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Listen To This, by Alex

Ross

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- The author argues that the term "classical musi…

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Listen To This
A classical kid learns to love pop—and wonders why he has to make a choice.
by Alex Ross
The New Yorker, February !, "##$

% hate &classical music&' not the thin( but the name. %t traps a tenaciously livin( art in a theme park o) the past. %t
cancels out the possibility that music in the spirit o) *eethoven could still be created today. %t banishes into limbo the
work o) thousands o) active composers who have to explain to otherwise well+in)ormed people what it is they do )or a
livin(. The phrase is a masterpiece o) ne(ative publicity, a tour de )orce o) anti+hype. % wish there were another name. %
envy a-- people who speak simply o) &the music.& ome a-- a)icionados also call their art &America/s classical
music,& and % propose a trade' they can have &classical,& %/ll take &the music.&
For at least a century, the music has been captive to a cult o) mediocre elitism that tries to manu)acture sel)+esteem
by clutchin( at empty )ormulas o) intellectual superiority. 0onsider some o) the rival names in circulation' &art& music,
&serious& music, &(reat& music, &(ood& music. Yes, the music can be (reat and serious1 but (reatness and seriousness are
not its de)inin( characteristics. %t can also be stupid, vul(ar, and insane. 2usic is too personal a medium to support an
absolute hierarchy o) values. The best music is music that persuades us that there is no other music in the world. This
mornin(, )or me, it was ibelius/s Fi)th1 late last ni(ht, 3ylan/s &ad+4yed 5ady o) the 5owlands&1 tomorrow, it may be
somethin( entirely new. % can/t rank my )avorite music any more than % can rank my memories. Yet some discernin(
souls believe that the music should be marketed as a luxury (ood, one that supplants an in)erior popular product. They
say, in e))ect, &The music you love is trash. 5isten instead to our (reat, arty music.& They (esture toward the heavens,
but they speak the lan(ua(e o) hi(h+end real estate. They are makin( little headway with the unconverted because they
have )or(otten to de)ine the music as somethin( worth lovin(. %) it is worth lovin(, it must be (reat1 no more need be
said.
6hen people hear &classical,& they think &dead.& The music is described in terms o) its distance )rom the present, its
resistance to the mass+what it is not. You see ma(a-ines with listin(s )or 7opular 2usic in one section and )or 0lassical
2usic in another, so that the latter becomes, by implication, 8npopular 2usic. No wonder that stories o) its imminent
demise are so commonplace. The 6eb site Arts9ournal )eatures a media )ile with the deliberately ridiculous name 3eath
o) 0lassical 2usic Archive, whose articles recycle a )amiliar litany o) problems' record companies are curtailin( their
classical divisions1 orchestras are )acin( de)icits1 the music is barely tau(ht in public schools, almost invisible on
television, i(nored or mocked by :ollywood. *ut the same story could have been written ten years a(o or twenty. %) this
be death, the record is skippin(. A complete version o) the 3eath o) 0lassical 2usic Archive would (o back to the
)ourteenth century, when the sensuous melodies o) ars nova were thou(ht to si(nal the end o) civili-ation.
The classical audience is assumed to be a moribund crowd o) the old, the white, the rich, and the bored. tatistics
provided by the National 4ndowment )or the Arts su((est that the situation is not ;uite so dire. Yes, the audience is
older than that )or any other art+the median a(e is )orty+nine+but it is not the wealthiest. 2usicals, plays, ballet, and
museums all (et lar(er slices o) the <=#,###+or+more income pie >as does the 47N channel, )or that matter?. %) you
want to see an in+your+)ace, wiss+bank+account display o) wealth, (o look at the millionaires sittin( in the skyboxes at
a *illy 9oel show, i) security lets you. Nor is the classical audience a(in( any )aster than the rest o) America. The music
may not be a u((ernaut, but it is a maor world. American orchestras sell around thirty million tickets each year.
*rilliant new talents are thron(in( the scene1 the musicians o) the au(ust *erlin 7hilharmonic are, on avera(e, a
(eneration youn(er than the Rollin( tones.
The music is always dyin(, ever+endin(. %t is an a(eless diva on a non+stop )arewell tour, comin( around )or one
absolutely )inal appearance. %t is hard to name because it never really existed to be(in with+not in the sense that it
stemmed )rom a sin(le time or place. %t has no (enealo(y, no ethnicity' leadin( composers o) today hail )rom 0hina,
4stonia, Ar(entina, @ueens. The music is simply whatever composers create+a lon( strin( o) written+down works to
which various per)ormin( traditions have become attached. %t encompasses the hi(h, the low, empire, under(round,
dance, prayer, silence, noise. 0omposers are (enius parasites1 they )eed voraciously on the son( matter o) their time in
order to en(ender somethin( new. They have (one throu(h a rou(h stretch in the past hundred years, )acin( external
obstacles >:itler and talin were amateur music critics? as well as problems o) their own invention >&6hy doesn/t
anyone like our beauti)ul twelve+tone music&?. *ut they may be on the ver(e o) an improbable renaissance, and the
music may take a )orm that no one today would reco(ni-e. For now, it is like the &sunken cathedral& that 3ebussy
depicts in one o) his 7reludes+a city that chants beneath the waves.

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The critic Bre( andow recently wrote in his online ournal that we partisans o) the classical need to speak more
)rom the heart about what the music means. :e admits that it/s easier to analy-e his ardor than to express it. The music

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does not lend itsel) to the same (enerational storytellin( as, say, &(t. 7epper.& There may be kids out there who lost
their vir(inity durin( *rahms/s 3+2inor 7iano 0oncerto, but they don/t want to tell the story and you don/t want to hear
it. The music attracts the reticent )raction o) the population. %t is an art o) (rand (estures and vast dimensions that plays
to mobs o) the ;uiet and the shy. %t is a paradise )or passive+a((ressives, sublimation addicts, and other relics o) the
Freudian world. 6hich may explain why it has a hard time expressin( itsel) in the time o) 3r. 7hil.

