Just from what I read of the bit you quoted, it seems as if he thinks that back in the days when classical music was THE music, (like when Haydn and Mozart and Salieri and Beethoven and even earlier, in the baroque) that everyone who wanted to compose got a job and earned their keep from composing.
This guy obviously has too much time on his hands and not enough melody in his music! The majority of people who compose music (from ALL periods) have always had a hard time making ends meet from their composing. Heck, Mozart had to be the soloist to earn most of his commissions! And he died a pauper (I know, I know, he gambled a bit too much), but even Beethoven was always writing silly German dances and meaningless minuets for people to pay him for, and he taught piano lessons, too. Anybody who thinks composers in general have had a good life have definitely not done their historical research! Darcy James Argue wrote: >> Classical music: Why bother? >> A composer and Harvard professor wonders whether his craft has been >> left behind by a world with no patience for Great Art. >> >> - - - - - - - - - - - - >> By Joshua Fineberg > > >> Oct. 2, 2002 | If recruiting for composers were done in the want >> ads, nobody in their right mind would sign up. >> >> WANTED: Contemporary "classical" music composers. Preparation should >> ideally begin before age 7. At least 15 years of eye-straining, >> backbreaking, unpaid or even costly efforts will eventually be met >> with, at best, hostility or, more likely, with indifference. >> Financial prospects vary from nonexistent (in many cases negative) to >> mediocre. Only one out of several thousand applicants need even dream >> of a subsistence income from their music. Potential bonus: A small >> percentage of applicants may be offered greater financial security in >> return for training future postulants in a well-organized and highly >> successful structure similar to that of a pyramid scheme. > > > [remainder of article: > <http://www.salon.com/ent/music/feature/2002/10/02/classical/ index.html>] > > Anyone know this guy or his work? Anyway, in this article he's trying > hard not to make this yet another tedious "classical music is dead" > article, and I think he started on the right track -- addressing the > erosion of the idea of intrinsic value -- but in doing so makes some > highly questionable assumptions. Nonetheless, thought I'd post the > link in case anyone is interested. > > - Darcy > > ----- > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Boston MA > _______________________________________________ > Finale mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale > -- David H. Bailey [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
