|
Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes. |
|
|
|
Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes. |
|
In Reply to: Art and music: can non-intellectuals appreciate post-19th century music posted by tinear on March 11, 2011 at 10:59:41:
I'm not so sure there is a real connection between art and music. I know a lot of people who love modern art, yet they have zero tolerance for serialism, spiky dissonance and other symptoms of modernist assault on the ears. One could make the same sort of assumptions about jazz, and they'd be equally questionable IMO. Just because you love Pollack does not mean you are going to like Coltrane. I'm not a psychologist, but I suspect that there is a big divide between the way people respond to music vs the way they respond to visual arts.
However, I do think there is a definite line in music that marks a division between what is agreeable vs what is not -- for most people. And I don't think it has anything to do with intellect. I think the majority of music lovers today would not characterize Mahler as a unappealing or especially modernist. Mahler still hung his hat on melody, and when he did venture into more complex harmonies and atonal passages, they were not abrasive.
Berg, Schnittke, Boulez, Stockhausen, Gubaidulina, Cage, et al, fall into a realm of unrelenting dissonance, combative cacophony, and just plain noisy noise that I think few people can enjoy as music. In other words, I think it can be appreciated intellectually (as you allude to), but most people cannot just naturally grasp it, embrace it and enjoy it as music.
However, I do not think most "intellectuals" will (or can) accept it either. And that has been the root of the sad demise of classical music, IMO. Even the more knowledgeable classical audiences hated the stuff -- and still do. It has nothing to do with intellect and everything to do with the role of music in people's lives -- the psychological response. Most people just aren't interested in listening analytically. They want to listen emotionally. And for most, that means melody, atonality with very limited tolerance for abrasive dissonance, and structural coherence.
"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Follow Ups
- Yes and No - Amphissa 12:58:12 03/11/11 (2)
- Of course, as nice as they are, one's friends hardly are the hooks - tinear 14:34:40 03/11/11 (0)
- "Combative Cacophony" - Mike Porper 13:20:02 03/11/11 (0)
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
