4577  a little about modern opera music

Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 09:57:43 -0700
From: "Igor Polk" <ipolk@virtuar.com>
Subject: [Tango-L] a little about modern opera music

An internet newspaper ( pretty insignificant ) in Russian language
published an interview with Montserrat Caballe:
https://www.utro.ru/articles/2006/08/18/575713.shtml

In the light of recent discussion about music, I'd like to translate a
little except from the article the best I can.
Igor.

Newspaper: There are many talks that World is fading away in cultural way:
art is diminishing, becoming a business. Being one of the titans of the
modern art, do you agree with such an opinion?

Montserrat Caball?: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat_Caball%C3%A9 :

[She speaks about classical vocal music in this interview - Igor]. In 21st
century and at the end of the last one, 20 century there was development of
mediocrity. There are very little of creative desires. Music was never a
laboratory product. Music is always inspiration, spirituality, and spirit of
a composer. Nowadays, there are very few composers who create with their
spirit. On the other hand there are hundreds, I would say, thousands
laboratory composers. We are talking about opera composers in this case,
about those who make opera music. These composers do not feel calling, a
need to create real music and devote to it completely. Rather they need to
receive many contracts to make money and become famous in a year. Maximum in
five years, but better in a year. Choreographers and those who make
staging - art directors ( not everyone, of course, but most ), - are
inclining to making, say, a film, overlaid upon music and call it opera. It
is as if for example paintings of Rubens or Goya or Velazquez, which instead
of the simple frame, because this painting is so beautiful that does not
need any decorations, put in a pretentious frames and decorate with
additional details, light, lamps, and so on.

That is what is going on on stage now, when they try to renew, as they say
now, opera. Usually these are the people which are not favored with God's
light gift. They are not able to create something truly fantastic. Therefore
usually they try attract attention with low lying values.

Now it is custom to say: "Aida" of mister X instead of "Aida" Verdi. They to
not say now: There was opera "Don Juan" of Mozart staged. They say: Opera of
mister Smith was staged. But fortunately, there are great conductors and
musicians who refuse to participate in this circus. I applause to them and
very thankful to them. And there are singers following them. They call my
respect - opera is not dying. Becuase of them it is still alive and these
people know how to save it.

Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 03:46:42 +0900
From: "astrid" <astrid@ruby.plala.or.jp>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] a little about modern opera music

Difference is that in the old days artists had kings who sponsored them, or
churches who bought their paintings...
These days, art is produced with the desire to make money. That is why it is
so difficult to get anything published.
And unfortunately, art, music, dance etc. is now produced for a very wide,
general clientele. And a lot of people are attracted to the flash and trash,
not to the real thing.
Here, any musician or dancer who has been in a movie, performed in Hollywood
etc, sells much more easily than people who really have a message.
The other day one of my dance teachers told me she invites dancers over for
workshops and shows who she does not even like sometimes, and worries she
would not be able to sell who she would really like to have over here,
because people only want to learn from and identify with glitzy dance
teachers up to their early thirties.

Astrid

----- Original Message -----

From: "Igor Polk" <ipolk@virtuar.com>
Sent: Monday, August 21, 2006 1:57 AM
Subject: [Tango-L] a little about modern opera music


An internet newspaper ( pretty insignificant ) in Russian language
published an interview with Montserrat Caballe:
https://www.utro.ru/articles/2006/08/18/575713.shtml

In the light of recent discussion about music, I'd like to translate a
little except from the article the best I can.
Igor.

Newspaper: There are many talks that World is fading away in cultural way:
art is diminishing, becoming a business. Being one of the titans of the
modern art, do you agree with such an opinion?

Montserrat Caball・ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat_Caball%C3%A9 :

[She speaks about classical vocal music in this interview - Igor]. In 21st
century and at the end of the last one, 20 century there was development of
mediocrity. There are very little of creative desires. Music was never a
laboratory product. Music is always inspiration, spirituality, and spirit of
a composer. Nowadays, there are very few composers who create with their
spirit. On the other hand there are hundreds, I would say, thousands
laboratory composers. We are talking about opera composers in this case,
about those who make opera music. These composers do not feel calling, a
need to create real music and devote to it completely. Rather they need to
receive many contracts to make money and become famous in a year. Maximum in
five years, but better in a year.

Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 14:11:21 -0600
From: Nina Pesochinsky <nina@earthnet.net>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] a little about modern opera music

Dear Astrid, Igor and everyone on the list,

I disagree with the idea of how much power money has over art. I
love the voice and art of Montserrat Caballe. However, this diva has
not appeared in a major operatic production in at least 20 years (?)
or so before her retirement. There is truth in everything that she
had said in an interview, but that is only one facet of a
multifaceted gem. We choose what we see.

To me, the difference between a true artist and people who do art is
that an artist simply cannot NOT do it. It is not a matter of
choice. As a consequence, it is also not a function of
money. Instead, the success is a result of the conviction that the
artist has about what he or she is doing. There is a huge power in that.

Have you ever heard Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante perform Vivaldi
concertos or Boccherini's 'Fandango"? It is wild. These musicians
are incredible. They are daring. Their arrangements sound like rock
music of classical music. If Virgin company did not record them,
someone else would have. It is impossible to not do it. The power
of this music and the conviction of the musicians go beyond the
trappings of this mortal world. True art enslaves the will.

