{"id":730,"date":"2015-04-01T17:51:31","date_gmt":"2015-04-01T21:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/?p=730"},"modified":"2015-04-01T17:51:31","modified_gmt":"2015-04-01T21:51:31","slug":"parenthesis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/2015\/04\/parenthesis.html","title":{"rendered":"Paren(t)hesis"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"20734\"<\/a>Over the years, many people have told me, and I may have told one or two myself, that you can\u2019t really be a composer and have a family. Now that I\u2019m nine+ years into fatherhood, I\u2019d like to share my current perspective.<\/p>\n

History gives us conflicting \u2013 even paradoxical \u2013 evidence. Bach\u2019s twenty-one kids didn\u2019t seem to slow him down even a tad. On the other hand, we should probably be grateful (for their sake, if not for his and ours) that there were no little Beethovens demanding Papa Ludwig\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

Although history is often illuminating, the lessons are so inconclusive and the expectations of parenthood have changed so much over the years that it really makes more sense to stick with the present.<\/p>\n

Occupying ones imagination with music that nobody else can hear requires a great deal of focused attention, and young children would seem to be designed to suck up focused attention like an invading army of vacuum cleaners bearing down on a colony of dust bunnies. I think it is fair to say that having children is going to put at least a temporary dent in the depth \u2013 if not the breadth — of your output.<\/p>\n

Also, with thousands of composers crawling the planet chasing commissions, performances and other signs of attention, one is definitely put at a disadvantage if preoccupied with the well-being of wholly dependent fledglings.\u00a0\u00a0 There is only so much time in each day, and lost time is one of a composer\u2019s worst enemies.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, nothing gives you a clearer perspective on your own childhood \u2013 and any current childish tendencies you may have retained \u2013 than having kids. Progeny can be very effective playback devices, helping you revisit your most cherished limitations and assumptions in real time. What you do with that perspective is up to you. For some, that kind of perspective can stunt creativity; for others (and I\u2019ll go ahead and put myself in this category), it provides creative clarity and direction.<\/p>\n

An immeasurable element for consideration is the love one gives and receives as a parent, a love that only resembles other loves superficially. Again, what you do with that love is up to you. For some, it provides contentment that serves as a palliative to the itch of ambition, slowing down the urge to create. For others, it can bring a measure of self-confidence that impels them to seek otherwise unattempted levels of achievement.<\/p>\n

I can only speak directly about fatherhood, and only from my own experience, and my experience is, like everyone\u2019s, limited. So far, the positives have far exceeded my hopes.<\/p>\n

Motherhood is a topic both closely related and unfathomably distant. In all the discussions about the differences in opportunity for male and female composers, I don\u2019t believe I\u2019ve heard specific mention of the difference between being a composer who is a woman and being a composer who is both a woman and a mother. Anecdotally, I can say that the composers I\u2019ve known who were also mothers didn\u2019t have large families. If anyone can point me to data on this topic, I\u2019d be much obliged. It makes sense to blame Robert for Clara Schumann\u2019s lack of development as a composer (though their letters show him urging her in that direction), but it\u2019s difficult to understand why one doesn\u2019t hear of her seven children being an impediment.<\/p>\n

I can only guess what it would be like to be the mother of many children and maintain a life as a composer. Does anyone know from personal experience?<\/p>\n

I realize I\u2019m treading on somewhat treacherous terrain, full of chicken-and-egg ramifications, so I\u2019ll just add that I don\u2019t have an agenda, other than to raise questions I haven\u2019t heard raised.<\/p>\n

And, of course, I\u2019m sensitive to the fact that just because I haven\u2019t heard a topic discussed in no way assures that the discussion hasn\u2019t taken place out of my earshot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the years, many people have told me, and I may have told one or two myself, that you can\u2019t really be a composer and have a family. Now that I\u2019m nine+ years into fatherhood, I\u2019d like to share my current perspective. History gives us conflicting \u2013 even paradoxical \u2013 evidence. Bach\u2019s twenty-one kids didn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-730","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=730"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":732,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/730\/revisions\/732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}