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% am a thirty+six+year+old white American male who )irst started listenin( to popular music at the a(e o) twenty. %n
retrospect, this seems stran(e1 perhaps &)reakish& is not too stron( a word. Yet it seemed natural at the time. % )eel as
thou(h % (rew up not durin( the seventies and ei(hties but durin( the thirties and )orties, the decades o) my parents/
youth. They came o) a(e in the (reat American middlebrow era, when the music had a much di))erent place in the
culture than it does today. %n those years, in what now seems like a surreal dream world, millions listened as Toscanini
conducted the N*0 ymphony on national radio. 6alter 3amrosch explained the classics to schoolchildren, sin(in(

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ditties to help them remember the themes. >2y mother remembers one o) them' &This is C The sympho+nee C That
chubert wrote but never )i+nished . . . &? N*0 would broadcast Dhio tate vs. %ndiana one a)ternoon, a recital by 5otte
5ehmann the next. %n my house, it was the *oston ymphony broadcast )ollowed by the Redskins (ame. % was unaware
o) a yawnin( (ap between the two.
4arly on, % reached )or my parents/ record collection, which was well stocked with arti)acts o) the Bolden A(e. %
listened to Toscanini/s *rahms, Eoussevit-ky/s ibelius, the *udapest @uartet. The look and )eel o) the records were
inseparable )rom the sound they made. They said so much to me that )or a lon( time % had no curiosity about other

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music. There was Dtto Elemperer/s eppelin+like, slow+motion account o) &The t. 2atthew 7assion,& with ni(htmare+
spawnin( art by the 2aster o) 3el)t. Toscanini/s )ierce recordin(s were decorated with Robert :upka/s snapshots o) the
2aestro in motion, his )ace re(isterin( every emotion between ecstasy and dis(ust. 2o-art/s 3ivertimento in 4+Flat
)eatured the )amous portrait in which the composer looks down at the world in sorrow, like a (eneral surveyin( a
hopeless battle. 6hile listenin(, % read alon( in the liner notes, which were (enerally written in the over+the+top
everyman+orator style that Drson 6elles parodied brilliantly in &0iti-en Eane.& Tchaikovsky/s Giolin 0oncerto, )or

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example, was said to be &melancholy, sometimes pro(ressin( to abysmal depths.& None o) this made sense at the time1 %
had no ac;uaintance with melancholy, let alone abysmal depths. 6hat mattered was the exa((erated swoop o) the
thou(ht, which rou(hly matched the pattern o) the sound.

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The )irst music that % loved to the point o) distraction was *eethoven/s &4roica& ymphony. 2y parents had a disk
o) 5eonard *ernstein conductin( the New York 7hilharmonic+one o) a series o) 2usic+Appreciation Records put out by
the *ook+o)+the+2onth 0lub. A companion record provided *ernstein/s analysis o) the symphony, a road map to its
)orty+)ive+minute sprawl. % now had names )or the shapes that % perceived. >The conductor/s &9oy o) 2usic& and &%n)inite
Gariety o) 2usic& remain the best introductory books o) their kind.? *ernstein drew attention to somethin( that happens

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about ten seconds in+a 0+sharp that unexpectedly sounds a(ainst the plain 4+)lat+maor harmony. &There has been a stab
o) intrusive otherness,& he said, cryptically but seductively, in his nicotine baritone. Dver and over, % listened to this note
o) otherness. % bou(ht a score and deciphered the notation. % learned some time+beatin( (estures )rom 2ax Rudol)/s
conductin( manual. % held my )amily hosta(e in the livin( room as % led the record player in a searin(ly intense
per)ormance o) the &4roica.&
3id 5enny (et a little carried away when he called that so)t 0+sharp in the cellos a &shock,& a &wrench,& a &stab& %)
you were to play the &4roica& )or a )ourteen+year+old hip+hop scholar versed in the works o) 4minem and =# 0ent, he
mi(ht )ind it shockin(ly borin( at best. No one is slicin( up his wi)e or (ettin( shot nine times. *ut % would submit to
my youn( (an(sta interlocutor that those artists are relatively shockin(+relative to the social norms o) their day.
Althou(h the &4roica& ceased to be controversial in the these+cra-y+kids+today sense around HI#, within the &classical&
)rame it has continued to deliver its surprises ri(ht on cue. even bars o) 4+)lat maor, then the 0+sharp that hovers )or a
moment be)ore disappearin(' it is like a speaker steppin( up to a microphone, launchin( into the )irst words o) a (rand
oration, and then )alterin(, as i) he had ust remembered somethin( )rom childhood or seen a sinister )ace in the crowd.
% don/t identi)y with the listener who responds to the &4roica& by sayin(, &Ah, civili-ation.& That wasn/t what
*eethoven wanted' his intention was to shake the 4uropean mind. % don/t listen to music to be civili-ed1 sometimes, %
listen precisely to escape the ordered world. 6hat % love about the &4roica& is the way it mana(es to have it all, unitin(
Romanticism and 4nli(htenment, civili-ation and revolution, brain and body, order and chaos. %t knows which way you
think the music is (oin( and veers triumphantly in the wron( direction. The 3anish composer 0arl Nielsen once wrote a

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monolo(ue )or the spirit o) 2usic, in which he or she or it says, &% love the vast sur)ace o) silence1 and it is my chie)
deli(ht to break it.&

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Around the time % (ot stabbed by *eethoven/s 0+sharp, % be(an tryin( to write music mysel). 2y career as a
composer lasted )rom the a(e o) ei(ht to the a(e o) twenty. % lacked both (enius and talent. 2y spiral+bound manuscript
book includes an ambitious pro(ram o) )uture compositions' thirty piano sonatas, twelve violin sonatas, various
symphonies, concertos, )antasias, and )uneral marches, most o) them in the key o) 3 minor. cattered ideas )or these

