GG: not in _Time_

[Bradley P Lehman <bpl@umich.edu>]

Got the June 8th _Time_ magazine yesterday, the one whose cover features
"100 Artists and Entertainers of the Century."  I tried a guessing game: 
which classical musicians would be chosen for that category? 

I knew they'd pick Stravinsky as #1 because I'd peeked at visual arts
already and they'd chosen Picasso there, so the parallel was obvious. 
After that, my guess was that Bernstein would be in the top few because of
his extremely influential work as conductor, composer (sort of a classical
fusionist), pianist, and educator of the public, the ideal all-around
popularizing disciple for classical music.  Then the other list choices
would be up to _Time's_ whims.  Would GG make it? 

Sure enough, Stravinsky won "The Classical Musician" for his compositional
influence, and it mentioned also his exciting conducting.  (Didn't mention
his huge influence on minimal-interpretation performance styles, which I'm
sure Taruskin would have brought out if he'd been on the panel.)  Then a
sidebar has "Prodigious Performers: three virtuosos who inspired cult
followings and made unforgettable music:" a tiny photo and short paragraph
each for Maria Callas, Vladimir Horowitz, and Leonard Bernstein.  All
three are of course the "wow the crowds" type. 

What do you think of their choices? 

Personally, I would have put Stravinsky first, Bernstein a close second. 
Then I'd put Rachmaninoff: on the evidence of their recordings, he was at
least as gifted a pianist as Horowitz (better, in my opinion), plus he
composed and conducted, and his compositions are very popular and
accessible.  (But he perhaps wasn't rated as "progressive" enough to make
the list.)  Then GG, as much for his influence on the recording industry
and for his thoroughly 20th-century musical approach as for his
performances.  Then if there was a fifth spot, maybe Nikolaus Harnoncourt: 
as conductor, player, and writer he takes historical scholarship
seriously, fitting it into an especially vital performance style (and
having a huge discography, both on old instruments and on modern
instruments).  Horowitz *might* make it into the next five, but I'm not
sure about that.  I'd have to get Leonhardt and Landowska in there
somewhere for their immense influences on 20th-century performance styles,
and maybe get some more composers in there.  If Callas was to be on a list
at all, I think they should have made a separate opera or vocal category
instead of sweeping all of "classical music" into one, and I'd put
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau ahead of her...but she was before my time and
outside the areas of my interest, and so I don't know much about her.

Other opinions on how "classical musicians of the century" should be
ranked? 

Bradley Lehman ~ Harrisonburg VA, USA ~ 38.45716N+78.94565W
bpl@umich.edu ~ http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/