Re: MD Do we all need philosophy?

From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Sun Feb 08 2004 - 15:20:09 GMT

  • Next message: Steve Peterson: "MD Speaking of musical excellence"

    Hi David M,

    >A Britney fan may discover the pleasures of Mozart
    > some day, but a Mozart fan is somewhat unlikely to convert
    > to the musical pleasures of Britney. To appreciate Mozart
    > is to reach a higher level of musical sophitication than to
    > appreciate Britney. I say this with a musical taste that ranges
    > from the Clash to Led Zeppelin to Mozart to Wagner. Despite
    > the enthusiam for the first two I can see them fading from the cultural
    > consciousness whilst the latter two remain.

    Speaking of long-lasting musical excellence (Mozart) compared to
    contemporary popularity (Britney), Charles Murray in his book "Human
    Achievement" comes up with the following ranking of greats in Western
    music according to the experts (in descending order):

    Beethoven
    Mozart
    J.S. Bach
    Wagner
    Hayden
    Handle
    Stravinsky
    Debussy
    Liszt
    Schubert
    Schumann
    Berlioz
    Schoenberg
    Brahms
    Chopin
    Monteverdi
    Verdi
    Mendelssohn
    Weber
    Gluck

    Few would argue with your conclusion that the utter crap that passes as
    music in the popular culture today will eventually fade from cultural
    consciousness, although there is historical precedent for the adage that
    the "bad drives out the good." (When Britney is put on a higher level than
    Beethoven, you know society is in trouble.) Still if Pirsig is right,
    great art's ability to the communicate humanity's highest values
    transrationally across generations will, in the long run, prevail.
    Evolution towards betterness driven by DQ will not be denied.

    Regards,
    Platt
        

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