When I put up this blog entry I wasn’t saying I hate all new music, and reading this which is about as harsh as can be from my very quick skimming (yeah, I’m skimming again … sorry!) some might think I’m in his camp.
Not so.
But I will tell you what I don’t particularly like to play. If I’m playing a piece that is so random I could play everything wrong and no one would know (including the composer!) I am bothered. If I’m playing a piece that is best played on your little computer with that lovely oboe sound (hah!) I am bothered. If a composer write things that are simply impossible on an oboe and doesn’t understand that, I am bothered.
I know that John Cage wrote those “you can play or not — you choose” sorts of things. And good for him. But that was a while ago, and I just don’t need more of that.
Pause.
Although … hmmm … the work we played said we could play any instruments we wanted. Jeepers! I should have put in a few extra instruments and received the extra pay, eh? 😉
Anyway, I just don’t want to be lumped in with someone who wants to toss it all out. I just want to toss out what I want to toss out.
Doesn’t that seem fair and reasonable?
Oh … and I want the option of changing my mind a few years down the line. Because. You know. Sometimes music that we thought was unplayable becomes playable. And sometimes music we thought was disgusting becomes incredible. And sometimes the music we thought was the best thing ever written becomes … oh dear! … rotten.
Funny how that happens. 🙂
PS Please don’t hate me.