Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

---

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Music Lane ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ]

---

RE: I don't agree with your premise

Posted by Amphissa (A) on March 15, 2011 at 16:04:40

In Reply to: I don't agree with your premise posted by rbolaw on March 15, 2011 at 08:35:20:

I get the feeling that you guys think I'm dissing on Bartok. That's not the case. I'm simply asking for some insight, hoping you guys have some thoughts on this particular circumstance.

"While I have no facts or statistics on the subject"

Well, I've presented some. Here are some more.

This is the number of times Bartok was programmed for performance of the 350 members of the American Symphony Orchestra League during this decade (recent years plus sample earlier years):

2008-2009 = 52
2007-2008 = 58
2006-2007 = 56
2005-2006 = 69
2003-2003 = 35
2000-2001 = 42
Here are the total performance numbers for other composers, sample year 2006-2007:

Mozart = 1,400
Beethoven = 948
Tchaikovsky = 581
Brahms = 495
Strauss = 325
Dvorak = 300
Rachmaninoff = 270
Sibelius = 250
Haydn = 250
Prokofiev = 250
Mahler = 225

What I am saying is that the number of symphony programs featuring works by Bartok are, by my estimation, way up this season. I think it very possible that the number of performances his music will move up into the 200s this year.

I'm not asking whether you like the facts or not. Those are the facts. Every member orchestra provides the League office with their programs for the season and the numbers are tallied up. Yes, big orchestras in big cities provide many more concert programs every year and so they would perform Bartok more often than smaller orchestras. These numbers are the totals for all of the member orchestras -- 350 of them.

What I am asking is why the sudden increase this year? Because in my estimation, Bartok is appearing on programs a lot more often than in the past.

It seems like the *new and different and fresh* explanation may be a reasonable guess. But I can't help but think there is something else going on. Because he's suddenly now appearing on top 10 lists as well, which has not been the case in the past. Perhaps he deserves it, but why now, all of a sudden? Is it just a matter of, here's a new composer to give some attention to? And everybody decides that very same thing all at once? Really?

I can't help but be reminded of the situation with Mahler. He was not really ignored up through the 50s. His symphonies got played in concert pretty steadily, much like Bartok today. But then, there was the big surge in the 60s when Mahler's music began to get played more. Lots of people credit Bernstein, but there were a lot of other orchestras that began playing him as well. It was *just* Bernstein.

During the Shostakovich anniversary year a few years ago, every orchestra programmed a bunch of Shostakovich. So we heard a lot of Shostakovich that year. Yes, he had been played before that, and yes he's been played since. But interest in Shostakovich surged that year and has sort of dropped off since then.

So, I can't help but wonder if Bartok is going to be a Mahler, with sustained continuing interest from now on, or whether he's just a passing fancy like Shostakovich, destined to return to the lower frequency of play he's had in the past.

But that's really a secondary issue. I'm really interested in why Bartok *now*? Why not 10 years ago? Why not 10 years from now? Why now?



"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Crux Audio

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---