It’s this stranglehold on the future of classical music that Barenboim says he is trying to break. The impromptu concert at Tate Modern – a short recital in an unfamiliar venue – is one tiny example. Within three days of the free concert being announced, 8,000 people had applied for the 400 seats, while 700 more watched a live relay in the hall below. When he was finished, the 1,100 people gave him a standing ovation.
As if to illustrate his point, there was a bitterly divided critical response the following day. One critic was struck by the spell he cast, how no one in the throng stirred as he played: “Sixty years on, he still plays the piano with boyish curiosity, as if the instrument had just been invented.”
Another critic expended 900 words sneering at the “legions of crazed fans . . . there to witness their Messiah.
“Mention his name in pianophile company,” continued the lofty wordsmith, “and it is quickly dismissed”. He concluded: “We were . . . wrong to attend last night’s recital.”
… it seems that we classical music lovers can battle over just about everything, and cause even more alienation. Woo hoo to us!
I read that and more here.
I know everyone can be snarky — it’s not just classical music folks. But we sure seem to excel at it better than nearly anyone else. Or maybe I’m just grumpy today.
