dropping the needle

Enjoyed your recent appearances in Australia but wondered why in all your brilliant exegesis you left out the culpability of the critic or cultural policeman who maintains the borders surrounding 'classical music'. Surely, the smoking gun in the hands of those who fought to preserve the 'repertoire', applications for membership which closed some time before my birth in 1966, doomed the realm 'classical' to permanent extinction. Contrast 'classical' with 'jazz' and you see a much more plastic form ready to admit even the most wayward stragglers (white jazz lacks all the characteristics that made jazz jazz). If you have a good tune and virtuosic ability you are hardly likely to write 'classical' than music which you call 'jazz' for that arena is a far more welcoming and swelling refugee-camp for most up and coming virtuosi and composers. Critics and 'roundhead puritans' who refused to allow works as various as 'Show Boat' or 'Keith Jarrett's Koln Concert' into 'classical' surely also have blood on their hands.

NL: Thnanks for your comments. I did say in a couple of lectures that downloads and i-pods offer a future of music without categories...

I've been thinking about all these reports of doom and gloom. I suppose that if you are looking for new recordings of Brahms and Beethoven, or new studio recordings of "La Traviata", then things are not looking too bright. But that's not what I'm interested in anyway. We may be losing the meat and potatoes, but the vegetarian stir-fry is booming. Look at the Naive series of Vivaldi operas; a new (and I mean something totally unheard up till now!) opera every few months. Or Alan Curtis plugging away at Handel operas. What a treasure-trove of music! The early-music segment is keeping me happy, and supplied with surprises. We need to get away from the notion that Classical Music is the Berlin Philharmonic performing Brahms. There's a world of music to rediscover and much of it is ridiculously beautiful. I attended a performance at the Juilliard School recently, Gluck's "Iphigenie en Aulide". It was wonderful, but I realized afterwards that there isn't even a satisfactory recording of it available. Gardiner's version was a sad dissapointment after those Juilliard students. I think Minkowski has a recording in the works..

NL comments:

Quite right, Chris. There are large tracts of musical literature that are inadequately recorded. Not sure about Iffy on Aulide, tho. I can hear at the back iof my head an oldish Munich RCA of the Wagner version with Anna Moffo, Fisher-Dieskau, Thomas Stewart, Arleen Auger. And there should be a Gardiner of it somewhere.

The question appeared in a column by "NL" in early 2001 and has played on my mind ever since then. There can only be one Norman Lebrecht.

In 'Re look after yourself', Norman Lebrecht, indefatigable filler of column inches, asks, "Who on earth is Schubert?". "Schubert" is not a person but is, in fact, a musical phenomenon, well known to musicologists like myself, whereby the musical quality of a composer's music diminishes as he writes for larger ensembles. Works for full orchestra can consist merely of mindlessly repeated rhythms and motifs, changing key, but bereft of any real musical develpoment. It is not common to all composers, however, some of whom exhibit "Reverse Schubert". In composers exhibiting the true Schubert syndrome, therefore, musical excellence increases with the smallness of the ensemble, sometimes reaching its zenith at less than one musician, although some have sustained musical acceptability as far as eight performers, although this is rare. No one seems to know why the phenomenon is so named. There is a street in london called "Schubert", a haven of oboe excellence, and it may be named after that.

Tony - I agree with the general gist of your comments but I cannot for the life of me recall writing that phrase 'Who on earth is Schubert?' It doesn't appear in a quick search of my columns. Maybe some other filler of inches?
NL

Welcome, my fellow internaut! This is excellent news for the blogsphere, and we certainly look forward to pictures of your pets and workspaces. Oh wait...nevermind!

I treasure the Arts Journal blogs, and your contribution makes them even cooler. *adds slipped disc to bookmarks*

Mr. Lebrecht, you are joining what I consider to be a most distinguished roster of writers, and you certainly have had a distinguished career yourself. I look forward to the back and forth on the topic of the future of classical music.

I heard a doctor/author interviewed last night and his comment about doctors in the US having less and less time to see patients because they have such a workload. It occurs to me that orchestras in the US are getting to that point, at least during the seaason. Some of them keep right on playing and working the entire summer. Is it any wonder that so many musicians become jaded to the profession?

I've never responded to a blog before, so here goes. I'll try to keep the spelling on track - most bloggers don't seem to be able to, in my experience. Yes, the music industry, not just the recording industry, is in serious decline. Stadium rock is a one-dimensional bore now; the desperate attempts to make the staging of classical concerts interesting and 'new' look very jaded; and only opera, and liturgical music, which is sort of where it all started, has retained any sense of freshness and purpose - notwithstanding some appalling opera productions about which we could all moan. Because new artists are not being recorded, the world at large has become increasingly unaware of any kind of evolution in styles and performances. The record companies rely on backlist sales to lubricate their cashflow, but will have no backlist within five years because they are not creating a frontlist now. But I for one treasure my record collection and would thank the record companies for what they brought us all in the great days.

Wouldn't it be better to see the so called 'demise' as a natural restructuring that goes on in any industry once an initial 'surge'[75 years]is exhausted. After all it couldn't have lasted forever in its final state.

Yeah! You made it to the blogosphere. I for one, am overjoyed, and will be perusing you regularly.

Hello Norman- Nice to see you here--I've enjoyed our email exchanges and check in with this informative site occasionally. I am sure you will be a truly valued blogger!