First, the reading for Wednesday:
- Print out and read "Where We Stand" by Greg Sandow, who is a critic, consultant, and composer. It's in your Google Drive at https://docs.google.com/a/depauw.edu/open?id=0B43-ErQ7UuxfOW9jMGRwUGFzYUk.
- Take notes, write in the margins, etc.
- Write at least a two-paragraph comment here on what you found most interesting in the piece.
Want more details? Greg has some of the actual studies he references in one of his blog posts, at http://www.artsjournal.com/sandow/2008/03/age_of_the_audience.html.
Another post or two about learning activities will follow shortly.
I felt that this article's focus on data distinguished it from much of the discussion on this topic. It's disturbing to me that Sandow faced so much difficulty in gathering information. To use his idea, it seems as though more attention should be given to this subject due to the "crisis" that western art music is facing.
ReplyDeleteIt was also disconcerting to hear Sandow speak about western art music as something that must change fundamentally in order to survive. That being said, I found his argument pertaining to cultural shift rather convincing in spite of my natural inclination to resist its foreboding message. Perhaps we, as musicians, will have to come to terms with what music is and should be before we can adequately address the crisis we face.
Well...you just said precisely what I was going to in a much more eloquent manner. Well spoken Mr. Stanton.
DeleteI really like this article but at the same time, it scared me a little bit. He made some great points about the changing of the classical music audience. They are getting older and older and the younger generations are following. I really liked the analogy he used on the third page about how people are going to sports games and the movies less, but people have stopped going to classical music concerts. The decrease in attendance of movies is a cultural weather change and the overall stopping of attending the classical music concerts is more like a cultural climate change--e.g. global warming. That thought is a little concerning.
ReplyDeleteI also found it disconcerting, as Burke said, that Sandow had a difficult time gathering up all this data. That would mean that the issue is being "pushed under the rug". People don't really want to discuss it so the information about it is hard to find. I liked the alternative ways of getting the younger generation interested in the classical music. I think engaging the audience more in the concert will help get more ticket sales and interest in the subject. More and more people nowadays like the hands on experience of things. I know that I like to be able to talk to the performers after their concert and tell them what a great job they did and pick their brain a little bit about how they got where they are. I know as a performer, I love being able to talk to the audience after a production. I love finding out what they liked, what they didn't like, what they found interesting, etc. I also like the idea of music schools offering entrepreneurship programs to help teach the musicians how to make a career in music in a new and different way. I feel like because of the current economic state that this country is in money will forever be an issue. But do believe that finding new ways to deal with that issue is a must. This is a crisis and it needs to be resolved.
I'm infuriated, but not by the author. The fact that most aspects of traditional culture are on the decline, including attendance concerts, movies, and sports events is more than a minor problem. The Internet is obviously behind this--let's kill the Internet! Oh, the irony. I beg pardon of this blog. I also find the assumption that the arts do not improve the way people live to be a little bit disgusting--the NYTimes article had a good basis, for there are many things by the elite for the elite that the government shouldn't encourage by cutting taxes, but I really don't see how donating to the arts promotes inequality like some other superficialities might. I would classify myself as egalitarian, and the arts are not just for the elite--they are for everybody. Classical music simply gets a bad rap in today's society.
ReplyDeleteGrudgingly, I admit that Sandow has a very realistic set of solutions, no matter how horrifying they seem. For classical music to survive, it has to shed its negative connotations at the very least and make significant changes in presentation. The nod to formality (or informality in current Western society) was especially interesting, and it's a good place to start. Getting new, younger audiences is going to be tough because baby boomers won't be around forever. Survival of the fittest plays a part here--classical music has a choice either to evolve or to die off among new fans. Let's hope that Bieber fever is on the short end of cultural Darwinism for future generations. :P
The context in which I read this article was especially fitting. A group of about six or seven non-music students and I spend almost every night doing our homework in the Hogate lobby - and in this circumstance, a devaluation of classical music was passionately expressed while I was reading Sandow's opinions. It reiterated the entirely relevant point made throughout the article: the generation of classical music "appreciators" is slowly dying out. We are becoming an endangered species, so to speak. While some may take pride in "being unique", this is by no means something to delight in.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, the high praised radicalism (page 5) may seem frustrating from musicians standpoint but is imperative to the survival of our lot. I believe commercializing classical music is essential, despite initial reactions of resistance to such a conformity. However, classical music will have no means of endurance with it's participants maintaining such an elitist disposition. It's our job to recognize other art forms as substance (page 6) and reach out rather than expecting a generation of apathy to suddenly board our train of thinking. Hopefully, we as a class can begin our participation in such radical endeavors with our capstone project!
To start, I agree with almost everyone that has commented so far. The main concern to me when reading the article was the lack of statistics Sandow had throughout the entire thing. The lack of information is upsetting because this issue is very large for all of us, and to see it not get much attention is discouraging. I feel that through DePauw we have been gaining popularity for classical music (look at VOCES8, we had a much larger turnout then was anticipated) through CLA students. But it is not expanding throughout the rest of the country.
ReplyDeleteI think this is what will affect us the most as we graduate and move on with our lives. Sandow gave a few suggestions but mostly stayed neutral and just showed all the sides of the movement. When we graduate and go to find a career, we're going to have to do more. When we get jobs we can't stay huddled in our cubicles (OK, we're musicians that's not going to happen) but we need to be able to reach out and expand classical music. I think Sandow's opinion of saying the radical approach is the important approach is probably right. I wish we didn't have to leave the conservative viewpoints behind because I think they're more of the professional classical music that we love, but for now, the radical movement will probably help classical music the most.