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works appear in the )ollowin( pa(es, but they don/t (o anywhere, which was the story o) my li)e as a composer. till, %
treasure the observation o) one o) my colle(e teachers, who wrote on the )inal pa(e o) my end+o)+term submission that %
had created a &most interestin( and sli(htly peculiar sonatina.& % put down my pen and withdrew into silence, like
ibelius in 9arvenpaa.
2y inability to )inish anythin(, much less anythin( (ood, le)t me with a pro)ound respect )or this impossible mode
o) makin( a livin(. 0omposition at its most intense is a rebellion a(ainst reality. No one except the very youn( demands

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new music, and even when we are youn( the (ates o) inattention crash down ;uickly. 0omposers manu)acture a product
that is universally deemed super)luous+at least until their music enters public consciousness, at which point people
be(in to say that they could not live without it. For more than a century, the repertory has consisted lar(ely o) music by
dead composers. Yet hal) o) those on the American ymphony Drchestra 5ea(ue/s top+ten most+per)ormed list+2ahler,
trauss, Ravel, hostakovich, 7roko)iev+hadn/t been born when the )irst dra)t o) the repertory (ot written.
Throu(hout my teens, % took piano lessons )rom a man named 3ennin( *arnes. :e also tau(ht me composition,
music history, and the art o) listenin(. :e was a wiry man with tan(led hair, whose tweed ackets emitted an odd smell

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that was neither pleasant nor unpleasant, ust odd. :e was intimate with *eethoven, chubert, and 0hopin, and he also
loved twentieth+century music. criabin, *artok, and *er( were three )avorites. :e opened another door )or me, in a
wall that % never knew existed. :is own music, as )ar as % can remember, was rambunctious, a--y, a little nuts. Dne day
he pounded out one o) the variations in *eethoven/s )inal piano sonata and said that it was an anticipation o) boo(ie+
woo(ie. % had no idea what boo(ie+woo(ie was, but % was excited by the idea that *eethoven had anticipated it. The
marble+bust *eethoven o) my childhood suddenly became an ea(le+eyed sentinel on the ramparts o) sound, spyin(
nameless entities on the hori-on. &*oo(ie+woo(ie& was a creature out o) *ernstein/s serious+)un world, and 2r. *arnes

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was my private *ernstein. There was not a snobbish bone in his body1 he was a skeleton o) enthusiasm, a )i)teen+dollar+
an+hour (uerrilla )i(hter )or the music he loved. :e died o) a brain tumor in JHJ. The last time % saw him, we played a
hair+raisin( version o) chubert/s Fantasia in F 2inor )or )our hands. %t was )ull o) wron( notes, most o) them at my end

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o) the keyboard, but it )elt (reat and made a mi(hty noise, and to this day % have never been able to tolerate any other
per)ormance o) the work, not even *ritten and Richter/s.
*y hi(h school, a terrible truth had dawned' % was the only person my a(e who liked this stu)). Actually, there were
other classical nerds at my school, but we were too di))ident to )orm a posse. everal &normal& )riends dra((ed me to a
showin( o) &7ink Floyd+The 6all,& a)ter which % conceded that one passa(e sounded 2ahlerian. Dnly in colle(e did my

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musical )ortress )inally crumble. % spent most o) my days and ni(hts at the campus radio station, where % had a show and
helped or(ani-e the classical contin(ent. % )anatically patrolled the boundaries o) the classical broadcastin( day, re)usin(
to surrender even )i)teen minutes o) &0hamber 2usic 2asterworks& and the like. At # p.m., the schedule switched
)rom classical to punk, and only punk o) the most recondite kind. Dnce a record sold more than a )ew hundred copies, it
was kicked o)) the playlist. The d..s liked to start their sets with the shrillest, crudest son(s in order to scandali-e the
classical crowd. % tried to one+up them by endin( my show with s;ualls o) Kenakis. They hit back with inatra sin(in(
&Dnly the 5onely.& Dnce, they )ollowed up my heart)elt tribute to :erbert von Earaan with krewdriver/s rousin( neo+
Na-i anthem &7risoner o) 7eace&' &Free Rudol) :ess C :ow lon( can they keep him there 6e can only (uess.& Touche.
The thin( about these cerebral punk rockers is that they were easily the most interestin( people %/d ever met.
*etween painstakin(ly researched tributes to 2ission o) *urma and the *utthole ur)ers, they composed under(raduate
theses on )ourth+century Roman )orti)ications and the liberal thou(ht o) 5ionel Trillin(. % be(an han(in( around in the
studio a)ter my show was over, suppressin( an instinctive )ear o) their sticker+covered leather ackets and multicolored
hair. % in)ormed them, as 2r. *arnes would have done, that choenber( had anticipated all o) this. And % be(an listenin(
to new thin(s. The )irst two rock records % bou(ht were 7ere 8bu/s &Terminal Tower& compilation and onic Youth/s
&3aydream Nation.& % crept )rom under(round rock to alternative rock and )inally to the )ull+out commercial kind. oon
% was astoundin( my )riends with pronouncements like & /:i(hway ! Revisited/ is a pretty (ood album,& or &The 6hite
Album is a masterpiece.& % abandoned the notion o) classical superiority, which led to a crisis o) )aith' i) the music
wasn/t (reat and serious and hi(h and mi(hty, what was it

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For a little while, livin( in Northern 0ali)ornia a)ter colle(e, % thou(ht o) (ivin( up on the music alto(ether. % sold
o)) a lot o) my 03s, includin( all my copies o) the symphonies o) Arnold *ax, in order to pay )or more 7ere 8bu and

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onic Youth. % cut my hair short, wore an(ry T+shirts, and started han(in( out at the *erkeley punk club J"$ Bilman
treet. % became a )an o) a band called *lat-, which was about as )ar )rom *ax as % could (et. >Their bi( hit was &Fuk
hit 8p.&? Fortunately, no one needed to point out to my )ace that % was in the wron( place. %t is a stran(e American
dream, this notion that music can (ive you a new personality, a new class, even a new race. The out+o)+body experience
is thrillin( as lon( as it lasts, but most people are eventually deposited back at the point where they started, and they

