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There has been surprisingly little discussion of how the credit crunch will impact on classical music. So, as food and fuel prices soar and pensions become the plaything of accountants here are my personal strategies for coping with the credit crunch.
* Go to more live music performances and buy less CDs. Recordings can be always be bought in the future, live performances can't.
* Support record labels, composers, performance ensembles, venues and retailers that are local and independent.
* Make every new CD count by being more experimental and adventurous when buying.
* Look out for unmissable box set bargains from desperate record companies trying to monetise their back catalogue.
* Support free live music.
* Use our excellent library service to source books. Order them online and get them shipped to my local library which is within cycling distance.
* Listen to more internet radio. It's free and serendipitous.
* Support record labels who are socially responsible.
* Make my CD (and vinyl) collection work harder. Am I the only person who keeps buying CDs when I have quite a few unplayed on the shelf at home?
Suggestions from readers on how to avoid the credit crunch, as ever, warmly welcomed. I caught the environmentally friendly musicians in performance at St Gilles Croix de Vie, France. They had the perfect answer when I asked how green is your concert?
Photo(c) On An Overgrown Path 2008. Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk
I went into Norfolk's main library on Saturday morning and asked for a book from the reserve collection. The librarian was in his early twenties, had a beard and wore a T-shirt with a slogan. Great to see a hip young person working in a library I thought. When I asked for the copy of a biography of Stockhausen the young librarian looked blank and asked "How do you spell that?"
Clearly the librarian hadn't seen the surprisingly high profile media coverage of Stockhausen's death. But he is also one of the internet generation, and my server data currently shows very few Google searches for Stockhausen. Far lower than, for instance, Rostropovich following his death. Yes, it is a weekend, but internet traffic yesterday was low even for a Saturday.
I wonder if that young librarian read Ed Vulliamy's tribute in today's Observer? - "The fact is: no Stockhausen, no Pink Floyd, no Stockhausen, no Velvet Underground or Yes, certainly no Brian Eno. Probably no Radiohead either".
Have I have accidentally stumbled on the acid test of cultural significance? - can the librarian spell it? No chance for György Kurtág or Peteris Vasks. But I wonder if in thirty years time a librarian will be able to spell Radiohead? Coming to that, I wonder if in thirty years time we will have any librarians?
* Perhaps that young librarian should read Karlheinz Stockhausen - part of a dream?
* Header photo is from one of my recent articles on Pierre Boulez and shows from left to right, Luigi Nono, Boulez and Stockhausen.
* Below is the book that was in the library's reserve collection, the English translation of Michael Kurtz's Stockhausen biography (Faber ISBN 057117146). Is it significant that this book is out of print? The library copy has been on loan ten times since 1996.
Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk
