Klarinet Archive - Posting 000065.txt from 1997/05

From: Gary Young <gyoung@-----.com>
Subj: Marketing art music
Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 18:17:20 -0400

1. When I went to see the new edition of Star Wars, it seemed to me that
part of Williams' score (I think during the trash compactor scene, but I
could easily be wrong) was lifted almost intact from the Rite of Spring.
It would be nice to think that this plagiarism will introduce more people
to "classical" music, but it almost went by me and probably went by most
other people too -- and that's the point: the composer generally does NOT
want the film music to be heard, i.e. consciously attended to, by those
watching the film (we should, and do, attend to R2D2), and that's one
reason film music is not the great form of art music of our day, however
skillfully it is put together. Attention must be paid (see point 2).

2. Re the discussion about the lack and/or loss of audiences for art music,
once again I remind everyone of the article by John Steinmetz, now
available by link on Sneezy, thanks to Mark Charette. Steinmetz defines
art music as music that you can't "get" unless you pay attention. (He
quotes one student: "I like rock music because you don't have to pay
attention in order to get it.") So defined, art music includes more than
"classical" music -- e.g. it includes jazz (I refuse to speculate on
whether it includes marching bands). Steinmetz has specific suggestions
and models for how performing artists can help audiences pay attention to
the music, how to make the music more accessible to audiences without
compromising the artists or the music. Anyone with any say over the
conditions under which he/she performs should read this. I've passed it
out to the other board members and the artistic directors of two chamber
music nonprofits in Madison, and it has met with a significant response,
including some important changes in the circumstances under which the music
is presented. It deals (among other things) with nuts and bolts issues --
how to make those unfamiliar with art music feel comfortable and not
looked-down-upon at art music concerts, open to the experience of the
music. Check out the article for yourself.

3. Also relevant is "Standing Room Only: Strategies for Marketing the
Performing Arts," a fascinating new book by Philip Kotler and Joanne Scheff
(Harvard Business School Press, 1997). The authors try hard, and with
considerable though not complete success, to present "marketing" as a
process that will not compromise but enhance the true nature of the thing
marketed, namely the artistic performance. List price is $45; I got it for
$40.50 at Borders. Those of you involved with arts organizations might
want your organization to invest in a copy and pass it around and see what
you can use from it -- it has lots of case histories and specific
suggestions.

I realize this is not specifically clarinet-related, but I think that as
clarinetists we all have an interest in making what we or other
clarinetists perform as accessible and intelligible and exciting and
fulfilling as possible to as many people as possible (without compromise of
anything essential).