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may be(in to hate the music )or lyin( to them. 6hen % went back to the classical (hetto, % chose to accept its limitations.
% reali-ed that, despite the outward decrepitude o) the culture, there was still a bri(ht )lame within. %t occurred to me that
i) % could somehow (et )rom *rahms to *lat-, others could (o the same route in the opposite direction. % have always
wanted to talk about classical music as i) it were popular music and popular music as i) it were classical.
For many, popular music is the soundtrack o) ra(in( adolescence, while the other kind chimes in durin( the lon(
twili(ht o) maturity. For me, it/s the reverse. 5istenin( to the &4roica& reconnects me with a kind o) childlike ener(y, a

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happy )erocity about the world. ince % came to pop music late, % invest it with more adult )eelin(. To me, it/s
penetratin(, knowin(, )ull o) microscopic shades o) truth about the way thin(s really are. 3ylan/s &*lood on the Tracks&
anatomi-es a doomed relationship with a saturnine clarity that a canonical work such as &3ie chone 2ullerin& can/t
match. >5istenin( recently to %an *ostrid(e sin( the chubert cycle, % had the thou(ht that the prota(onist mi(ht never
have spoken to the miller (irl )or whose sake he drowns himsel). :ow classical o) him.? %) % were in a perverse mood,
%/d say that the &4roica& is the raw, thu((ish thin(+a blast o) e(o and id+whereas a son( like Radiohead/s &4verythin( in
%ts Ri(ht 7lace& is all cool adult irony. The idea that li)e is )lowin( alon( with unsettlin( smoothness, the dark 0+

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sharpness o) the world sensed but not con)irmed, is a resi(ned sort o) sentiment that *eethoven probably never even
)elt, much less communicated. 6hat % re)use to accept is that one kind o) music soothes the mind and another kind
soothes the soul. 3epends on whose mind, whose soul.
Dn my i7od %/ve been listenin( to the new 2issy 4lliott son( &6ake 8p.& %t/s an austere hip+hop track with a
political ed(e. omethin( about the music sets o)) my classical radar. There are, e))ectively, only three notes, )ree+
)loatin( and ambi(uous. The son( be(ins with a clip o) a voice shoutin( &6ake upL& The voice rises up a tritone, and

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that interval determines the notes. The idea o) (eneratin( music )rom the sin(son( o) speech is ancient, but &6ake 8p&
reminds me in particular o) two minimalist pieces by teve Reich, &%t/s Bonna Rain& and &0ome Dut.& *oth use tapes o)
impassioned black voices to create seethin( electronic soundscapes. 6hether 4lliott and her producer, Timbaland, have
listened to Reich is beside the point. >%) you say, &D) course they haven/t,& ask yoursel) what makes you so certain.? The
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son( works much like Reich/s compositions, buildin( a world )rom a sliver o) sound. %t/s almost manic and obsessive
enou(h to be classical music.
The )atal phrase came into circulation late in the (ame. From 2onteverdi to *eethoven, modern music was the only
music, bartered about in a marketplace that resembled modern pop culture. 0oncerts were eclectic hootenannies in

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which opera arias collided with chunks o) sonatas. *arrel+or(an (rinders carried the best+known arias out into the
streets, where they were blended with )olk tunes. 0oncerts in pre+classical America were a stylistic )ree+)or+all, a mirror
o) the country/s mixed+up nature. 6alt 6hitman mobili-ed (rand opera as a metaphor )or democracy1 the voices o) his
)avorite sin(ers were inte(ral to the swellin( sound o) his &barbaric yawp.&
%n 4urope, the past be(an to overwhelm the present ust a)ter H##. 9ohann Nikolaus Forkel/s H#" bio(raphy o)
*ach, one o) the )irst maor books devoted to a dead composer, may be the )oundin( document o) the classical
mentality. All the earmarks are there' the lon(in( )or lost worlds, the adulation o) a sin(le (odlike entity, the horror o)
the present. *ach was &the )irst classic that ever was, or perhaps ever will be,& Forkel proclaimed. &%) the art is to remain
an art and not to be de(raded into a mere idle amusement, more use must be made o) classical works than has been done
)or some time.& *y &idle amusement& Forkel had in mind the prattlin( o) %talian opera1 his bio(raphy is addressed to
&patriotic admirers o) true musical art,& namely the Berman. The notion that the music o) Forkel/s time was teeterin(
toward extinction is, o) course, amusin( in retrospect1 in the summer o) H#", *eethoven be(an work on the &4roica.&
cholars eventually de)ined the 0lassical 4ra as Giennese music o) the late ei(hteenth century, especially 2o-art and
:aydn, who, in their day, had been racy, modern )i(ures. The word was nonsense )rom the outset.
The rise o) &classical music& mirrored the rise o) the commercial middle class, which employed *eethoven as an
escalator to the social hei(hts. 0oncert halls (rew ;uiet and reserved, habits and attire )ormal. %mprovisation was phased
out1 the score became sacred. Audiences were discoura(ed )rom applaudin( while the music was (oin( on+it had been
the custom to clap a)ter a (ood tune or a da--lin( solo+or between movements. 7atrons o) the 6a(ner )estival in
*ayreuth proved notoriously militant in the suppression o) applause. At an early per)ormance o) &7arsi)al,& listeners

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hissed an unmusical vul(arian who yelled out &*ravoL& a)ter the Flower 2aidens scene. The troublemaker had reason to
)eel embarrassed1 he had written the opera. The 6a(nerians were takin( 6a(ner more seriously than he took himsel)+an

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alarmin( development.
0omposers liked the )act that listeners were ;uietin( down1 the subtle shock o) a 0+sharp wouldn/t re(ister i) the
crowd were chatterin( away. 4ven so, the emer(ence o) a sel)+styled elite audience had limited appeal )or the likes o)
*eethoven and Gerdi, who did not come )rom that world. The nineteenth+century masters were, most o) them,

