I think the practice of idolatry in music is at once hilarious and pathetic. I am speaking of the idolatrous nature of the classical music world – a world for which I was groomed during my Master’s program at Northwestern, but a world I never fell wholly in love with.
I remember falling in love with classical music while being exposed to it through my participation in 8th-grade orchestra. I had joined the orchestra at that time as a way to learn how to play the bass. From there I was hoping to play with Benny Goodman and Count Basie, if I just knew where to look them up.
My newfound love for classical music was pure in that I had grown up listening to Top 40 radio. From there, I fell head-over-heels in love with jazz (especially of the Big Band type), and then, by joining the school orchestra, I discovered Mozart and Company. I didn’t come from a background of Beethoven worshippers – I had no idea that I was supposed to idolize men in wigs and their unbelievable, superhuman genius. I just thought the music was fun to play and it sounded nice. Fortunately, I never lost that love for the music.
But as my exposure to this music increased over time, I discovered the world that has been built up around it. It is a world which seems to insist that we will only be truly fulfilled if we live vicariously in the 17th, 18th, 19th, and first half of the 20th centuries through the music that was written in those times. We must marvel at the mathematics of Bach; we must beat our breasts that Mozart died so young, so young; we know that the world will be a better place if we keep performing Beethoven’s Ninth with its message of universal brotherhood – I mean, there hasn’t been a war since he penned that powerful piece, right? I believe it was Hitler who once said: “Wait just a second. Something about that Ninth Symphony I heard the other week…hmm, there was a message in there. Let me just reflect for a moment. Yes, perhaps annihilating millions of people is something we shouldn’t do.” Powerful, indeed.
Seriously, if you read enough of the literature on the subject of classical music (which I have), if you read the typical program notes for a typical concert (which I have), if you even read some of the bios of today’s maestros (which I have), you will be inundated with a paltry hero worship written in the form of the most sentimentalized, flowery pap. Who are we kidding, people? It’s just music, for God’s sake! Lighten up!
This is what I LOVE about the musical theatre world – people in this world have a sense of humor! They’re not stuffy! They love their music and they love the FUN of it!
I have no love for the so-called classical music world – I think it’s sickening, quite frankly. But I haven’t lost my love for the music! When I play Mozart, I don’t consider myself as being on some musical mission to play “perfectly.” I play like when I play in a barn with a bluegrass band (which I’ve done). I let ‘er rip and have fun!! I enjoy it!
If you are a classical musician, I hope that you are enjoying what you do, like you would enjoy playing in a barn with a bluegrass band. If you are not, something is very wrong, and you need to approach the music like you did when you were just getting started – it was fun to play and it sounded nice. That’s why you stuck with it initially, right? If you don’t enjoy it anymore, it’s probably because your advanced studies turned it into a chore, or because some conceited conductor (or a whole string of them) made you believe that he or she is the master, and you are the peon (read "The Toscanini Syndrome" under my "I Can Read" category). To hell with that crap. Go back to your first love: the music and the music making, and forget all the stuff that’s been piled on top of it. Just play, and love playing!
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