At 12:41 PM 5/26/2007, Andrew Stiller wrote: >IMO the cultural shift has been in the opposite direction. The >fundamental antipathy among ordinary Americans toward classical music >has its origins in the country's founding. In the 18th c., almost all >classical music was commissioned by royalty or by the established >church--both of which are outlawed in the US constitution. The American >people, therefore, came to view this music as inherently elitist. By >extension, its practitioners came to be regarded as effeminate, which >is why Ives was so defensive about the matter, and also is one reason >why such a high percentage of American composers 1890-1970 have been >gay.
This is the most interesting opinion I have heard since the discussion started. I think I agree with it a lot. Also, I was unaware that American composers are gay. >Prior to 1960, most Americans lived their entire lives without ever >experiencing and opera, a ballet, or a symphony. TV has changed all >that--and over the course of my lifetime I have definitely seen other >forms of improvement that make the current situation, dismal as it is, >much better than what it has been. I cannot, for example, imagine any >American boy nowadays being denounced as a "fairy" because he played >the clarinet. But when did this change? I got that very comment in 1957. _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