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monstrous e(omaniacs, but they were not snobs. Gerdi wrote )or the masses, and he scandalously proclaimed the box
o))ice the only barometer o) success. 6a(ner, surrounded by luxury, royalty, and extreme pretension, nonetheless railed
a(ainst the emer(ence o) a &classical& repertory, )or which he blamed the 9ews. :is nauseatin( anti+emitism went hand
in hand with a sometimes deeply charmin( populism. %n a letter to 5is-t, he ra(ed a(ainst the &monumental character&
o) the music o) his time, the &clin(in( and stickin( to the past.& Another letter demanded, & Kinder! macht Neues!
Neues!, und abermals Neues!& 4-ra 7ound condensed this thou(ht as &2ake it new.&

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8n)ortunately, the 4uropean bour(eoisie, havin( made a demi(od o) *eethoven, be(an losin( interest in even the
most vital livin( composers. %n H=J, a critic wrote, &New works do not succeed in 5eip-i(. A(ain at the )ourteenth
Bewandhaus concert a composition was borne to its (rave.& The cra-y modern music in ;uestion was *rahms/s First
7iano 0oncerto. *y HM#, seventy+)ive per cent o) works in the Bewandhaus repertory were by dead composers. The
)etishi-in( o) the past had a de(radin( e))ect on composers/ morale. They be(an to doubt their ability to please this
implacable audience, which seemed prepared to reect their wares no matter what style they wrote in. %) no one cares,
composers reasoned, we mi(ht as well write )or connoisseurs+or )or each other. This was the mentality that (ave birth to
the phenomenon o) Arnold choenber(. The relationship between composer and public became a vicious circle1 the

OR
more the composer asserted independence, the more the public clun( to the past. A critic who attended the premiere o)
the &4roica& saw the impasse comin(' &2usic could ;uickly come to such a point, that everyone who is not precisely
)amiliar with the rules and di))iculties o) the art would )ind absolutely no enoyment in it.&
The American middle class carried the worship o) the classics to a necrophiliac extreme. 5awrence 5evine, in his
book &:i(hbrowC5owbrow,& (ives a devastatin( portrait o) the country/s musical culture at the turn o) the twentieth
century. %t was a world that abhorred virtuosity, extrava(ance, anythin( that smacked o) entertainment. Drchestras

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dedicated themselves to &the (reat works o) the (reat composers (reatly per)ormed, the best and pro)oundest art, these
and these alone,& in the redundant words o) the conductor Theodore Thomas, who was the )ounder o) the modern
American orchestra. 4arly in his career, Thomas tried to attract the masses, conductin( in parks and beer (ardens. 5ater,

documents.
he decided that the workin( classes could never appreciate (reatly (reat (reat music like *eethoven/s. :e was a
marvellous conductor, by all accounts, but his in)atuation with &cultivated persons& set a bad precedent.
6ithin a decade or two, American symphonic culture was so ossi)ied that pro(ressive spirits were callin( )or
chan(e. &America is saddled, ha(+ridden, with culture,& the critic+composer Arthur Farwell wrote in J. &There is a
conventionalism, a cynicism, a sel)+consciousness, in symphony concert, recital, and opera.& 3aniel Bre(ory 2ason, a

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maverick 0olumbia pro)essor, similarly attacked the &presti(e+hypnoti-ed& plutocrats who ran the New York
7hilharmonic. :e )ound more excitement at open+air concerts at 5ewisohn tadium, in :arlem, where the audience
)reely expressed its enthusiasm. 2ason deli(htedly ;uoted a notice that read, &6e would respect)ully re;uest that the
audience re)rain )rom throwin( mats.& :is sentiment still rin(s true+concerts would be better i) there were more
throwin( o) mats.
%n the nineteen+thirties, Farwell/s populist philosophy took root. A (eneration o) composers, conductors, and
broadcasters embraced the idea o) &music )or all.& The storied middlebrow a(e be(an. 3avid arno)), the head o) N*0,
had a vision o) Toscanini conductin( )or a vast public, and the public duly materiali-ed. The )irst broadcast day o) 0*
)eatured an American opera' &The Ein(/s :enchman,& by 3eems Taylor. :ollywood studios hired composers such as
Eorn(old, 0opland, and :errmann and pursued the modernist (iants choenber( and travinsky >both o) whom asked
)or too much money?. F.3.R. )unded a Federal 2usic 7roect that in two and a hal) years entertained ninety+)ive million
people1 there were concerts in delin;uent+boys/ homes and rural Dklahoma towns. A *oston reporter pictured one
Federal opera per)ormance as a stormin( o) the *astille' &3rivers, chau))eurs, and )ootmen were occupyin( the seats o)
the master and the madame at HI cents a chair.&
7erhaps the boldest )orward leap was the invention o) a hybrid music combinin( 4uropean tradition and new
popular )orms. 3uke 4llin(ton wrote symphonic a-- )or 0arne(ie :all1 his &*lack, *rown, and *ei(e& was heard there
in J$I. 2orton Bould and 5eonard *ernstein wrote )or orchestra, a-- ensemble, and *roadway without worryin(
about the rankin( o) each. The ultimate phenomenon was Beor(e Bershwin, who rose throu(h Tin 7an Alley and then

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throu(h the orchestral world, trans)ormin( America/s idea o) what a composer was. For all his 9a-- A(e (lamour, some
part o) Bershwin remained a lonely classical kid+the hard+practicin( pianist who had )illed scrapbooks with concert

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pro(rams )rom 0ooper 8nion and 6anamaker/s Auditorium. %n Gienna, in J"H, Bershwin met his idol, Alban *er(,
who had the Eolisch @uartet play him the &5yric uite.& Bershwin then sat down at the piano, but hesitated, wonderin(
aloud whether he was worthy o) the occasion. &2r. Bershwin,& *er( said sternly, &music is music.&
The middlebrow utopia sputtered out ;uickly, and )or a variety o) reasons. Federally )unded arts proects )ell victim

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to a classic American culture war+the Republicans versus the New 3eal+)or which )anatics on both the le)t and the ri(ht
were to blame. Drchestras that had )lourished on radio )oundered on television. >No one wants to (et that close to
oboists.? *ut the real problem was with the competition. 9a-- was satis)yin( a hun(er )or popular art that in previous
eras only classical composers had been able to satis)y. 4llin(ton and 2in(us were pullin( o)) the same synthetic )eat
that 2o-art and Gerdi had accomplished be)ore them1 they were pickin( up pieces o) every )orm o) available music+
A)rican+American, 5atin, Bypsy, 3ebussy, operetta+and trans)ormin( them throu(h the )orce o) their personalities.

