Happy Friday!
The month of May passed so quickly.
I’ve recently thought that while I have made my tastes about finding what I consider to be the highest quality of art, in fact, I am simply a pop culture lover exiled in the classical world. I mean, where does my heart lie? It most definitely longs for those days when pop music aspires to the same ambition, technical mastery, and experimentation that the classical world does as a matter of course. It’s a shame, because as the audience for pop starts to melt away in the new media world, the classical world has yet to truly step up and makes its case to the mass audience.
What it needs is a champion. I’d like to make the analogy to the modern day champion of adult-focused complex fiction, namely HBO. The channel has produced shows that are among the best ever created and not by compromising. For example, The Wire is one of those shows that almost dares you to stay tuned. It doesn’t explain anything and defiantly presents unadulterated complexity as challenging as the world around us. But if you stick around, it explodes into depth of feeling, character, and understanding. We are treated to a classical delight surrounded by the supportive world of visual arts hype and credibility. It’s not only challenging, but it’s cool.
Classical music needs its HBO. It needs an artist that can not only win Pulitzers and Carnegie Hall audiences, but can produce work that has vitality for the casual observer. It’s commonly assumed that John Adams or Philip Glass occupy this function. Adams and Glass are accessible. In a way, Steve Reich has made an impact (he’s commonly referenced anytime Pitchfork needs to drop a Minimalism figurehead). But what I’m talking about is mass appeal on the level of Entertainment Weekly and E! Entertainment and Bravo.
Perhaps that’s where someone like Gustavo Dudamel will come into play. His passion plays well on TV as the 60 Minutes interview showed. But way back in the day, Leonard Bernstein had a weekly TV show. Where is the equivalent today? Should there even be an equivalent? I don’t know, but I sure wish we could at least have that discussion out there in the pop culture sphere.
So with those thoughts, Happy Friday! Here are some mp3s for your troubles.