To me, art connects us to the eternal. How much of ourselves are we
willing to sell for the security of the material world? In Jungian
terms, that depends on the strength of the Prostitute
archetype. Artists are people. Their promoters are also
people. Their beliefs carry great influence in regard to the success
of the teachers they organize.

I am convinced that in tango, people sell out when they lack a core
understanding of who they are in this dance. I think that it is only
a matter of time until they emerge differently. When they know the
essence of what they do, the integrity their work has, leaves no
choice for failure. It is a matter of evolution for the teachers and
performers as well as social dancers. Just because a movie producer
has discovered a dancer, does not mean that the dancer has found his
or her identity.

So the question for the artist is - Do you believe in your art enough
to do it even when no one is willing to pay you for it?

Warmest regards,

Nina


At 12:46 PM 8/20/2006, astrid wrote:

>Difference is that in the old days artists had kings who sponsored them, or
>churches who bought their paintings...
>These days, art is produced with the desire to make money. That is why it is
>so difficult to get anything published.
>And unfortunately, art, music, dance etc. is now produced for a very wide,
>general clientele. And a lot of people are attracted to the flash and trash,
>not to the real thing.
>
>Astrid
>
>-----An internet newspaper ( pretty insignificant ) in Russian language
>published an interview with Montserrat Caballe:
>https://www.utro.ru/articles/2006/08/18/575713.shtml
>
>In the light of recent discussion about music, I'd like to translate a
>little except from the article the best I can.
>Igor.
>
>Newspaper: There are many talks that World is fading away in cultural way:
>art is diminishing, becoming a business. Being one of the titans of the
>modern art, do you agree with such an opinion?
>
>Montserrat Caball$B!&(B https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat_Caball%C3%A9 :
>
>[She speaks about classical vocal music in this interview - Igor]. In 21st
>century and at the end of the last one, 20 century there was development of
>mediocrity. There are very little of creative desires. Music was never a
>laboratory product. Music is always inspiration, spirituality, and spirit of
>a composer. Nowadays, there are very few composers who create with their
>spirit. On the other hand there are hundreds, I would say, thousands
>laboratory composers. We are talking about opera composers in this case,
>about those who make opera music. These composers do not feel calling, a
>need to create real music and devote to it completely. Rather they need to
>receive many contracts to make money and become famous in a year. Maximum in
>five years, but better in a year.
>
>

Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 10:19:00 +0900
From: "astrid" <astrid@ruby.plala.or.jp>
Subject: Re: [Tango-L] a little about modern opera music (and true
artists)

Nina:

> I disagree with the idea of how much power money has over art. > To me,

the difference between a true artist and people who do art is

> that an artist simply cannot NOT do it. It is not a matter of
> choice. As a consequence, it is also not a function of
> money. Instead, the success is a result of the conviction that the
> artist has about what he or she is doing. There is a huge power in that.
>

The power

> of this music and the conviction of the musicians go beyond the
> trappings of this mortal world. True art enslaves the will.

I loved your description of true art, Nina. But I did not say that this kind
of true artist does not exist. What I said is that the other kind of
commercial "artist" is often much better known, gets more support and sells
better than the true artist. But the true artist will go on creating anyway.
True artists who are also well known and successful prehumously are quite
rare.
E.g. in Japan (Tokyo is lately developing into a new art center, we get more
and more of the great names coming here in recent years, even for debuts) a
certain cellist is hugely popular. He comes here every year, several times,
plays his very schmaltzy overaccented music in one of the major halls,
wearing the prototype "artist's hairstyle" and flamboyant Japanese designer
clothes on stage... People love him because his music is very easy to
understand for those who don't have much sense for the finesse and subtlety
of classical music, I'd say. On the other hand, has anyone outside Italy
ever heard of the "Interpreti Veneziani", a fascinating chamber orchestra
that plays inside a church, for exemple? They say, they play old Venetian
composers, reviving their music, and they belong to Venice. Fantastic.

This is what I said. And it is also a wellknown phenomenon in history that
the true artist cannot stop producing art, even if nobody buys it, even if
he has to borrow from everybody, even if he is starving or going insane with
the force coming through him...

That is why I stated the exemple (which you deleted) of the teacher who is
afraid she cannot call from overseas who she really wants to call as a
dancer to Japan for a workshop. Because what becomes popular is dictated by
the masses if money is involved. I found this out to my surprise when the
other day just the two of us went out for coffee together after class. I
told her who I would really love to meet and learn from (instead of the
famous Hollywood dancer she called over last time, which I did not say) To
my surprise I found out that my teacher loves the same dancer, and does not
even like the one she called last time. But that workshop was more packed
than any of the others.

On the other hand "supporting the artist" seems to have become another
groovey thing to do, and lately I have heard some people , instead of saying
"I am going to listen to XY", or "I am looking forward to the performance of
soandso", say:"I am supporting this event". Which sounds to me like they are
not going there because they truly appreciate the art, but more like they
have developed a "spectator's ego". Which may not be a bad thing, just a
little strange. So, ironically, that artist may now end up with an audience
which does not really appreciate his art but wants to keep him from
starving.

Astrid

>