 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: William
Date: 2009-05-10 16:09
Politics aside, I am astonished by this: "the TSA (at a port on entry) decided to take no chances and destroyed the instrument"--his personal Steinway piano because, "the glue smelled funny". I've heard of border agents completely dismanteling suspicious looking vehicals going into Canada looking for drugs, etc--but a Steinway?? Yikes!!!!
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2009-05-10 17:01
Maybe they thought he was going to light up a Piano leg after the concert....
But what he said on stage is completely unacceptable. People come to hear him play, not get a political speech.
He should just shut up and play - or not play at all as was his choice.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: Kevin
Date: 2009-05-10 18:58
It might be naive, but I've long held to the hope art was something that had the ability to transcend politics. (I realize of course, that history has many cases that prove otherwise.)
So much for that theory that music is a universal language.
This mixing of what should be two separate things somewhat reminds me of the Little League World Series, something I've long had a problem with. Let's have 10-12 year olds compete in front of millions of TV sets and fight for national pride! Gee, who came up with such a brilliant idea?
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2009-05-10 19:33
> People come to hear him play, not get a political speech.
Another way to put this would be "they expect an artist to be unimpressed by political ongoings", and consequently they expect them to remain silent with genocide, famine or sheer ignorance. Where do you draw the line, David?
If I had a political (or humanitarian, or even a commercial) statement to make, I'd choose the biggest possible audience, with the highest possible attention.
I don't see anything inherently wrong with Zimerman's acting.
--
Ben
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2009-05-10 19:45
Kevin wrote:
> It might be naive, but I've long held to the hope art was
> something that had the ability to transcend politics.
It is naive.
Oftentimes, art is politics. Poetry, literature, music, sculpture, painting, ...
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Author: awm34
Date: 2009-05-10 21:54
As for keeping quiet, there's a risk in that. Several prominent German artists were roundly criticized for performing during the Nazi era and for not speaking out.
It's surely not what attendees paid to hear, but it is his only forum.
Alan Messer
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Author: Kevin
Date: 2009-05-11 00:25
Ben and Alan, I don't think anyone's really upset over the fact that Mr. Zimerman decided to take a minute to voice his opinions on modern day American politics; it's the way he went about doing it, i.e. going well out of his way to insult and humiliate his very own patrons.
If he were a younger, less established musician just embarking on his career - would he have come to Disney Hall to scold its patrons on the shortcomings of their country? Of course not.
Therefore, this comes off as not just someone who deeply cares about the US military situation - but also as an important artist figure on an ego trip who decided to flaunt his proverbial balls.
Anybody and everybody knows that the paying audience in Los Angeles are not the ones responsible for the actions of the US government, and they are certainly justified in feeling angry that Mr. Zimerman aimed his blunt behavior towards them.
Post Edited (2009-05-11 00:37)
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Author: brycon
Date: 2009-05-11 00:43
Mr. Zimerman's knowledge of US politics certainly leaves a lot to be desired, and why he assumes anyone would care what he thinks is beyond me.
With that said, I do not have a problem with what he did. I do hope the patrons that were upset complained and received a refund.
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2009-05-12 00:26
This sort of thing is rare in any musical genre. Experience with Sinead O'Connor indicates that it is death for a pop singer.
I was at Paul Paray's last appearance with the Detroit Symphony in 1962, when he read a prepared statement about being continuously treated shabbily. And I knew exactly what he was talking about - this was no different from anybody else in the orchestra during that era. I was shocked, but this can happen when an artist is treated like a piece of meat.
We could put this into better perspective if we knew just how much of Mr. Zimerman's income came from US performances. He probably makes most of his income from playing in other countries, and from his recording contract. My guess is that he will continue to make a good living.
He did make a big splash. Concert-goers are not used to politics. In accepted ettiquette. it can happen backstage but is not supposed to occur where the audience can see it. Passing over snooty propriety, it is generally bad form to dump unpleasantness on your customers. Music is an escape for many, who don't like politics interjected into their music.
So far as "unpleasantness" goes, any lesser artist would be very highly traumatized by having their $100K+ instrument destroyed. The article doesn't mention, but it is most likely that Mr. Zimerman's destroyed Steinway was fully insured. On the other hand we can be assured that he personally selected it and had it altered to his liking. It takes substantially more time and money to do this with a piano than with a clarinet.
Was this spontaneous? How will this effect his popularity outside of the US? What if he had just gone home and not booked any more US appearances?
Post Edited (2009-05-12 11:42)
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