A tedious preachy collection of lectures, musical anthology
biographical sketches and program notes, covering both classical
and jazz, by the multifaceted musician, composer and music
publisher. Schuller addresses his uninspired and blandly
generalized voice to an unrelenting defense of the "balance of the
old with the new, of the traditional with the experimental, of the
expressive with the intellectual, of the need to communicate with
the need to try the unheard, the unseen, the unproven." The result
reads like the dull introductory lecture to an undergraduate
liberal arts symposium. The author chastises everyone, from
arrogant purists so addicted to 19th century musical traditions
that they are blinded to modern musical innovations, to
narrow-minded jazzmen ignorant of the great lessons available from
their classical predecessors. He scolds dogmatic educators for
their failure to stretch beyond 19th century preconceptions of
musical education, thus creating lazy and inept modern musicians,
and he berates current symphony conductors for failure to create
"ideal" ensembles. He resents the "doomsayers" who gloomily predict
the demise of "grand opera" and the symphony orchestra, and warns
ominously of the "union" mentality which allows financial concerns
to turn ensembles into business conglomerates, thus robbing them of
"art." Schuller's self-righteous armchair analysis offers a
longwinded, mundane manifesto of generalities. At one point he
admits "I have no theories to advance or advocate here, no
innovations to propagate or defend," which explains the weakness of
this dull collection. (Kirkus Reviews)
Musings gathers together the essays, speeches, liner notes,
dictionary entries, and magazine articles of Gunther Schuller, one
of the most important musical figures of the century. The writings
in this collection cover such artists as Paul Whiteman, Duke
Ellington, Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Sarah
Vaughan, Gil Evans. Schuller also writes about such topics as the
"Third Stream," the art of conducting, the future of opera, and the
need for broadening the audience for quality music. A marvellous
introduction to the man and his experience, taste and erudition,
Musings is essential reading for anyone interested in
twentieth-century music.
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