On An Overgrown Path

Since 1995 - the last time I produced a movie ( To Die For ) - the digital distribution of most popular forms of art has reinforced the popularity of a small group of artists and cast almost all others into shadow. To be a young musician, filmmaker, or journalist today is to seriously contemplate the prospect of entering a profession that the digital age has eroded beyond recognition. The deeper you delve into the reason artists are struggling in the digital age, the more you see that Internet monopolies are at the heart of the problem and that it is no longer a problem just for artists. That quote comers from Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google, and Amazon Cornered Culture ... by Jonathan Taplin . Its title comes from the Mark Zuckerberg quote "Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff , you aren't moving fast enough". In his book Jonathan Taplin points out that the five largest firms in the world measured by market capitalisation are Appl...

My suggestion in a recent post that we are using a too narrow definition when discussing new audiences in particular and classical music in general leads me to Lalo Schifrin's Jazz Mass . In a Facebook comment on this thread Joshua Cheek astutely observed that "'crossover' is a dead end... it has become a genre unto itself". In crossover the imperative of the audience takes priority over the imperative of the music. But in the Jazz Mass art most definitely takes priority over audience despite Lalo Schifrin's reputation for acclaimed movie soundtracks . His Jazz Mass fearlessly challenges comfort zones: it incorporates contemporary modes, improvisation is a key feature and the Credo is aleatoric, with breathing cycles determining changes in vocal pitch and dynamics. The multifaceted and mystical flute virtuoso Paul Horn commissioned the Mass - which is sung in English - in 1964. His LP recording seen above, which was titled Jazz Suite on the Mass Tex...

Composer anniversary celebrations are another of classical music's big new ideas that has been quietly dropped. Which is a good thing: because in their ham-fisted execution they did no more than further expose grossly over-exposed composers such as Shostakovich and Mahler. But if handled with flair and finesse they could have done the valuable job of showcasing little-known and deserving composers. Such as Richard Arnell, the centenary of whose birth falls on 15th September. Even at a time when just a few composers dominate the concert repertoire Arnell's neglect is puzzling. He wrote big meaty symphonies that would surely appeal to today's Mahler-saturated audiences, and his trans-Atlantic provenance frees him from the dreaded 'English composer' label. Despite this there were no Arnell symphonies at the BBC Proms in this his centenary year, nor have any of his symphonies ever been performed at the Proms. And in his centenary week he does not qualify for the B...

In a typically perceptive comment on Facebook about my classical music is not a lifestyle accessory post Joshua Cheek muses "...how do we recruit potential listeners and patrons to the current resources that are already available? Between streaming services like Spotify, Naxos Music Library and Primephonic, damned near the entirety of the Western classical canon is available..." Which prompts me to suggest that we are using a too narrow definition when discussing new audiences in particular and classical music in general. Recently there has been considerable focus on Classic FM prompted by the station's success in attracting a young audience. In their haste to spread the misguided dogma that the future of mainstream classical depends on a crossover from smooth classics, the experts overlooked the following statement in a Guardian interview by Classic FM's managing editor Sam Jackson: "There is a far bigger audience crossover between us and Radio 1 than ...

In the early days of music blogging – which is now more than ten years ago – there was a lightness of touch that has long since disappeared. We blogged simply to share our discoveries and to share our experiences. Music blogging was a forerunner of the sharing economy, a socio-economic ecosystem built around the sharing of human, physical and intellectual resources that later spawned hugely popular innovators such as Uber and Airbnb. But today things are very different and music blogs have transitioned seamlessly from the sharing economy to the me economy. With very few exceptions music blogs and their associated social media feeds are now written with the sole intention of promoting personal careers, and shared discoveries have been replaced by undisguised plugs for personal appearances, performances, recordings and books. This shift from the lightness of sharing to the heaviness of self-interest is usually explained away as an inevitable reflection of changes in the way we commu...

No one who cares can be proud of what happened this summer. Covertly encouraging the hijacking of the BBC Proms by the extremists of the anti and pro-Brexit camps was the worst big new idea ever to be inflicted on classical music. And please let's not hear the canard of any publicity is good publicity. The 89% attendance for the 2017 Proms season showed only a marginal change - plus 1% - over the Brexit-free previous year. In his Last Night speech conductor Sakari Oramo told the audience "For many decades we have heard about the imminent demise of classical music". If this summer is anything to go by, that demise is worryingly imminent. Also on Facebook and Twitter . Any copyrighted material is included as "fair use" for critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s).

Thankfully it is accepted that attempts to sell classical music as an entertainment have failed . But another and equally insidious threat is emerging - selling classical music as a lifestyle accessory. A lifestyle accessory needs to be conspicuously consumed. So the marketeers have decided classical music must now be conspicuously consumed, preferably via social media. Attending the Proms earns maximum online bragging points, and not just for the prommers, but also for the musicians - see photos - and for the new generation of Twitter-obsessed critics. Classical music is now something to be flaunted on Facebook alongside photos of the chicken and squash cacciatore rustled up after the concert. And it is not just a taste for the smooth classics that are good for flaunting - Schoenberg and Mahler have also done big business in 'likes' and 'retweets' this summer. And the boom in country house opera has as much to do with Facebook bragging rights as musical excellence...

