Holland, Music, Being Cool, and Proactive Reactiveness
I liked Jonathan's talk, I thought there were some fun moments. He was a cool guy and had some interesting perspectives. While his music lived a bit in the "band" world, with very on-the-nose gestures, and featured some more or less effective quotations from other pieces in the concert repertoire, I still thought that his approach to music made it really worthwhile. Which brings me to an interesting point? How good does our music really need to be for people to actually focus on the music?
Take the above paragraph, I just stated that I didn't really care for Jonathan's music (not in an aggressive way, just not my style), yet, I thought he was really cool and enjoyed getting to hang out with him for the evening. I think this just begs the point of making sure we focus on being good humans. Because that said, the hope is that as we continue to do more work, our creations begin to get better, and then the music can take over.
Does that make any sense? I hope so. There is only one Mozart, and he already did his thing.
What I liked about Jonathan's approach was this somewhat reactive approach. It was very human. Oftentimes we imagine our future selves, or the people we admire, as having a very clear picture before writing a piece: knowing where, when, how, what it's going to look like. The reality is never thus, and that is part of the beauty of our world. But, it really requires a big embrace on our end. If we're continuing to expect perfection and creative cleanliness, we will constantly be disappointed. (I do think that a touch of ceremony involved in the opening and closing of projects does quite a bit for our recollection and for the understanding of those experiences, and that can be planned with a how and what and where etc., such as "every start of a project begins at Pasticcerio Rocco with my team and canolis, and ends at the Half Pint with bad fries and beer," those are traditions we should actively engage towards.)
So... Embracing the fact that we can't have a perfect set of expectations takes us to learning how to react, but in a proactive way. That's another interesting concept.. I think Jonathan touched on this, but five days is a long time ago. But, instead of simply reacting "oh they did it bad, hmmm, can you all do it better?" Thinking of a vision: this is the sound concept I have in my head, but even better, this is the story or point I want to get across with this, and these million other little details all support that one thing. I think that's neat. Hard, but neat.
So. Jonathan was really cool, we need to be cool as our music gets more cool, and we need to have a vision to react in support of.
Take the above paragraph, I just stated that I didn't really care for Jonathan's music (not in an aggressive way, just not my style), yet, I thought he was really cool and enjoyed getting to hang out with him for the evening. I think this just begs the point of making sure we focus on being good humans. Because that said, the hope is that as we continue to do more work, our creations begin to get better, and then the music can take over.
Does that make any sense? I hope so. There is only one Mozart, and he already did his thing.
What I liked about Jonathan's approach was this somewhat reactive approach. It was very human. Oftentimes we imagine our future selves, or the people we admire, as having a very clear picture before writing a piece: knowing where, when, how, what it's going to look like. The reality is never thus, and that is part of the beauty of our world. But, it really requires a big embrace on our end. If we're continuing to expect perfection and creative cleanliness, we will constantly be disappointed. (I do think that a touch of ceremony involved in the opening and closing of projects does quite a bit for our recollection and for the understanding of those experiences, and that can be planned with a how and what and where etc., such as "every start of a project begins at Pasticcerio Rocco with my team and canolis, and ends at the Half Pint with bad fries and beer," those are traditions we should actively engage towards.)
So... Embracing the fact that we can't have a perfect set of expectations takes us to learning how to react, but in a proactive way. That's another interesting concept.. I think Jonathan touched on this, but five days is a long time ago. But, instead of simply reacting "oh they did it bad, hmmm, can you all do it better?" Thinking of a vision: this is the sound concept I have in my head, but even better, this is the story or point I want to get across with this, and these million other little details all support that one thing. I think that's neat. Hard, but neat.
So. Jonathan was really cool, we need to be cool as our music gets more cool, and we need to have a vision to react in support of.
In response to you first paragraph, I think it is important to remember that music does not exist in a vacuum. I agree with you that there is a personality factor when it comes to artists, so much so that you may be inclined to support an artist whose work you don't necessarily enjoy, but whose personality and approach you find great. It's an interesting phenomenon, and further complicates what it means to be a "well-rounded" musician.
ReplyDeleteJust the past week or so I seem to have had this conversation with several people about my relatively neutral response towards band repertoire--especially given how enthusiastic I can be about other ensembles. It is not that I hate it, it just is not my cup of tea. I thoroughly enjoy the compositions and the composers, but it is not something that speaks to me on a level where I sit down every evening with a recording and score.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, there is so much music floating out there that not everything is going to be a home run, but I appreciate your perspective on Holland’s work.
re: your comment about there only being one Mozart; I think I understand your sentiment here, but that type of discourse prohibits the creation of new and great things. I think it's valid to dislike Holland's music but not to use that disinterest as a vehicle to discredit other wonderful music that's being made in the world today. I really hear what you're saying about appreciating an artist for their character, presence, etc. while not really enjoying their music. I've certainly felt that way about a number of people. But the importance of the music and the art isn't entirely removed from that equation, at least for me. At the very least, even if I dislike the music from a strictly sonic perspective, there may be some philosophical or theoretical interest I can derive from the work, and that makes it enjoyable for me. I think you make a really good point here, but I just disagree with the notion that a musician's music doesn't really matter at all. After all, if they didn't write any music, they wouldn't be a musician. And then we wouldn't be here talking about them. So I think it matters, at least a little bit, what they write, and the fact that they're writing at all.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your point, it is a bit of a cynical approach to purely hold personality as a factor above the actual music. Music is important and there's so much to learn from everybody's creations.
DeleteI guess it falls to the balance of being good to work with and a generative positive personality until we really figure out what we're trying to say and develop an audience to experience those statements :)
In response to the question at the end of your first paragraph, I think that our music simply needs to meet agreed upon musical standards in order for people to actually focus on the music. If our music meets the standards of musical composition, engraving, and arranging, then patrons and listeners can put those things aside and focus on the sounds you have created as a composer and arranger.
ReplyDeleteI agree, his music is not quite my style but I still enjoy his talks and his sense of humour and personality. Part of being a musician is being a nice person with whom people want to hang out. I totally relate to that as someone working in the film industry.
ReplyDeleteHe seemed like a warm person, down to earth. I think it's remarkable that he found his voice within the repertoire of classical music and executes it beautifully.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more with your statement on making sure that we are being good humans. I find that when we as musicians dislike another musician's craft or their music, we tend to get a little bit hostile towards them and their craft, which is entirely unnecessary. As composers and musicians, it's just as easy, if not even more easy, to go about our life and respect the musician and their craft for whatever it may be.
ReplyDeleteIt is impossible to remove the artist from the art and examine a work in a completely de-contextualized way. First of all it would be completely inappropriate to do so due to the importance an artists' experience has on their work. And second, art can be seen as a lens through which one can view the world of the artist as reflected through a medium. Understanding this is as instrumental to understanding a piece as experiencing it is.
ReplyDelete