From one dinosaur to another

May 25, 2007 at 2:34 AM

I started to write a reply to Ihnsouk Guim's question, "Am I a dinosaur?" and it got so long I decided to turn it into a blog entry.

No, Ihnsouk, I don't think you're a dinosaur, I think my own tastes are rather similar to yours. And I also feel at times as if I'm way out of step with the mainstream. I'd chalk it up to age, as in middle, except that I felt the same when I was myself younger and thinner.

But I still don't think that framing the issue solely in terms of sexuality is quite fair, or accurate for that matter. As I was thinking about it after the last go-round on the previous thread, I decided that what bothers me about current trends in classical artist marketing is really more the stylized, almost uniform, look of people in the media these days, and the fact that classical musicians are starting to resemble them, not the sexuality. I don't have anything against sexuality, even overt sexuality. But there's kind of a mind-numbing sameness, and alienness, about the models and movie stars who stare down, or out, at us from billboards and the sides of busses as we go about our business. They seem less and less like real people and more and more like aliens. They are becoming harder and harder to connect with.

My favorite CD currently is the following: J.S. Bach - Six Cello Suites performed on viola, recorded by Patricia McCarty, viola

I received it as a gift for Christmas last year. I've been listening to it every day since then. I love this CD. And in the absence of a real live viola teacher at present, I am starting to feel as if McCarty is my teacher. I compare her interpretations with others, I adopt some of her ornamentations. I recently read about her in the context of composer Rebecca Clarke. Her 1985 recording of Clarke's Viola Sonata is apparently regarded as a classic and has played a role in the renaissance of Clarke's music. I admire the role she has played in this endeavor. As I learn more about her, McCarty is becoming one of my personal heroes.

This is the picture of her on the cover of that CD:

http://www.concertartist.info/bio/pics/MCCr4.jpeg

As much as I like what I've read about and heard of McCarty, I admit, I'm not crazy about this picture. It's too made-up, too glam, too formal. Too many sequins on the dress. However, the picture did not prevent me from putting the CD on my Amazon wish list, nor did it prevent me from recommending the CD to friends.

But there are other pictures of McCarty out there, for example, this one:

http://www.concertartist.info/bio/pics/MCC001.jpeg

To me, this is the person playing on the CD. She is who I hear when I put the iPod buds in my ears and close my eyes and lose myself in the music. She is a wise teacher, she is someone who cares enough to bring a forgotten composer back to us. She is someone I'd like to know better. The other picture doesn't say that to me.

Finally, it occurs to me that the violin world could use some elder stateswomen. We have elder statesmen: Heifetz, Milstein, Oistrakh, Perlman, Zuckerman, I could go on. Their accumulated wisdom and experience, even into middle and old age, I would argue, enriches us all. But I can't think of any women of that stature and gravitas. At least not yet. I'm hoping that Midori and Hilary Hahn and Sarah Chang will get there eventually. Anne-Sophie Mutter would have been a good candidate . . . but apparently she's retiring at 45. Maybe nobody wants to see a 60-year-old woman in a strapless gown, but I at least do want to see and hear 60-year-old female concert artists still actively playing, just as I want to see and hear 60-year-old male artists. The current glam trend works against that, and I think we as the audience are going to be poorer for it.

From Robert Berentz
Posted on May 25, 2007 at 1:21 PM

Are there hidden meanings to "Ethnic Diversity and Utopian Riparian Zones?" (some restrictions may apply)

From Anne Horvath
Posted on May 25, 2007 at 2:13 PM

Last I heard, Meryl Streep was having a difficult time finding decent movie roles.

I think the youth-obsessed, "sex sells" marketing ploys in Classical Music are just part of our American society. It is nothing new, and it is not going away anytime soon. (I personally would rather listen to Starker then someone like Orfa Harnoy).

The only middle aged female violin soloist to pass through these parts in recent years is Miriam Fried. Not that we are the Cultural Center Of The Universe...

Many musicians have trouble keeping their chops strong up to the age of sixty. One of the hardest things in the world to do is to keep a career sustained so long, like Starker, or Milstein, or Serkin, etc.

Also, if you are going to be playing a lot of viola, get used to Clarke. And Hindemith.

From Emily Grossman
Posted on May 25, 2007 at 8:49 PM

Today's marketing is so boring, thoughtless, and predictable.

From Yixi Zhang
Posted on May 25, 2007 at 11:55 PM

It's boring, thoughtless, predictable, and plasticy.

From Ihnsouk Guim
Posted on May 25, 2007 at 11:58 PM

Karen, i agree. For me too, sexuality is only a small part of things that bother me.

Ihnsouk

From Ihnsouk Guim
Posted on May 25, 2007 at 11:58 PM

Karen, i agree. For me too, sexuality is only a small part of things that bother me.

Ihnsouk

From Elizabeth Smith
Posted on May 26, 2007 at 12:49 PM

We have McCarty's CDs as well-- she's wonderful. FYI, she reads this board. We heard from her privately once when we posted a question and learned from her that she was coming to a (under-advertised) Viola Society concert in our city. There were only a dozen people in the audience of that fantastic recital.

From Ihnsouk Guim
Posted on May 26, 2007 at 5:37 PM

Elizabeth - Does Philadelphia have a viola society? Isn't that nice?

Karen - I saw the pictures in the links of McCarty. They remind me of Hilary Hahn's transformation.

Ihnsouk

From Elizabeth Smith
Posted on May 27, 2007 at 1:36 AM

Ihnsouk,
Yes, Philadelphia has a viola society. Mc Carty is a middle-aged woman who seems more engaged in her art and vocation than in her marketing image. But, in my opinion, classical musicians need to fight against marginalization in the marketplace. I was dismayed at the poor showing at McCarty's recital-- almost no audience at all, and for a major artist (no viola jokes, please.)

From Karen Allendoerfer
Posted on May 27, 2007 at 11:44 AM

I don't think Boston has a viola society, but we do have the Rebecca Clarke Society: http://www.rebeccaclarke.org (I joined).

Since starting to play the viola, I admit I like how overall the viola community is generally more down-to-earth, less showy and seemingly more approachable than many (not all) violinists. I like how one can scratch the surface and find music one has never heard of, lesser-known composers, forgotten concertos researched and brought back by someone who cares. My experience has not been, so far, that the viola repertoire is as limited as everyone says it is. I had already decided back in the winter that I wanted to learn the rest of the Bach cello suites (I've done most of #1, but that's only on my own) and Anton Stamitz's viola concerto in D, and now I want to add Clarke's viola sonata. That'll probably keep me busy for the next 5-10 years, at least! (I have a passing acquaintance with Hindemith and so far haven't acquired a taste for his music--but who knows, stranger things have happened!)

Elizabeth, that is such a shame that so few came to McCarty's concert! She is local, so I should be on the lookout for opportunities to hear her in the Boston area. And she teaches at the Longy school . . . not far at all from where I live. It would be *so amazing* to take lessons from her, but I'm feeling too intimidated (and too time-poor) to pursue it. I wouldn't want to waste her time if I couldn't practice at least an hour a day, and I'm only averaging 30-45 minutes a day, sometimes less :(

And I agree, classical musicians do need to fight against marginalization in the marketplace. But in general I think there have to be more creative marketing strategies, even for classical music, than the creation of a glamorous persona harkening back to some nebulous golden age. We have to be of the future as well as of the past, no matter what our chronological age is.

This entry has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

From one dinosaur to another

Subscribe

Laurie's Books