oceangoing
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Articles

A lost generation of pianists?

by Dr. David C.F. Wright

Nine years into the twenty first century, we can very easily forget the great pianists of the past. There is an unfortunate attitude prevailing in some quarters that only living performers deserve our attention and, therefore, some pianists of a previous generation, and some who are still working today may be in danger of being forgotten at some time in the future. Many fine pianists who have died, even in comparatively recent years, are ignored or forgotten despite some of their recordings being available.

Sir William Glock

by Dr. David C. F. Wright

I am one of many people who are troubled by the continual attacks on the late Sir William Glock with the argument that, because he was in favour of avant garde music, he deliberately ignored music by British composers who wrote in a tonal and conservative idiom.

This is completely untrue and has resulted in the perpetrating of a myth.

“Crisis” in Contemporary Music? What Crisis?

The Heart of the Matter

(© 2003 Modrana Music Publishers ltd. Published on the Classical Composers Database with permission.)

Is contemporary music in a state of crisis? Answers range from 'certainly' to 'possibly' to ' not at all'. I would like to contribute some points to this continuing debate which, if not altogether original, are ones which I think do not receive the
attention they merit.

Subjective and objective

I think that it´s possible assess art and especially music with dimension subjective-objective. Then popular music is clearly more subjective than classical music. It is clearly seen when themes of popular music like my love, my longing, my sorrow, etc., are compared with a symphony, that has no such connections to the same kind of subjectivity. Allthough a symphony can be experienced strongly it still doesn´t have connections with personal life of that experiencing person.