Amid a grave financial crisis in Europe, and to a degree -
in the US, the arts are undeniably faring quite bad. It is, of course, no news
for us art professionals that whenever there is lack of cash in public space,
the first branch of life to suffer is exactly culture. You can't ask an
unemployed person to spend $50 for a concert when he is concerned he can't pay
his bills this month.
But in the present crisis there are some different ideas
running around - ideas that high arts, and more specifically, classical music -
are obsolete. A thing of the past. A thing of an elitist, capricious class that
has nothing better to do than attend pointless shows without real social value.
Or rather (because what the elite does usually is no concern of the public - on
the contrary, they try to emulate it!) -that public money is squandered on
supporting the arts when they should be used for healthcare, education, etc.
While this may be a valid point, I think the time has come to discuss seriously
not only the value, but also the future of the high arts, and more specifically
- classical music. I will concentrate on music, simply because I'm a musician.
Still, I argue that the same points are valid for things such as ballet,
painting and plastic arts that go beyond simple decorative functions.
THE VALUE OF CLASSICAL MUSIC
In my opinion, the development of classical music is one of
the greatest achievements of Western civilization. To me it is no less valuable than the development of classical economics, human rights concepts and
general education. Why? Because classical music has the power to change
behavior (for the better), to elevate a human spirit above the everyday
drudgery and make a human being think of concepts beyond eating, drinking and
making sex. Myself, I've never seen a person that willingly goes to classical
music concerts to later engage in violent or anti-social behavior. We have the
shining example of Venezuela - a whole country that has proven how classical
music may reeducate poor and violent citizens! Prove me wrong, but I think the
inherent indirect educational value of music is being vastly underestimated in
our society.
The development of classical music is the result of both the
technological and social development in Western Europe during the Renaissance,
and the subsequent Industrial Revolution periods. On one side, we had a nascent
middle class (the so-called bourgeoisie), accumulating wealth to rival the
aristocratic class, and gradually acquiring taste for the same things the
aristocrats liked - such as high arts. On the other hand, we had a rapid
technological development that made possible the spread of written sheet music,
which in turn led to the creation of the notation system and the possibility to
go beyond simple improvisation in music. The advent of polyphony during the
Baroque period was an unprecedented invention which didn't exist in the music
of any other part of the world! It gave western composers an incredible range
of creative possibilities, which geniuses like Bach and Handel used to start creating wonders. The subsequent
development of classical harmony sealed the path of classical music, and
allowed its growth into what we know and cherish today.
Another unique contribution of Western classical music is
the concept of a symphonic orchestra - a large group of musicians, trained and
able to play the most sophisticated musical works this world has seen! There
are no other examples of musical groups from any other part of the world
capable of the precision, synchronization and coloring a symphonic orchestra (and its
derivatives) produce!
I think there is one fact that proves the intrinsic value of
Western classical music, and that is the fact that almost every civilization
that has come into contact with ours has eagerly accepted the concepts of
classical music, and used it to enrich their own national music. Someone might
argue that this is simply the weaker emulating the cultural achievements of the
stronger, but I will point out that it is not always the case that 'conquerors'
impose their culture on 'conquered' people - the examples of Rome accepting
Hellenic culture, and the Barbarians accepting the culture of conquered Rome
prove this. It is not that a dominant force imposes their culture on the
dominated, but rather that a strong culture imposes itself upon a weaker one,
regardless of its position in the relative power structure of the day.
THE PRESENT OF CLASSICAL MUSIC
We live nowadays in a cruel world - arguably much more cruel
than the world we knew just 50 years ago. And I don't mean only the many wars
and 'conflicts' that are smoldering around the globe! I mean the inexorable,
heartless and machine-like march of market-driven capitalism. While on one hand
this system may offer faster ways to develop production and technological
innovation, on the other hand it also destroys effectively all high art!
I sincerely rue the day in which some economic 'genius'
decided to treat music, theater and the other arts as 'commodities' to be sold
on the market! Thus the commercial logic trumps the artistic value, and we see
the propagation of mediocre, easy-to-swallow musical 'shows' aimed solely at
diverting the listener! Simply because the majority of listeners nowadays
prefer not to think, they want simply to be entertained. Where is the bold
experimentation of the 20th century? Where is the truly great music? The one
that is capable of making even the most bored person cry, or laugh, or
exult? Orchestras and musicians are reluctant to perform it, because it is
too 'difficult to understand'! Instead, we see mega-shows of pop stars, each
one costing hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of dollars. We see them
advertised everywhere! From the myriad types of media we have today, we hear
the same pop music, boring and repetitive. Even governments prefer giving money
for such shows, instead of supporting classical music! Because it will attract
more people, and more people mean not only more money for the organizer of the
show, but also more visibility for the politicians that sponsored it! This is the first great problem with our society - that we try to insert everything in the world within the economic logic. But life has no economic logic. Culture, as a mirror of life - neither.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not against pop, or 'mainstream'
music. What we know today as 'pop' has always existed. In fact, it existed
before classical music, and it will always continue to exist, because it is
something necessary, something that provides easy and accessible entertainment
that may lift your spirit immediately. The problem with it is that on one hand it
becomes boring with time, and on the other hand it lacks any educational value
whatsoever. Ever wondered why old people are more prone to listening classical
music than young ones? It's not only because of the generations problem - it is
because more experienced people get bored when hearing the same music over and
over again. But the very fact that this type of music is so easily understood
and enjoyed means that it doesn't actually need advertisement, or support! It
can support itself, via the beloved market principle of economists! What really
needs support, is this sort of music which requires time and experience for
most people to understand, and enjoy. Classical music.