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5ately, % have been readin( the youn( intellectuals who embraced a-- in the twenties, and % reco(ni-e their ur(e to
oin the party. 0arl Gan Gechten, the notorious author o) &Ni((er :eaven,& started out as a music critic )or the Times; he
witnessed &The Rite o) prin(& and embraced travinsky as a savior. Then his attention be(an to wander. :e )ound
more li)e and truth in ra(time, Tin 7an Alley, and, eventually, blues and a--. %n a JM article )or Vanity Fair, he
predicted that Tin 7an Alley son(writers were likely to be considered &the true (rand)athers o) the Breat American
0omposer o) the year "##.& For youn( A)rican+American music mavens, the disenchantment was more bitter and more
personal. ome were children o) a middle class that had taken to heart 3vorak/s HJI prophecy o) a (reat a(e o) Ne(ro
music. The likes o) 9ames 6eldon 9ohnson awaited the black *eethoven who would write the music o) Bod/s

OR
trombones. oon enou(h, these aspirin( violinists, pianists, and composers came up a(ainst a wall o) racism. Dnly in
popular music could they make a livin(. 2any+Fletcher :enderson, )or example+turned to a--.
The twenties saw a hu(e chan(e in music/s social )unction. 0lassical music had (iven the middle class aristocratic
airs1 now popular music helped the middle class to )eel down and dirty. There is American musical history in one
brutally simplistic sentence. % recently watched a silly JI$ movie entitled &2urder at the Ganities,& which seemed to
sum up the (enre wars o) the era. %t is set behind the scenes o) a ie()eld+style variety show, one o) whose numbers

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)eatures a per)ormer, dressed va(uely as Fran- 5is-t, who plays the econd :un(arian Rhapsody. 3uke 4llin(ton and
his band keep poppin( up behind the scenes, throwin( in insolent ri))s. 4ventually, they drive away the e))ete classical
musicians and play a takeo)) called &4bony Rhapsody&' &%t/s (ot those licks, it/s (ot those tricks C That 2r. 5is-t would

documents.
never reco(ni-e.& 5is-t comes back with a submachine (un and mows down the band. The metaphor wasn/t so )ar o))
the mark. Althou(h many in the classical world were )ulsome in their praise o) a--+4rnest Ansermet lobbed the word
&(enius& at idney *echet+others )ired verbal machine (uns in an e))ort to slay the upstart. 3aniel Bre(ory 2ason, the
man who wanted more throwin( o) mats, was one o) the worst o))enders, callin( a-- a &sick moment in the pro(ress o)
the human soul.&

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The contempt )lowed both ways. The culture o) a--, at least in its white precincts, was much a))ected by that
inverse snobbery which endlessly con(ratulates itsel) on escapin( the elite. >The sin(er in &2urder at the Ganities& bra(s
o) )indin( a rhythm that 5is-t, o) all people, could never comprehend' what a snob.? 0lassical music became a )oil
a(ainst which popular musicians could assert their earthy cool. 0omposers, in turn, were irritated by the su((estion that
they constituted some sort o) moneyed behemoth. They were the ones who were )eelin( bulldo-ed by the power o) cash.
uch was the complaint made by 5awrence Bilman, o) the Tribune, a)ter 7aul 6hiteman and his 7alais Royal Drchestra
played &Rhapsody in *lue& at Aeolian :all. Bilman didn/t like the &Rhapsody,& but what really incensed him was
6hiteman/s su((estion that a-- was an underdo( )i(htin( a(ainst symphony snobs. &%t is the 7alais Royalists who
represent the conservative, reactionary, respectable elements in the music o) today,& Bilman wrote. &They are the
aristocrats, the Top 3o(s, o) contemporary music. They are the hinin( Dnes, the commanders o) hu(e salaries, the
)riends o) Royalty.& The )acts back Bilman up. *y the late twenties, Bershwin was makin( at least a hundred thousand
dollars a year. %n JIH, 0opland, the best+re(arded composer o) American concert music, had <!.JI in his checkin(
account.
All music becomes classical music in the end. Readin( the histories o) other (enres, % o)ten (et a warm sense o)
dea vu. The story o) a--, )or example, seems to recapitulate classical history at hi(h speed. First, the youth+rebellion
period' atchmo and the 3uke and *ix and 9elly Roll teach a (eneration to lose itsel) in the music. econd, the era o)
bour(eois (randeur' the hi(h+class swin( band parallels the Romantic orchestra. ta(e I' artists rebel a(ainst the
bour(eois ima(e, echoin( the classical modernist revolution, sometimes by direct citation >0harlie 7arker works the
openin( notes o) &The Rite o) prin(& into &alt 7eanuts&?. ta(e $' )ree a-- marks the point at which the van(uard

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loses touch with the mass and becomes a sel)+contained avant+(arde. ta(e =' a period o) retrenchment. 6ynton
2arsalis/s attempt to launch a traditionalist a-- revival parallels the neo+Romantic music o) many late+twentieth+

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century composers. *ut this e))ort comes too late to restore the art to the popular mainstream. 9a-- recordin(s sell about
the same as classical recordin(s, three per cent o) the market.
The same pro(ression worms its way throu(h rock and roll. 6hat were my hyper+educated punk+rock )riends but
ta(e I hi(h modernists, rebellin( a(ainst the bloated Romanticism o) ta(e " stadium rock Ri(ht now, there seems to

