tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post4372633362903613700..comments2024-03-27T23:06:03.736-05:00Comments on The Music Salon: Book Review: The New PhilistinesBryan Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-55369023109673510792016-10-31T08:56:20.933-05:002016-10-31T08:56:20.933-05:00Marc, please give us your thoughts when you have f...Marc, please give us your thoughts when you have finished the book.Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-53814052175758353602016-10-30T22:48:16.768-05:002016-10-30T22:48:16.768-05:00I don't disagree really with any of your obser...I don't disagree really with any of your observations, Bryan, although I am closer to half way through than to finishing the Ahmari book. Some people write well when the form is that of an essay or article but their work doesn't 'scale up' to book form, for any number of reasons, I expect; who knows. Perhaps the more rewarding Ahmari book is yet to come.Marc in Eugenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04331547981498637474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-47071013518591968142016-10-30T18:26:20.954-05:002016-10-30T18:26:20.954-05:00Interesting--I will have to look into that! Yes, a...Interesting--I will have to look into that! Yes, artists do take money where they can and some of it is more influential than other on what is created. Renaissance patrons were very specific sometimes.Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-1924934516003019682016-10-30T15:39:08.737-05:002016-10-30T15:39:08.737-05:00Barber, Thomson, Copland all took money from the C...Barber, Thomson, Copland all took money from the CIA, but the bulk of it went to painters (Pollock, Rothko) and institutions like MOMA. I am not passing any judgment by the way. Artists take money where they can and it doesn't imply their art becomes propaganda. But it's the rare art that does not speak to and of its political context. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-5380110004707174022016-10-30T10:53:38.991-05:002016-10-30T10:53:38.991-05:00Some very good points, of course. I wasn't so ...Some very good points, of course. I wasn't so much presenting my own theory as doing a review of the book. Yes, music and politics have a very complex relationship and Beethoven and Shostakovich are excellent examples of that. The post-war move towards complexity was certainly funded in Europe by the CIA, but in the US itself?Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-51524505809530095552016-10-30T10:42:03.791-05:002016-10-30T10:42:03.791-05:00I think music is an entirely different story, and ...I think music is an entirely different story, and I don't see identity politics playing much of a role in its development. The turn to complexity in American music was "engineered" by the CIA as a PR against the USSR (read Taruskin for an explanation). Nothing to do with progressive politics. In general, the relation between aesthetics and politics in music is much more complex than what you suggest. After all, the two major composers whose art has been the most influenced by politics are Beethoven and Shostakovich. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com