And we've seen for many years such support in Western Europe
(and to a far lesser extent, in the US). There are whole countries, like
Germany, which have made supporting classical music a national policy! Unfortunately,
as market economics advance inexorably in politics, and as the present
financial crisis continues to sap the developed world's resources, state
support for art is slowly declining, redirected to fields of more immediate benefit. Of course, money for arts may come from other, private sources - but it rarely does! And here comes the second great problem with our present society - we have
failed to maintain the level of interest high art should occupy in rich
people's lives!
It is very clear to me that our present society is divided
along class lines, much as it was more than 200 years ago. But while in the
Renaissance and Baroque there was a class-bred interest to high art among the
aristocracy, while it was considered at the time quite indispensable for a rich
person to be also a patron of the arts, today this isn't the case today! We
keep seeing rich people spending their money on almost everything but the arts,
and no one seems to feel this is a problem. Well, it is - because high art is
the heart of culture, and culture is the defining feature of every
civilization! Thus, by abandoning art, Western civilization is abandoning one
of the very defining features that allowed it to rise to its present glory! Who
would've remembered Greek civilization today if it wasn't for their architects,
plastic artists, for their philosophers and musicians? I claim that it was them
that defined Greek democracy, not the other way around! Thus, we may also claim
that it was the western civilizations' philosophers and thinkers, their writers
and musicians that defined its present values. And not the capitalists, which
in fact tried everything possible to dodge any higher values in their business
activities! You doubt that? Remember slavery in the US? Remember children and
women laboring in factories all over Western Europe in the 18th and 19th
centuries? For that matter, remember how every single colonial nation from
Europe didn't have the least qualms about exterminating the native population
in their colonies, and then plundering their riches?
And what do we do to preserve and promote art today?
Nothing! We wallow in the mediocrity our media is spewing everywhere, as if our
grandchildren will be highly interested in knowing what dress Katy Perry wore
at the MTV Music Awards, or what Paris Hilton tweeted after coming out of the
hospital for the n-th time... We
celebrate artists whose greatest achievement was to copy well somebody else, we
glorify models whom nature gave perfect bodies, we deify sports players who
race against the drug-detecting agencies... Are those things the achievements
we'd like to be remembered with after 500 years???
By abandoning art, we risk abandoning the very values that
define our civilization!
THE FUTURE OF CLASSICAL MUSIC
But enough whining - this won't save our art. Of course I'm
not going to say that we, musicians, have no part in its decline. We've become
too complacent, remembering the golden years of the 20th century, in which
classical artists were celebrated as pop stars and toured the entire world; in
which enlightened people from all classes would rush to the concert halls to
hear the newest pieces. We remember the past and we refuse to let go, we refuse
to continue on the path that made classical music eternal. What exactly is this
path?
As I pointed out earlier, classical music hasn't always
existed. It arose, as a direct consequence of several factors in Western
civilization. It came to being as a blend of the pop music of the time, the
sacred music practiced in Christian temples
and the music written for aristocratic courts. Classical music continued
developing as a blend of these, up to the middle of the 20th century. And this
ensured its great popularity - despite its complexity, despite its seemingly
inaccessible structure, most people could hear something they would like into
every great piece, from the very first hearing. And in subsequent hearings,
they would go along to discover more and more, as they get to know the piece.
Unfortunately, composers and musicians both became detached
from real life. As professionalization of classical music progressed, we started
thinking of ourselves as a sort of 'higher musician', a being for which pop
music is something inferior, to be avoided. Every time I listen today a colleague
of mine ranting against the current fashionable pop style, I am reminded of
this fact. And this behavior is felt very acutely by other people - those who
should be enjoying our music, are instead estranged by it! That is why they think
classical music is a sort of elite thing, only to be looked at from afar, and
maybe revered, but not enjoyed. Because we, the musicians, in our pride have
made it an elite thing indeed.
Classical music needs to return to its roots. That means, it
must blend again the best types of music of its time, INCLUDING popular music.
If you take a tour in musical history, you'll discover that most of its
masterpieces have many elements of music that was popular at the time. Look at
the medieval dances, an integral part of most baroque pieces! Look at the
waltz, embedded in most romantic music! Look at the jazz harmonies and rhythms,
featured in many 20th century masterpieces! Why are we afraid today to embrace
rock? To embrace R&B? And don't tell me these things only consist of a beat
- so did the waltz! Why are we ashamed to play movie music in our concerts?
Just because it is 'popular' doesn't mean that it is worthless! And yes, my Bulgarian
colleagues, I DO find worth in chalga, just as Bach found worth in the gigue -
a lively dance that sounded in every little village fest in England and France at the time! And I
don't care about the words they put in these songs - words are very easily
replaced. Music isn't.
My brother composers, stop trying to reach the stars and be
the next Schoenberg! Invention in music has limited usefulness, and it must always happen towards an end, not for its own sake. Why don't you try to be the next Beethoven, instead? He needed to express more tumultuous emotions than the classicism allowed him at the time, and he ended up starting the Romanticism movement! Only
when we have an accessible, interesting and valuable contemporary music, may we
have any chance at reverting the horrible tendency that estranges the public
from classical music. Only thus we may hope that our time will continue the
tradition of one of the greatest achievements of Western civilization!