Tranquil59@aol.com wrote:
The enjoyment and appreciation of music, like that of any art form, does notYou are of course correct, it is not a moral issue, not a question of right/wrong, merely a matter of communication, comprehension, and fruitfulness.
have a "right" / "wrong" or "better" / "worse" absolute method. In other
words, no one can dictate to somebody else how to CORRECTLY listen to music,
not even the composer. One can suggest a particular listening perspective but
this would only one of many. Therefore, there is nothing WRONG with listening
to a single variation, or selected variations, from the Goldberg Variations
(or any collection for that matter) as opposed to listening to all the
variations in numerical order.
What is gained or appreciated when listeningAgain, you are correct. But precisely what is the difference?
to single variations/movements will simply be DIFFERENT than the experience
of listening to the whole work.
While it is of value to be aware of how theNo, it is not. One may use a Vermeer painting for a tablecloth and appreciate it for a fine tablecloth. But one will not thereby "get" the painting, which is a mode of very precise and intimate communication. A composition in many movements may, or may not, be an integrated whole, but if it is an integrated whole, if that was the intention of the composer, and if he succeeded in his intention, then not listening to the whole misses the point, ignores the composer's intention, and demeans his labor. When an artist proffers a work of art, the participant must choose: Shall I experience this on the terms intended by the artist, or shall I place my own wishes above those of the artist? Nothing wrong with the latter choice, it's just that you don't get to really learn all that the artist is saying, and indeed may totally misunderstand what he is saying.
composer desired his/her music to be heard this is NOT a pre-requisite for
appreciating the work.
Ah, yes they can. Again, would one presume to know better than the artist how to experience their creation?When artists finish their work and "put it out " for the public they cannot
determine what the best way to enjoy said work is for anybody.
ImagineIt would be extremely valuable if Picasso had offered such advice.
Picasso telling museum goers that the right way of appreciaitng one of his
paintings is standing at 10 feet away from the work with your head at a
slight 10 degree angle and wearing a Fedora hat with a full stomach!!
I agree. It might, for example, be right for you to consider my comments annoying, naive and even stupid. Whether you understand my meaning is something else.
Musicians and music lovers are, in my opinion, wasting valuable energy
concerned about RULES and ABSOLUTE LAWS in the judgement of music and art.
It strikes me as a type of misdirected and naive seriousness; like suffering
from academic constipation. Whatever has been suggested by composers and
other musicians should only be taken as that, SUGGESTIONS. Ultimatedly YOU
have to decide what is right for you.
The composer is the author of the workNo, the great composer does not own your mind's ear, he recreates your mind's ear. If you are capable of listening.
but he/she does not OWN your mind's ear.
All creative artists are innovativeI do enjoy the music, and I wish you the same!
because they thought for themselves.
Imagine if at around the middle of the 18th century the entire world had
decided that the proper/correct way of Composing/Performing/Listening to
music was like that of Bach; while we would have had a lot of great Bachian
music imagine all the rest that we would have missed !Enjoy the music and don't worry about Rights and Wrongs for other people.
Armando Tranquilino