>\n

For these reasons, it\u2019s tempting to denounce the whole snob-button effect as superficial, pretentious and just plain unfair. But the phenomenon is perhaps more complex, and more defensible, than it appears to be on the surface. Arguably, the big names \u2013 Yo Yo Ma, Valery Gergiev, the Metropolitan Opera, etc. \u2013 serve as vital \u201ctent-poles,\u201d supporting the entire structure of classical music. It\u2019s not clear how classical music could flourish without some kind of star system, to ensure that the masses are duly impressed with the whole enterprise.<\/p>\n

And of course it\u2019s not just the classical music world that has snob buttons. Tell your film buff friends that you saw a famous movie star getting into a taxi at the airport and you\u2019ll have their rapt, undivided attention.<\/p>\n

These days, it seems we\u2019re all prestige junkies. We should at least be aware of it.<\/p>\n

Colin Eatock<\/em>
\nYou can find out more about Eatock and follow his blog here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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