In a typically thoughtful contribution to my post Why not play the premier league composers more often? Richard Bratby - who is professionally involved in classical music - mused "speaking solely from my own experience - there is a very noticeable falling-off in ticket sales when a symphony orchestra programmes pre-Beethoven repertoire, irrespective of the quality of the performance or the music, or the energy with which it is marketed. But why?" Now Kea has answered Richard's question with the following comment: Wagner, Mahler, Shostakovich, etc, all sound more or less like film music (or -- more accurately -- film music sounds more or less like recycled bits of Wagner, Mahler, Shostakovich, etc) and therefore don't require any intellectual involvement or serious effort to listen to. Understanding the music of Bach, Mozart or Haydn, etc (or for that matter Schumann, Brahms, Webern, Cage, etc) actually requires people to listen actively rather than being pulled alo...
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But on the EMI business, I just wanted to say that I got a real shock the morning I clicked on my link to the Naxos Music Library and found myself reading a notice that Naxos would henceforth be distributing the EMI catalogue: All of it, from Beatrice Harrison to Leif Ove Andnes. They estimate it will take them three months to add the whole lot to the Library. The Boult recordings added thus far have been enough to keep me occupied for a while, and some I never thought to hear, as also recordings of others. And, I must add, they are now also the distibutor for Virgin. There's significance in here somewhere, though I've not yet fathomed it Perhaps I'm too busy avidly listening.