Klarinet Archive - Posting 000183.txt from 2005/06

From: Joseph Wakeling <joseph.wakeling@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] re: Somehow I passed my own test
Date: Wed, 08 Jun 2005 13:42:05 -0400

dnleeson wrote:

> Anyone can hold this view. I certainly did not, nor did the majority
> of responses to my comment about not finding favor in this particular
> Adams composition. But it is a generalization to have come back with
> the comments about elitist and holier thn thou attitudes, as if there
> were a flood of such opinions offered. You point out just one.

In this case, sure---and nobody was suggesting that you or many others
on this list have a bad attitude to modern material. But it's certainly
true that dismissive, contemptuous attitudes towards contemporary music
are widespread and that these viewpoints are often ones of automatic
rejection rather than reasoned thought.

I think that Ben's response was to these attitudes of dismissal and not
to the more complex, thought-out viewpoints that you and some others
displayed towards the Adams piece (and others).

For what it's worth, I'm not overly fond of Gnarly Buttons myself. It's
a *fun* piece for sure, but it's not terribly deep IMO. Certainly
nothing compared to a masterpiece of minimalism such as Reich's Music
for 18 Musicians. And when it comes to recent clarinet masterpieces I'm
not sure anything can touch the recent Concerto by Elliott Carter.

-- Joe

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org

   
     Copyright © Woodwind.Org, Inc. All Rights Reserved    Privacy Policy    Contact charette@woodwind.org