We are all part of a game. We are the pawns in the chess game. I take it for granted that I am so distant from the masses. However, I am just a small cog in the clockwork of this system of humanity. I am being indoctrinated by our society and surroundings. I refuse to believe that many of my thoughts, of which I am so proud, have been implanted by my surroundings. I ask myself how the people of the masses can have been so foolish, so oblivious of what was going on around them, as to do what they are told without thought. How can I say that I am not falling into a rut like that myself? This is only the start for more questions to come. That extract is taken from an essay by a second year student in the newsletter of Brockwood Park School , which was founded by Jiddu Krishnamurti . Questioning like that coming from a young person provides some hope that all is not lost . Graphic is the cover art* for J. Peter Schwalm's album The Beauty of Disaster . This is currently high in my playl...

Sad but predictable that the many self-appointed guardians of a free press around the world who zealously tweeted Je suis Charlie are not now tweeting Je suis Gauri . Let's be consistent... Header photo is from The News Minute . Any copyrighted material is included as "fair use" for critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Also on Facebook and Twitter .

An out-take from my recent article about the Muslim music market demands a separate post. In 1989 the Tunisian director and actor Fadhel Jaziri created the music spectacle Hadhra celebrating the eponymous ecstatic Sufi ritual of possession . The original production had a cast of 480 with no less than fifteen bendir (frame drum) players and lasted for 90 minutes. The scoring is for oboe, saxophone, three violins, string bass, electric guitars, two synths, ney (reed flute), percussion, and, of course, multiple bendirs . There is some poor quality video of the original production on YouTube , and a double CD was released in 2000 but is now deleted and fetching a premium online. Fortunately the revival of Hadhra with smaller forces for the 2013 Festival International de Carthage in Tunisia seen above was captured on high quality video. Anyone still labouring under the misapprehension that music is forbidden by Islam should watch the clip below of the Sufi equivalent of Jesus Chris...

In 2007 ago I wrote an enthusiastic post about the newly released CD Angels of Jonathan Harvey 's choral music sung by Les Jeunes Solistes directed by the Algerian conductor Rachid Safir. It was the first time I had written about Jonathan's music and I didn't know him at that time, but he sent me the following email: I was delighted to find such a passionate advocate of my and other contemporary music forging his own path (not so overgrown!) clearly in opposition to most current trends. I've always felt that it is and will be strong enthusiasm that will change the world! Thank you so much... all best and bon courage ~ Jonathan Harvey Those typically astute observations about the importance of passionate advocacy and of not being afraid to go against current trends are even more relevant ten years later. My post that Jonathan Harvey responded to dwelt on his preoccupation with Buddhist themes. Gautama Buddha used the terms 'middle way' or 'middle path...

New markets are the holy grail for the music industry. Which is why all eyes are currently turned east towards China where the music market is forecast to reach US$1.05 billion by 2019. And it is also why Simon Rattle is taking the Berlin Philharmonic to China in November 2017 before his contract with the orchestra expires next year. China is a huge opportunity for the music industry, but there is an even bigger opportunity which is overlooked for the wrong reasons. There are 1.8 billion Muslims in the world, which is almost 30% more than the population of China. A dearth of data on the Muslim music market reflects the low priority placed on it in the West. But extrapolating the forecast for China gives a potential value of US$1.4 billion dollars for the Muslim music market. As another illustration of the size of the opportunity, the Muslim population of Europe is estimated at 45 million , which is almost exactly the same as the population of Spain. Two misapprehensions contr...

That is Miles Davis with one of his Ferraris. The autobiographical The Speed of Sound by Thomas Dolby is well worth reading despite the inevitable hubris - " Hello magazine... published a story about our family home..." - for its portrayal of the perfidious ways of the music industry. This anecdote about Miles Davis comes from it: Wayne [Shorter] cracked me up with a story about Miles and his brand-new Ferrari Testarossa*. Apparently Miles had gotten pulled over recently by the cops on the Pacific Coast Highway. He always felt he was unfairly victimised for being a black man driving a nice car, and he went to court to fight the ticket. "Mr. Davis," said the judge, "do you have any idea how fast you were going?" In his raspy voice Miles replied: "Hey, man, I just drive it till it sounds good". * Not every jazz musician starves. Miles Davis owned four Ferraris, a 250 California Spider, a 250 GT Lusso, a 275 GTB/4 and a Testarossa. The car ...

There have been widespread expressions of outrage at a provocative and tasteless promotional video made by the youth association of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra featuring a young lady in a short skirt, a leaf blower and Bach's music. The half-life of that particular big new idea proved to be very short, and the video has been removed from YouTube (but not Vimeo ) to the sound of furious back-pedaling in Amsterdam. However the outrage continues in a sequence of Slipped Disc posts in which Norman Lebrecht describes the video as "insensitive" and "shameless". So let's look at the bigger picture. The Concertgebouw's error of judgement can be explained but not excused by a desperate attempt to boost its audience. For years Norman Lebrecht has used insensitive and shameless material in a desperate attempt to boost his blog's audience. Just three examples from Slipped Disc are shown here, with the one below carrying the same message as the "...