If a great musician plays great music but no one hears . . . Was he really any good?
A violin virtuoso, with $3.5 million dollar violin plays in the subway. What happens next?
This article had been linked to frequently in the blogosphere, but I didn't pay much attention to it. It sounded like a gimmick or a stunt without much thought. But then I opened it and started to read.
As I read, I was surprised to discover tears well up in my eyes. It's not a particularly sad story and definitely not an intentional sob story. Only after I started to read the comments/chat and realized that others had also cried did I let a tear fall - as if it was ok because others had also done so (yeah, I'm weird like that...). I'm not sure why I had this reaction and still not sure even after reading comments from others who had also shed a tear.
The concept of the article sounds conceited, but if you read it through, the writer presents this experiment without conceit, or seems to at least. The rest of my entry is about this article, so read it now if you were thinking about doing so. I've also included the comments/chat link as well.
One of the most interesting points from the article is about the "framing" of art. After taking music history, the way I listened was completely transformed - it was properly "framed" for me. From a young age, I had listened to my father's classical music, but only really began to appreciate it after my days at the Conservatory. As Kant (from the article) puts it, "to properly appreciate beauty, the viewing conditions must be optimal."
On the other hand, it annoys me when people listen to classical music just because they think it makes them seem more sophisticated / complex / rich / 'cultured' - to like it only to impress onto others your sophistication and to not enjoy it for the music's intrinsic properties. The emotional impact of music is emphasized by the writer over and over again in the comments section. That is, it's not necessarily the type of music, but the performance and emotional impact that matter. The comments reminded me of a fitting quote from one of my favourite movies, Shawshank Redemption:
Even having said all that, would I have stopped and listened? When I'm travelling somewhere I always view it as a waste of time and try to minimize the time spent. On the other hand, I have a unique perspective because I use to (poorly) play the violin in grade school. After some reflection, I'm almost certain I would not have stopped and listened. And perhaps, that is my answer to why.
From the article:
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
-- from "Leisure," by W.H. Davies
My question to you: would you have stopped to listen?
This article had been linked to frequently in the blogosphere, but I didn't pay much attention to it. It sounded like a gimmick or a stunt without much thought. But then I opened it and started to read.
As I read, I was surprised to discover tears well up in my eyes. It's not a particularly sad story and definitely not an intentional sob story. Only after I started to read the comments/chat and realized that others had also cried did I let a tear fall - as if it was ok because others had also done so (yeah, I'm weird like that...). I'm not sure why I had this reaction and still not sure even after reading comments from others who had also shed a tear.
The concept of the article sounds conceited, but if you read it through, the writer presents this experiment without conceit, or seems to at least. The rest of my entry is about this article, so read it now if you were thinking about doing so. I've also included the comments/chat link as well.
One of the most interesting points from the article is about the "framing" of art. After taking music history, the way I listened was completely transformed - it was properly "framed" for me. From a young age, I had listened to my father's classical music, but only really began to appreciate it after my days at the Conservatory. As Kant (from the article) puts it, "to properly appreciate beauty, the viewing conditions must be optimal."
On the other hand, it annoys me when people listen to classical music just because they think it makes them seem more sophisticated / complex / rich / 'cultured' - to like it only to impress onto others your sophistication and to not enjoy it for the music's intrinsic properties. The emotional impact of music is emphasized by the writer over and over again in the comments section. That is, it's not necessarily the type of music, but the performance and emotional impact that matter. The comments reminded me of a fitting quote from one of my favourite movies, Shawshank Redemption:
Red: "I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free."
Even having said all that, would I have stopped and listened? When I'm travelling somewhere I always view it as a waste of time and try to minimize the time spent. On the other hand, I have a unique perspective because I use to (poorly) play the violin in grade school. After some reflection, I'm almost certain I would not have stopped and listened. And perhaps, that is my answer to why.
From the article:
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
-- from "Leisure," by W.H. Davies
My question to you: would you have stopped to listen?
Labels: music
posted by Nelson at 11:22 PM
4 Comments:
Hey Nels, I saw this article originally from a Facebook share from my friend Chris who is an avid violinist. I also passed it along to Susan and her friend Lawrence who are also both violinists. But I didn't realize how sweeping this story would be: I saw it on several news outlets including major US network news at 6:30 the other day.
I read about 75% of the article before, ironically, rushing off to do something else. But I was able to get the gist of it. The article didn't make me cry, but I suppose I should have read it through maybe once or twice entirely and it might make me feel different. To be sure, I enjoy classical music quite a bit and own a moderate collection and have attended the TSO a few times. I definitely know of a few pieces that I find very stirring emotionally. I actually find that I enjoy 'acoustic' music so much more than any other form. That is, classical, jazz, soundtracks, and so forth. Usually I find lyrical music irritating, I don't even particularly like opera (if it can be considered a similar genre to classical).
I'm curious about why people cried in reading this article though. I wonder if it is a sad or happy reaction. I read one comment from the self-described 32 year old male Republican who couldn't even understand why he was crying. If it's the fact that people are lamenting how out of touch they are with 'beauty' in their lives in a rush to get to work, then yeah, that is pretty sad.
I'm reminded of that episode of Band of Brothers where these German men are sitting in the middle of a bombed out German town and they are playing in a quartet. Other people stop by while carrying rubble to listen.
I guess music affects everyone differently and I do feel a bit that the article is almost geared towards making people feel guilty. I mean, it is described as genius, beauty, and an experiment to see if people would stop. I think the implicit assumption is that it is appaling that people didn't stop and certainly, when you later hear how important Bell is and how expensive the Strad is, yeah, you probably do feel like you missed something. But keep in mind the flip side. If this article never broke out the way it did and you were oblivious to what you just walked by, you would carry on and literally never know what you missed. The article might not have intended it, but it certainly went along way to textually doing the sad head-shake at society. Remember, 'beauty' is a construct. Would it be the same if a world reknowned punk band played their particular brand of music? I think that classical is very crucial for this kind of experiment because it is almost a musical sacred cow. You can criticize other forms of musical art like hip hop, rock and roll, and whatever, but classical is probably at worst labelled as 'boring'. I feel that it intrinsically perceived as beautiful and elegant and beyond reproach because it is classical. Philosophically, does art have value even without people to appreciate it?
I don't know, those were just some thoughts I had, disjointed as they may be.
As an addendum, I realize that a lot of the points I mused about were likely covered in the article, so I really should have read it thoroughly before writing my comment. So take my comments for what they're worth in this case.
Yeah, I really can't explain why I had this reaction (it was the sad one). Maybe it's the reason that you and I allude to, which I only figured out when I was almost done writing this entry.
Yeah, I think the article is a little geared towards making people feel guilty, and in my original draft, I had some strong wording and discussion around this point, but after a few revisions I had taken most of it out. I think it was after reading the comments that I took most of it out, although his arguments aren't entirely convincing. It seems the author makes a conscious effort to remove condescension, but at times, it seems like he's trying too hard, which make me question whether he did premeditate a hypothesis.
I also edited out a whole paragraph about the children being drawn to the music. I'm split on whether it's about the noise/performance/spectacle itself or whether they are really appreciating the beauty as the article implies. I did like the quote about about "life slowly starts to choke the poetry (or music) out of us". This is and idea that could be further expanded on.
The comment about this topic that I liked the best, is "I am not sure exactly why I cried, but I suspect it is strongly linked to the child's reaction- and hence they are sort of tears of loss. The loss of innocence, of being so attuned to the world around you.. of the thrill of life."
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