“…classical musicians essentially need to be in the business of adult education if they are to keep their audience and their livelihood. They must convince grown people with little or no knowledge of Bach and Brahms and Messiaen why these composers should matter to their daily lives. It’s time to drop the mask of professional aloofness. While the battle for education looks tougher than ever, the media can always be manipulated.” —Alex Ross (New Yorker)
Continuing CR’s theme that everything is related to generations, just like his gospel says. Also, classical music is probably doomed.
Last year the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presented an absorbing festival entitled Night Fantasies, not the least of whose charms was the video teaser that preceded the event. The filmmakers, Tristan Cook and Zac Nicholson, showed real flair in finding visual analogues to modern musical language. They’ve produced a new video piece for CMS, illustrating two movements of Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time.” The artist you see at work is Zack Smithey. Part 1 is embedded above; part 2 is here.
—Alex Ross (Unquiet Thoughts)
Kudos to Tristan, Zac, and Zack for a fabulous video and a shoutout from Alex Ross!
