ArtsBeat is the music blog of the New York Times. It deals with all sorts of musical topics, but some recent posts touch on the interesting question of whether operas should be performed always aiming to replicate the period performances and presumably the composers' ideas or whether there is flexibility and that directors should have some leeway.
This touches the surface one of the deepest and most fundamental debates concerning the philosophy of applied music. What matters most: the intent of the composer or the experience of the listener? If Beethoven intended "Eroica" to express triumph and heroism, but I, as a listener with no prior knowledge, experience the piece as an expression of tragedy, is my experience invalid or "wrong" because it is not what the composer intended? Or is my experience valid because it is authentic for me despite the implications this has on the composer's authority over his own creation?
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This is a good site. I'll add it to my PLN. Thanks, Matt!
ReplyDeleteMe, too! Thanks, Matt. It's nice to stay attached to the city :)
ReplyDeleteMatt, never trust anything you read in the New York Times.
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