Is classical musical elitist?
It has struck me over the last few years how little attention has been given to the wonderful achievements that artists and musicians have made in civil society. As I’m here in Ottawa, gearing up for a run of performances of La Boheme, I’ve witnessed first hand the struggles that a fine opera company has faced because of financial difficulty and undeservedly so. Opera Companies like Opera Lyra in Ottawa have produced and presented wonderful performances over decades, often with little government subsidy. We have witnessed some magnificent performances all over the world, perhaps definable within our generation, and yet the media and our political leaders don’t take notice. And this isn’t an argument for or against the public or private funding of the arts. It’s a broader argument that there is a disconnect between the inherent value of classical music and the simple function of daily life of all citizens. It makes me wonder if this lack of association from our leaders to our cultural institutions is more deliberate than simply because of a lack of information, knowledge, or passion. It all boils down to whether classical music is in itself elitist and perceived to be so high brow that middle America or for that matter, the consciousness of mainstream citizens around the world, are disinterested and assume it’s for people solely in the upper echelons of society. This notion is sobering. Over the next few months, I’m going to examine in depth how classical music spans generations of Americans, rich and poor, how immigrants to America were themselves accustomed to classical music and tunes as a part of daily life, how American classical composers ought be held up high and brought more into the American view, how education of our kids has faltered so terribly with respect to music and dance, and moreover, how classical music is so intertwined in our lives that we don’t even realize it.
This messaging dilemma that art is “for the elite” must be fixed and it should be a mandate for all performers and presenters to make the case to the public at large that classical music is something worth living for, that culture is what we fight for. It was Winston Churchill himself that retorted to a cabinet minister after learning of budget cuts to arts and culture organizations: “Then what are we fighting for?” Many have certainly used this quotation as fodder for argument and they wisely should.
It’s culture that all of us depend on for our livelihood, even if we don’t think about it. Language in itself is a cultural entity; each country has a national language that is inherent to their identity. Language binds citizens to their core. It would be disastrous to the psyche of a nation to change a language or mandate that they speak other languages simply because they should. So equally is music a cultural milestone. Music is something that bonds us together, to which we all can relate and classical music is the most foundational of all forms of music. Our leaders are failing us when they don’t seek to enhance the lives of citizens by embracing culture and tangentially, classical music. They fail us because they fear that there will be a disconnect between them and some portion of the public. They are truly mistaken. If we as performers, as lovers of classical music, as leaders in our field of music can begin to demonstrate through the wonderful advanced media devices at our finger tips that music is something that is so essential, then our political leaders will too, embrace it.
We can convince Americans that through their own graciousness that art is essential and without it, we have a society that is frankly less adaptable, less well rounded, and less aware. We have a society when children have diminished opportunities at graduating high school because their incentives to do so are continually being shot down. We have governors like Mark Dayton of Minnesota, a Democrat and Sam Brownback of Nebraska, a Republican, who have slashed arts education programs so deeply, that even offering them in schools at a basic level is laughable…and this is all because the message that “art really matters” isn’t disseminated much at all. Citizens in most instances, simply don’t realize that it’s integral to their livelihoods and that without it, they would be necessarily less fulfilled.
What’s so terrific about the United States is that we all have the magnificent notion that we all can do what we dream and that we all have a destiny. We may not all be born from equal places but we can adapt our circumstances through sheer will and desire for something better. We are a country that was bred out of immigrants that had their own cultural identities, rooted in classical music, and over time, it has transmitted itself to our shores. Individuals, if given the opportunity and the vision that music is truly inherent to society, will participate, will donate, and will commit their souls to making it something to live on for good.
This is a mission we all must embark on to change the course of culture, of classical music, art, and dance, in our country because without it we are less and our abilities to be discerning, adaptable humans will continue to be mitigated. Much more to come on this subject over this year. Stay tuned, friends.