tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post3878812044545040865..comments2024-03-27T23:06:03.736-05:00Comments on The Music Salon: Wars Between the CriticsBryan Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-47047742465761606272014-09-06T16:43:43.808-05:002014-09-06T16:43:43.808-05:00Thanks for the kind comment!!
I think that if you...Thanks for the kind comment!!<br /><br />I think that if you follow the links in Ms. Womack's essay you will find that they go to similar sorts of essays--heavy on the assertions, but light on the evidence. I know that the Guardian, the Globe and Mail and NPR have all had recent pieces bemoaning that we don't have enough women composers and conductors. Actually, I suspect that the one remaining niche where women are underrepresented is as conductors because, as you say, there are equal or better numbers of women in most orchestras and there are certainly a lot of women composers and soloists on the scene. I think that almost half of the composers in graduate school when I was there were women.<br />Bryan Townsendhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482696991279345516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8827040061563065922.post-3450375004268876392014-09-06T13:10:08.449-05:002014-09-06T13:10:08.449-05:00Thank you for this, and especially for your last c...Thank you for this, and especially for your last comment - I needed a good laugh today, and personally, I love those dead white men passionately. <br /><br /> I absolutely agree that diversity for diversity's sake in the classical music arena would be damaging to keeping the standards high. Perhaps a way to keep up the numbers and fit in with current culture would be to start a 'Maury' series of classical concerts where we start bringing in damaged people with horrible life stories to perform, in order to entertain the modern audience. It's apparently not about the music, after all.<br /><br />Regarding Ms. Womack's reference to gender prejudice in the concert hall, I am wondering where she is getting her stats. I have not been to a single symphonic performance in Canada where the women did not almost outnumber the men in the orchestra. And I can name countless female soloists who have thriving careers throughout the world. <br /><br />Altogether, a very entertaining blog, and I appreciate your perception and scrutiny.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02191955122378834307noreply@blogger.com