Re: Another classical music obituary

Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2003 16:09:50 +0000 (UTC)
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical.recordings
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Alain Dagher <email-address-deleted> wrote:
> http://www.msnbc.com/news/934538.asp?cp1=1
> You all read aldaily I know, but what do you think? Is he right that a
> knowledge of classical music is no longer considered a prerequisite for
> being "cultured"?
Yes.
> If so, did any other musical form fill that void?
No.
> Does what he says also apply to places like England, France, or Germany?
Yes.
Since the demise of the 1)Quadrivium, 2)bourgeois liberal arts
curricula and the 3)rise of mass media, music is no longer taught as
a(n) 1) essential part of speculative intellect, 2) a necessary skill for
being socially adept, and 3) a skill necessary for entertaining ones self
and others. It is now part of a passive entertainment industry aiming to
maximize numbers of consumers. It is acceptable today to go to social
events and have no awareness of culture. My observations are neutral.
The writer errs when he feels that pop music has replaced classical music.
Tin Pan Alley saw far greater consumption in its day than classical music,
and surely Haydn and Mozart were not the entertainment of the streets 200+
years ago, anymore than Leonin and Perotin were 800+ years ago.
Every so often, yet another author sits down and pens an essay decrying
the death of music culture. Adorno did this 50 years ago. Jacob of Liege
700 years ago. Despite this, culture continues, grows, and flourishes.
One might not like the short term trends, but in the end...