The Sandow article was a great article to read. It seemed a little long at first but with this topic it was entertaining and really a good thing for us to read. Especially with how well it relates to all of us today. I guess the real question is, outside of FYS, what are we really willing to do about it?
My opinions on this article were mixed to say the least. On first read, this article scared me to death. No more jobs in the classical music industry? Classical audiences are dying? This is scary stuff for anyone looking to find a job in the music world in general. But upon my second read, what I found interesting is that in the evolution of classical music and classical musicians, there were many new job options listed in the article. Popular bands such as Coldplay and Muse, rappers and balladeers are using symphonic instruments more and more liberally in their music. Yes, the CLASSIC classical music industry is on the verge of disappearance (though not without the possibility of resurrection), but there are so many new and different options that the classically trained musician could excel at and help evolve.
ReplyDeleteWhat was discussed in the article was that classical performances (orchestra/band) tickets and funding are on the high end of the scale whereas open and progressive performances may not sell tickets and are lower budget than symphonic productions. If the progressive classical music industry is becoming the more prominent of the concentrations than it SHOULD be charging money for events, advertising and evolving the orchestration so that it is more worthy of classical training. We as college age, pre-professional musicians need to be able to embrace this cultural shift. We are training to be traditional opera singers, chamber players or orchestra members, but maybe we need to experiment with new styles and prepare for our new future, get excited for our new future.
I believe it presented it self with strong convincing evidence. There was a few times that it gave more numbers. One spot was when it begins on how the median age was increasing. if it could have put numbers in for each block of ten years that would have been nice.
ReplyDeleteI really did like the statistics. I just wish there were a few more. The article it's self was good and covered most of the major concerns musicians have about the music industry.
This article seemed to put everything that we have discussed about failing orchestras and declining interest in classical music into one well researched (as much as it could be) article. Sandow paints a rather bleak picture of the classical music scene, though it's nothing that we haven't heard. What worries me most is the lack of interest that the general public seems to have. In the section, "Why don't people notice," I kept wondering if Sandow meant "why doesn't the general public notice" or "why don't musicians notice." Because if he meant the general public, I am wondering if the general public even cares enough to think about asking questions. I don't mean to say that everyone in the world who doesn't play an instrument is culturally challenged, but many of them do have a lack of knowledge when it comes to orchestras and the concerts that they put on. This may be Sandow's point...which is why I liked the section about how many of the gigs that orchestras do are community ones that are meant to spread awareness. Though musicians may find these jobs underneath their skill/artistry level, it may be one of the main ways they have to garner larger audiences.
ReplyDeleteSomething else that I was thinking about was Sandow's discussion of the fact that the classical music audience has gotten older throughout the years. Seeing as how in the 1950s the audience was young, this aging of the audience seems to be a result of this younger group aging. When this goup inevitably dies off, will the audience be gone forever? or will younger audience be reformed? Will this be a cycle that is continually repeated? Because very recently I have been feeling as if younger people are more interested in classical music- despite the fact that there is so much out there, in terms of types of music.
There will always be SOME people that love classical music and attend concerts. But it is true that many people feel that it is an old, dying art form. There is so much new music out there that appeals to younger audiences. Sandow is right about radical changes- they may be the only thing that saves classical music.
I have always had the impression that the musical world was "an endangered" thing. But this article has really put it into perspective for me. This article has had a depressing effect on me. Something I love is dying. It as painful as seeing someone I love is slowly dying. Society does not seem to notice that this major piece of culture is disappearing. Modern music is derived from classical music and that musical ancestry is nearly gone.
ReplyDeleteWell that was definitely an interesting article. I found his lack of specific information very irritating. The audience are getting older who attend classical music but that is because it is part of their generation so it is the same people. I understand for the sake of some of the orchestras and other classical music organizations names were withheld, but he lacked in giving all the numbers and percentages that I felt would've been nicer for people to see and not just see "a drop so large" or "far below" written.
ReplyDeleteI would've also like to know what the age of the adult audience is now. The comment the student made "and the house looked full to me" to me seemed like an accurate statement about all other forms of entertainment (sports, recreational activities, etc.) and I'm not sure that I found that terribly concerning. Although the classical music audience is becoming smaller I think that making the conservative and radical changes that Greg Sandow talks about would be a great way to start bringing in bigger audiences.
Another part of the article I was interested in Sandow's views was talking about "Culture". He mentions that the rich are the ones that donate a majority of the money and also says that 10% of donations from the wealthy go to organizations that "actually improve how people live" and the other 90% goes to the things they enjoy. I thought that saying that the "rich" only donate to benefit their own lives and that everything that receives funding from them can't benefit the community was a little harsh. As a future music educator (who will likely not be making a very high income) I hope their are many rich people who may have a connection with the school I will be working at to help fund my program and my paycheck. Ok well I could prolly have gone on a lot longer and brought up more things but that is it for now.
I found the article, in general, to be very alarming. The fact that people are simply not attending classical events is very disheartening, but then you have the added detail that people are also not attending events such as movies, basketball games, etc. Instead, people are finding more things to do at home. The point he makes that I took very literally is that the classical audience is "dying out". Those who were raised during the time that classical music was popular have obviously aged with their love for classical music and as they pass away so is our audience. Again, this is incredibly terrifying to hear as a student studying music to make a profession out of it.
ReplyDeleteI do not necessarily agree with the statement that Sandow made about how in order for classical music to survive. Classical music is classical music. If you change any aspect of this it you are simply just creating a new genre. I do believe that we need to find a more appealing and intriguing way to expose classical music to the public, but changing classical music will probably not be the way to go. The more you try to manipulate something, the more you loss the originality and foundation of said thing.