{"id":52948,"date":"2018-04-19T14:09:12","date_gmt":"2018-04-19T18:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=52948"},"modified":"2018-04-19T14:20:23","modified_gmt":"2018-04-19T18:20:23","slug":"issues-the-pulitzer-and-what-classical-music-needs-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2018\/04\/19\/issues-the-pulitzer-and-what-classical-music-needs-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"ISSUES | The Pulitzer, And What Classical Music Needs To Do"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_52951\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-52951\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-52951\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/04\/kendrick-lamar-damn.jpg\" alt=\"Lamar's album won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/04\/kendrick-lamar-damn.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/04\/kendrick-lamar-damn-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/04\/kendrick-lamar-damn-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/04\/kendrick-lamar-damn-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-52951\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kendrick Lamar&#8217;s album won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Among the many \u201cbreakthroughs\u201d that have followed in the wake of Kendrick Lamar\u2019s 2018 Pulitzer Prize for the album Damn is the fact that a hip-hop artist is now being discussed in classical music circles. \u201cWhat are we to make of this development?\u201d, various classical-music commentators, practitioners and enthusiasts are asking. Is this a good thing? Or a bad thing? Or what?<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve noticed that some classical types have been careful to sound respectful and inclusive when discussing this issue. Perhaps fearful of being labelled \u201celitist,\u201d or hoping that just a little bit of hip-hop\u2019s coolness might rub off on them, they praise Damn for its musical craft, sophistication and cultural authenticity, and say supportive things about Lamar\u2019s prize-win. (See <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/04\/17\/arts\/music\/kendrick-lamar-music-pulitzer-prize-damn.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/act-four\/wp\/2018\/04\/18\/what-the-classical-music-world-can-learn-from-kendrick-lamars-pulitzer-prize\/?utm_term=.56d799caff8f&amp;noredirect=on\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/culture\/2018\/04\/pulitzer-finalists-michael-gilbertson-and-ted-hearne-on-kendrick-lamars-win.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, an outraged <a href=\"http:\/\/slippedisc.com\/2018\/04\/pulitzer-jury-no-contemporary-classical-work-was-prizeworthy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Norman Lebrecht<\/a> called the decision, \u201can almighty kick in the teeth of contemporary composition.\u201d And, predictably, the decision has also coaxed some downright racist reactions out of the woodwork. I suspect that some of these outraged folks, bravely defending good taste and high standards, didn\u2019t even know there was a Pulitzer Prize for music until Lamar won it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-52956\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/04\/Comment-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/04\/Comment-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/04\/Comment-1-300x76.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/04\/Comment-1-768x195.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As a classical guy myself (living in Toronto, Canada, by the way), I must admit that I didn\u2019t know much about Lamar until a couple of days ago. Since then, I\u2019ve listened to some of his music, and I can only agree with the more \u201cprogressive\u201d voices in the classical music world, where Lamar\u2019s musical craft and sophistication are concerned. I\u2019m no fan, yet I can\u2019t deny that Lamar is very good at what he does.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ox7RsX1Ee34?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>But a Pulitzer? Frankly, this alarms me \u2014 and I\u2019ll tell you why. And then I\u2019ll offer some free advice.<\/p>\n<p>For some time now, classical music\u2019s place in North America has been shrinking, encroached upon by other genres. Even though classical music\u2019s \u2013 and especially contemporary classical music\u2019s \u2013 cultural footprint is already small, there is pressure on us to \u201cshare\u201d what\u2019s left of our turf or be denounced as disdainful, highbrow snobs. This kind of sharing might be a good thing if it were a two-way street, but often it isn\u2019t. A decade ago, when the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation\u2019s Radio 2 network drastically slashed its classical programming to make room for a variety of popular musics, did pop radio stations reciprocate by playing more (or, rather, any) classical music? Of course not.<\/p>\n<p>And the problem is partly our own fault. For too long, many musical institutions that have long existed to support and present classical music have been content to use the word \u201cmusic\u201d without specifying that they\u2019re talking about classical music. My favourite example of this is a local concert series called simply \u201cMusic Toronto,\u201d which presents classical chamber music only. Moreover, it\u2019s also a kind of Achilles heel for the classical music world, placing our music and our institutions in a vulnerable position.<\/p>\n<p>For example, consider the Pulitzer, a music prize whose guidelines state that it should be awarded \u201cfor distinguished musical composition by an American.\u201d Even though the prize has almost always been awarded to a classical composer (with the exception of a few jazz artists) there has never been an official statement of this policy \u2013 it was an unwritten tradition. For decades, the Pulitzer for music was pretty much a genre-specific kind of award, just as the Tony Awards or the Academy of Country Music Awards are genre-specific. The only difference was that the Pulitzer was implicitly genre-specific, and the latter two examples above are explicitly genre-specific.<\/p>\n<p>Yet that difference is significant. It was only a matter of time before someone rhetorically asked, \u201cHey, wait a minute, if the Pulitzer is for \u2018distinguished musical composition by an American,\u2019 why shouldn\u2019t hip-hop be considered?\u201d And the Rhetorical Asker was right, and the Pulitzer Prize for Music must now be shared among (presumably) all genres of American-made music. And the small and marginalized contemporary classical music world just got a little smaller and more marginal.<\/p>\n<p>So what\u2019s to be done in the face of this cultural erosion? For the Pulitzers, there\u2019s probably no going back: the move to broader inclusion has already been made. Only time will tell if Lamar\u2019s prize is a gesture of tokenism, or if the Pulitzers will largely embrace popular musics, and America\u2019s classical composers will find themselves shut out of a prestigious award that used to \u201cbelong\u201d to classical music.<\/p>\n<p>But to other institutions of classical music, I propose this: We can better support our cherished art form by clearly expressing a commitment to classical music, per se. Orchestras, opera companies, conservatories and other classical music institutions should take a good look at their constitutions, mission statements, letters of incorporation, etc. and ensure that classical music is explicitly named as the kind of music the organization primarily supports.<\/p>\n<p>The clarification I\u2019m proposing need not be presented as an act of hostility against non-classical musics. To say you support one kind of music need not mean that you are opposed to another.<\/p>\n<p>Rather, such clarifications would simply be a useful and well-timed invocation of the old adage that good fences make good neighbours.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, I\u2019d like to congratulate Mr. Lamar on his prize. Love and peace to all.<\/p>\n<p><em>A version of this article originally appeared on Colin Eatocks blog, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.colineatock.com\/eatock-daily-blog\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Eatock Daily<\/span><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Among the many \u201cbreakthroughs\u201d that have followed in the wake of Kendrick Lamar\u2019s 2018 Pulitzer Prize for the album Damn is the fact that a hip-hop artist is now being discussed in classical music circles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":52951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14761,5,5867,9459,31],"tags":[18712,18711],"yst_prominent_words":[18705,18699,6767,6715,8358,18702,18701,18704,18707,18698,18710,6616,8405,18706,18696,18708,18697,18703,18700,18695],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/04\/kendrick-lamar-damn.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-dM0","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52948"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52948"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52961,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52948\/revisions\/52961"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52948"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=52948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}