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be a lot o) ta(e = classicism (oin( on in what remains o) rock and roll. The trokes, the :ives, the Gines, the tills, the
Thrills, and so on hark back to some lost pure moment o) the sixties or seventies. Their names are all variations on the
Einks. 2any o) them use old instruments, old ampli)iers, old soundboards. Dne rocker was recently ;uoted as sayin(, &%
intentionally won/t use somethin( % haven/t heard be)ore.& Macht Neues, kidsL o )ar, hip+hop has proved resistant to
this kind o) classici-in( cycle, but you never know. %t is ust a short step )rom old school to the econd Giennese chool.
The ori(inal classical is le)t in an interestin( limbo. %t has a chance to be liberated )rom the social cliches that

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currently pin it down. %t is no lon(er the one )orm carryin( the burden o) the past. 2oreover, it has the advanta(e o)
bein( able to sustain constant reinterpretation, to renew itsel) with each repetition. The best kind o) classical
per)ormance is never a retreat into the past but rather an intensi)ication o) the present. 6hen you hear a (reat orchestra
per)orm *eethoven/s &4roica,& it isn/t like a rock band tryin( to mimic the *eatles+it is like the *eatles re+incarnated.
The mistake that apostles o) the classical have always made is to have oined their love o) the past to a dislike o) the
present. The music has other ideas' it hates the past and wants to escape.
% have seen the )uture, and it is called hu))le+the settin( on the i7od that skips randomly )rom one track to another.

OR
%/ve trans)erred about a thousand son(s, works, and sonic events )rom my 03 collection to my computer and on to the
27I player. There is somethin( thrillin( about settin( the player on hu))le and lettin( it decide what to play next.
ometimes its choices are a touch delirious+% had to veto an attempt to )or(e a link between Byor(y Eurta( and Dasis+
but the little machine o)ten (oes crashin( throu(h barriers o) style in ways that chan(e how % listen. For example, it
recently made a se(ue )rom the )urious crescendo o) &The 3ance o) the 4arth,& endin( 7art % o) &The Rite o) prin(,&
ri(ht into the hot am o) 5ouis Armstron(/s &6est 4nd *lues.& The )irst became a (i(antic upbeat to the other. For a
second, % )elt that % was at some madly )ashionable party at 0arl Gan Gechten/s. Dn the i7od, music is )reed )rom all

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)atuous sel)+de)initions and delusions o) si(ni)icance. There are no record ackets depictin( bombastic Alpine scenes or
celebrity conductors with a )amily resemblance to Rudol) :ess. %nstead, music is music.

documents.
%t seems to me that a lot o) youn(er listeners think the way the i7od thinks. They are no lon(er so invested in a
sin(le (enre, one that promises to mold their bein( or save the world. This (ives the li)e+style disaster called &classical
music& more o) a chance. Althou(h the music is )ar )rom attainin( any sort o) countercultural cachet, it is no lon(er a
plausible tar(et )or teen rebellion, (iven that all the parents listen to the 4a(les. >A collea(ue pointed out to me that the
movie &chool o) Rock& pictures a private school where classical music is )orced down students/ throats. The closin(
credits don/t speci)y which alternate universe this is set in.? 0ommitted rock )ans are likely to know a )air amount about

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twentieth+century composition, especially the avant+(arde. 2avens o) electronic dance music list amon( their heroes
tockhausen, Terry Riley, and, especially, teve Reich, who avoids the temptation to sue his less inventive admirers.
2ark 7render(ast/s book &The Ambient 0entury,& a history o) the new electronic (enres, be(ins, startlin(ly enou(h,
with Bustav 2ahler.
The new bu--word in pro(ressive circles is &post+classical.& The phrase was coined by the writer 9oseph :orowit-,
and it neatly expresses exasperation with the 0 word without ettisonin( it. %t also hints that li)e will (o on even i)
monuments o) the old classical empire )alter. The scholar Robert Fink is even predictin( a Richard trauss+style &death
and trans)i(uration.& 7ost+classical composers are writin( music heavily in)luenced by minimalism and its electronic
spawn, but they are still immersed in the complexity o) composition. They ust don/t need to advertise an entire course
o) study on the sur)ace o) a work. 5ikewise, new (enerations o) musicians are droppin( the mask o) Dlympian
detachment >silent, stone+)aced musician walks onsta(e and be(ins to play?. They/ve started mothballin( the tuxedo,
explainin( the music )rom the sta(e, usin( li(htin( and backdrops to produce a mildly theatrical experience. They are
)indin( allies in the &popular& world, some o) whom care less about record sales than the avera(e star violinist. The
5ondon in)onietta, )or example, will be playin( a pro(ram next month o) Aphex Twin, 9amie 5idell, and other sonic
scientists )rom the 6arp Records label, pairin( their work with the constructions o) Reich and 0a(e. The borders
between &popular& and &classical& are becomin( creatively blurred, and only the 9ohann Forkels in each camp see a
problem.

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The stran(e thin( about the music in America today is that lar(e numbers o) people seem aware o) it, curious about
it, even mildly knowled(eable about it, but they do not (o to concerts. The people who try to market orchestras have a

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name )or these annoyin( phantoms' they are &culturally aware non+attenders,& to ;uote a recent article in the ma(a-ine
Symphony. % know the type1 most o) my )riends are case studies. They know the principal names and periods o) musical
history' they know what Niet-sche said about 6a(ner, they can pick choenber( and travinsky out o) a lineup, they
own Blenn Bould/s &Boldber( Gariations& and some 2ahler and perhaps a 03 o) Arvo 7art. They )ollow all the other
arts+they (o to (allery shows, read new novels, see art )ilms. Yet they have never paid money )or a classical concert.

