Klarinet Archive - Posting 000050.txt from 1995/01

From: "David A. GILMAN" <DAGILMAN@-----.EDU>
Subj: Lighten Up
Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 13:01:14 -0500

Today, I read several rather amusing messages from the list
regarding several musicians currently in the public eye. Some respondants
have compared Richard Stolzman to certain popular musicians such as Kenny G
and Yanni. First of all, while I don't like some of Stolzman's antics
[Dan, is it really true that he "streaked" the audience at one of his New
York concerts?!?] or all of his interpretations, I greatly respect his
daring. He actually has the nerve to try something new with the standard
repertoire, which is much more than many of us classical musicians would
ever do. In this regard, he transcends Kenny G and Yanni, because their
product is strictly derivative.
But while I speak of these two, why must we vilify them so?
Clearly, no trained, dedicated musician would take them seriously as
artists. But, they seem to understand something many "serious artists" have
forgotten, if they ever knew it at all: how to make people feel good. Our
purpose as performing artists is not only to educate, enlighten, and
experiment, but also to entertain. The truly great artist does all of these
things and enjoys doing all of them. If we lose sight of this, our
audience may well lose sight of us.
David Gilman