Re: GG: not in _Time_

[Daniel Vaiser <vaiser@airmail.net>]

Hello everyone:

I am just curious: is Arnold Schoenberg on that list of influential
artists?  Just wondering. All the best.

Daniel Vaiser





Richard Vallis wrote:

> Obviously, all such "lists" are subject to the bias and tastes of both
> the
> "connoisseurs" and the era in which they're written.  When it comes to
> the
> 20th century in music, the diversity makes any short "best" list
> ludicrous. It
> may be fun to conjecture, but limiting to two or three is bound to be
> controversial.
> Having said that, I WILL venture my favorites, but will limit myself
> to
> performers. Having just taught a course in 20th century music, there's
> no way
> I would touch a greatest composer  list with a ten foot pole.
> In no way can I defend (nor will I try todefend) my taste against that
> of
> someone else. Glenn Gould has for many years been my favorite
> performing
> musician of the 20th century.  For similar reasons, although some will
> not see
> it, Vladimir Horowitz is also a favorite.  Now, to disqualify myself
> for many
> or most  as a serious opinioner, there is also James Taylor.
>
> Bradley P Lehman wrote:
>
> > 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/