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They almost make a point o) their i(norance. &% don/t know a thin( about *eethoven,& they say, which is not what they
would say i) the subect were :enry 9ames or tanley Eubrick. This is one area where even sophisticates wrap
themselves in the all+American anti+intellectual )la(. %t/s not all their )ault' centuries o) classical intolerance have (one
into the creation o) the culturally aware non+attender. 6hen % tell people what % do )or a livin(, % see the same look a(ain
and a(ain+a )linchin( sideways (lance, as i) they were about to be reprimanded )or not knowin( about 0+sharps. A)ter
this comes the serene declaration o) i(norance. The old culture war is )ou(ht and lost be)ore % say a word.

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%/m ima(inin( mysel) on the other side+as a thirty+six+year+old pop )an who wants to try somethin( di))erent. Dn a
lark, % buy a record o) Dtto Elemperer conductin( the &4roica,& pickin( this one because Elemperer is the )ather o)
0olonel Elink, on &:o(an/s :eroes.& % hear two impressive loud chords, then somethin( that the liner notes alle(e is a
&truly heroic& theme. %t sounds kind o) )eeble, lopsided, walt-+like. 2y mind dri)ts. A )ew days later, % try a(ain. This
time, % hear some attractive adolescent (randeur, barbaric yawps here and there. The rest is mechanical, remote. *ut
each time % (o back % map out a little more o) the ima(inary world. % invent stories )or each thin( as it happens. *i(
chords, hero standin( backsta(e, a troublin( thou(ht, hero oratin( over loudspeakers, some ideas )or son(s that don/t

OR
catch on, a man or woman pleadin(, hero shouts back, tension, an(er, conspiracies+assassination attempt The nervous
splendor o) it all (ets under my skin. % (o to a bookstore and look at the classical shel), which seems to have more books
)or %diots and 3ummies than any other section. % read *ernstein/s essay in &The %n)inite Gariety o) 2usic,& coordinate
some o) the examples with the music, read )un stories o) the composer screamin( about Napoleon, and (o back and
listen a(ain. ometime a)ter the tenth listen, the music becomes my own1 % know what/s around almost every corner and
% exult in knowin(. %t/s as i) % could predict the news.

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% am now enou(h o) a )an that % buy a twenty+)ive+dollar ticket to hear a )amous orchestra play the &4roica& live. %t
is not a very heroic experience. % )eel dispirited )rom the moment % walk in the hall. 2y black eans draw disapprovin(
(lances )rom men who seem to be modellin( the 9ohnny 0arson collection. % look around dubiously at the twenty
shades o) bei(e in which the hall is decorated. The music starts, but % )ind it hard to think o) *eethoven/s detestation o)
documents.
all tyranny over the human mind when the man next to me is a dead rin(er )or my dentist. The assassination se;uence in
the )irst movement is less excitin( when the musicians have no emotion on their )aces. % cou(h1 a thin man, readin( a
do(+eared score, (lares at me. 6hen the movement is about a minute )rom endin(, an ancient woman creeps slowly up
the aisle, a look o) enormous dissatis)action on her )ace, )ollowed at a )ew paces by a blank+)aced husband. Finally,
three (rand chords to )inish, which the composer obviously intended to set o)) a roar o) applause. % start to clap, but the

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man with the score (lares a(ain. Dne does not applaud in the midst o) (reatly (reat (reat music, even i) the composer
wants one toL 0ou(hin(, s;uirmin(, whisperin(, the crowd visibly suppresses its ur(e to express pleasure. %t/s like mass
anal retention. The slow tread o) the Funeral 2arch, or Marcia funebre, as everyone insists on callin( it, be(ins. % start
to )eel that my new)ound respect )or the music is dra((in( alon( behind the hearse.
*ut % stay with it. For the duration o) the 2arcia, % try to disre(ard the audience and concentrate on the music. %t
strikes me that what %/m hearin( is an entirely natural phenomenon, nothin( more than the vibrations o) creaky old
instruments reverberatin( around a boxlike hall. 4ach scrape o) a bow translates into a strand o) sound1 what % see is
what % hear. o when the cellos and basses make the )loor tremble with their bi( deep note in the middle o) the march
>what *ernstein calls the &wham!&? the )orce o) the moment is purely physical. Ampli)iers are )or sissies, %/m startin( to
think. The orchestra isn/t playin( with the same cowed intensity as Elemperer/s heroes, but the tone is warmer and
deeper and rounder than on the 03. % make my peace with the sti))ness o) the scene by thinkin( o) it as a cool )rame )or
a hot event. 7erhaps this is how it has to be' *eethoven needs a passive audience as a )oil. To my le)t, a sleepin( dentist1
to my ri(ht, an an(ry aesthete1 and, in )ront o) me, the )uneral march that rises to a )u(al )ury, and breaks down into
so)tly sobbin( memories o) themes, and then (ives way to an entirely new mood+hard+drivin(, lau(hin(, lurchin(, a
little drunk.
Two centuries a(o, *eethoven bent over the manuscript o) the &4roica& and struck out Napoleon/s name. %t is o)ten
said that he made himsel) the prota(onist o) the work instead. %ndeed, he en(endered an archetype+the rebel artist hero+
that modern artists are still recyclin(. % wonder, thou(h, i) *eethoven/s (esture meant what people think it did. 7erhaps

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he was )reein( his music )rom a too speci)ic interpretation, )rom his own preoccupations. :e was settin( his symphony
adri)t, as a messa(e in a bottle. :e could hardly have ima(ined it travellin( two hundred years, throu(h the dark heart o)

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the twentieth century and into the pulveri-in( electronic a(e. *ut he knew it would (o )ar, and he did not wei(h it down.
There was now a torn, blank space on the title pa(e. The symphony became a )ra(mentary, un)inished thin(, and
un)inished it remains. %t becomes whole a(ain only in the mind and soul o) someone listenin( )or the )irst time, and
listenin( a(ain. The hero is you.

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Symphony "Mathis the

Painter"
Paul Hindemith
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From Everand

Beethoven's Letters 1790-

1826, Volume 1
Grace Wallace
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From Everand

On the Performance of
Beethoven's Symphonies…
Felix Weingartner
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From Everand

Listen to This
Alex Ross
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From Everand

Nadia Boulanger and Her

World
Jeanice Brooks
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