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Re: pay cuts, etc

Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-08-29 22:26

The Opry is plenty loud, but not deliberately repellent and not at volumes that damage their ears (and those of the audience) within a few minutes. Most Opry performers stand still and let their fingers do the talking. I may use ear plugs at the Opry, but I don't need two pair plus ear muffs.

By contrast, many pop bands routinely play at 115 dB and more, which causes irreversible hearing loss after 15 minutes. Neither do Opry performs smash their guitars or simulate (or perform) sexual intercourse on-stage. Their object is to play with joy, not defiance.

Pop performances with superstar personalities really exist only on video, where the stars barely pretend to be singing and there are thousands of snippets auto-tuned and assembled into the final product. "Live" performances are lip-synched, with the video flashing behind on a giant screen. It's actually more effective on YouTube.

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Live classical performances are for me much more immediate than recordings, even of live concerts. Particularly in solo and chamber music concerts, I get sense of the performer engaging with the music, cresting the challenge of difficult sections and charming my spirit in the gentle parts. There's a live give-and-take. Sure, I listen mostly to recordings, but if I didn't go to a piano recital every so often, I'd lose something vital to my soul.

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Classical music (which is where I live) has always been paid for by nobility of the crown and church. The Koch brothers, who give megabucks to classical music, are no more nauseating (and no less) than Prince Esterhazy or the Margrave of Brandenburg.

The arts have no objection to being patronized. It's the way they survive. When bloated plutocrats run short of money, symphonies get pay cuts, and some great ones die.

That's the moral dilemma that every classical performer must face. As Stan Freeberg said, "You play that plink plink plink plink jazz, or you don't get paid."

Ken Shaw

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pay cuts, etc new

rtmyth

2013-08-29 12:34