Klarinet Archive - Posting 000082.txt from 1994/07

From: Alan Saul <saul+@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Giora Feidman
Date: Sat, 9 Jul 1994 01:20:58 -0400

Dan Leeson probably annoyed lots of us by saying, in regards to Giora Feidman:

>I indicated in an earlier note that when I first heard him, I sucked
>in my breath so beautiful and intense was his playing. But when I
>heard him talk about Klezmer playing I was badly disallusioned by
>his remarks, which I considered sophomoric. He made statements such as
>Klezmer is not a style of playing, it's a philosophy. BARF!!! Who
>needs or wants such nonsense.
>
...
> (All this is personal opinion, and
>in no way can be asserted to be fact. It is simply how I perceive these
>people and their playing.)

While respecting Dan's opinion, and appreciating his
qualification/disclaimer, I still wonder whether his perception is
consistently in this vein.

Music quite commonly touches on philosophy, religion, love, magic, humor,
sex, and the unknown. I suspect we all realize that, and perhaps Dan just
was thinking that it is sophmoric to state the obvious explicitly. Feidman,
however, probably finds it difficult to talk about music without reference
to these seemingly extramusical problems, not because he lacks depth but
because he is in fact so deeply involved with them. These are of course not
at all trivial problems.

Feidman is one of many musicians who face scorn because of their
involvement in "extramusical" issues. Sun Ra is perhaps the most prominent
example, but I can think of dozens of others. We must remind ourselves of
our odd cultural perspective in which music has been somewhat separated
from its normal environment. There aren't many musicians who can really
live this separation and remain highly creative, however. Music really only
MAKES sense in a broader perspective. Lots of us need and want this
"nonsense".

Alan Saul
saul+@-----.edu

   
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