Few books devoted to so-called ‘high culture’ get much mainstream attention in America; even fewer when the book seeks to explain why classical music is a mirror history for the 20th century. Yet Alex Ross’ “The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century” manages to break through. “Steeped though Ross is in Theodor Adorno and Thomas Mann, his own style is mercifully free of the ‘implacable imperative of density’ commended by the critic-devil in Mann’s “Doctor Faustus” (a novel that provides a framing parable for the book’s early sections).”
There’s no denying (and Ross doesn’t, apparently) that classical music is now a fringe cultural activity. (n.b. we intend to read this but haven’t yet). One reason is that contemporary compositions are difficult for audiences to embrace live. As he told the Los Angeles Times in an interview, classical composers today forget what pop stars know intuitively — a concert is about a physical experience (if not more so) than pure sonic theory. Atonal, discordant compositions create uncomfortable physical reactions in an audience. Another reason, as Ross sees it is:
A lot of 19th century music is about “the adventures of a theme.” You recognize a theme, and then you start to hear its transformation; a second theme comes along, they start to interact, and you hear a story unfolding. Twentieth century music, a lot of it is about music as landscape, music as texture, sonic events one after the other. In a lot of it, rhythm comes into play, as opposed to melody.
The part of Ross’ book that promises to intrigue the Stiftung the most is how he links Modernism and the then predominant form of music, classical, through the 1920s and 1930s with the rise of anti-liberal democratic totalitarianism. One can imagine his passages regarding Richard Strauss’ buckling to Nazi pressure as well as Shostakovich’s efforts to placate Stalin’s demands that he convert music to ‘dialetical materialistic’ pontification. Ross’ critique of the American experience doesn’t seem startling:
That’s kind of a long-standing American disease, this need to define high art as not only something distinct from popular culture but as the opposite of it, the antithesis of it, the overcoming of it. Concert halls were built, from the late 19th century on, as bastions to ward off the vulgar hordes. You enter this space marked out for a sublime experience and not for anything vulgar. While a little earlier American concerts were full of crazy combinations of vaudeville songs, opera arias, string quartets and bands, in the latter part of the 19th century we became really intent on separating these things. It happened again after the Second World War.
But I’m fascinated by the periods where the barriers do break down. The ’20s and ’60s were great periods for that, with unexpected meetings of minds.
Yet it is not just classical music. Rock n roll is also disappearing. For a while, New York City did not even have a rock radio station. The pop culture center is now largely dominated by over amped base beats and rhythm (at 120 beats per minute or even higher). This is Ross’ rhythm in classical composition twisted into something wholly unrecognizable. Ross may write about classical cross over possibilities, yet one must ask to where? Another book, possibly from Greil Marcus or someone else, is needed to explore pop culture 1962-2007 and its parallels with changing American society.
We are reminded of a plaintive complaint by noted musical titan and lyrical sentimentalist Ozzy Osbourne surveying his fellow now fringe heavy metal/thrash metal colleagues, “Where the fuck is the melody?”. Where, indeed.
Comment says
Pat’s in Happy High Dudgeon about Hillary flubbing the the Spitzer ID thing – This is an opportunity for Rudy to temporarily make people forget that he is the most pro illegal immigrant Mayor in recent times.
But Pat is right that Hillary did just about the best she could with Russert’s (will he make Rudy release Rudy’s mayoral documents) pro Rudy doc dump question.
Comment says
There’s just no excuse for Rudy invoking Kerik and saying they thanked God that Bush was President that day. It’s total BS and that made us more mad at Rudy than his attempt to seize power for a few extra months.
The neocons who are embedding themselves within Rudy will eventually fall away if Rudy does not actually become a war criminal. In fact – if you close your eyes and imagine the future you can easily see Cliff May on Tucker in 2010 telling Tucker that he was shocked that Rudy cared so little about x y z …
Comment says
There’s long been a dichotomy between Rudy’s two selves – Comment has heard a number of people who worked on his ’92 and ’96 campaign speak well of him. But then for a while he really developed a nasty public side (symboled by his sick joke above) that people like Koch and others talked about. His second term was filled with nasty public moments. He did redeem himself on 9-11, but part of that public redemption was due to Bush’s seeming cluelessness (especially in his eyes) on the day of attack and his scary absence.
Anon says
The Harvey Mansfield campaign heats up as Tucker goes into high Clinton panic:
http://www.bookforum.com/online/1290
Comment says
Just tuned on to Tweety and it’s pretty clear that Obama should ignore his advice – Comment recalls watching Rick Lazio debat Hillary in 2000 and Tweety and others had been making similar stupid calls for Lazio to go after Hillary in all those stupid ways that you can recall.
Lazio stupidly (he would have lost no matter what) poked his finger at Hillary and invaded her space on the debate – Lazio came off as a complete ogre and we recall someone we know who worked for him being totally embarassed.
But the next day we picked up the NY Post (Yes, Doc – not long ago we bought actual papers at the newstand everyday instead of just random like now). JPOd was praising Lazio and we knew then that the kind of behavior that Jpod and Tweety like is sure loser stuff.
A Random Quote says
“The New Republic needs to be the latest example that the good old days of no-accountability are ending. They attacked American soldiers during a time of war, and they attacked those soldiers without justification. I happen to be in Baghdad with some of the soldiers they attacked. These soldiers have enough challenges with urban combat that they should not have to watch their backs for concern of irresponsible publications stabbing them.”
~Katherine Jean Lopez
NRO, 10-29-07
Anon says
VDH deserves a snappier rebuke than this – Bateman accidentally helps VDH by engaging him point by point instead of ridiculing some of his premises. The opposition still needs to learn how to play the game.
http://mediamatters.org/altercation/200710290004
Anon says
PW could probably point to this post as an exhibit to make his larger point –
http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2007/10/27/talk-about-bullshit/
Comment says
The disappearance of music is a true mystery – like the missing honey bees. Plenty of theories – atonal discordant classic compositions are supposedly popular in Scandanavia – but we have doubts about that.