Where has all the wonder gone?

The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it seems pointless.
That wisdom from the Nobel laureate physicist Steven Weinberg also applies to classical music. Radio presenters telling us why we should be moved by self-evident masterpieces simply makes the music pointless. Which explains why the UK audience for classical radio has plunged by 10.7% in a year. It has nothing to do with that mantra of the suburbanites, elitism versus accessibilty. It is due to a lost sense of wonder. To be moved, do we need to understand a sunset, birdsong, a baby's cry, or Casals' Bach?

I took the header photo in L'espace Casals at Prades and it first appeared in A Musician is also a man. Any other 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). Also on Facebook and Twitter.

Comments

Elaine Fine said…
We need to recognize what makes them move us in order to be moved. We need to go out of our way to lreally listen.
2:37 am
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