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Posted by Ford on November 3, 2005, 8:10 am It's disturbing for me to find a writer with whom I absolutely agree, but I must say that Frank T. Manheim is right. Compare the attitude of the modernists, regarding popular appeal, with that of the greats of the past. Beethoven, etc etc, were very much part of their time and culture. Not only do they liberally rely on folk sources (which were not dead artefacts, but vital parts of contemporary culture), but even when writing from scratch, their work always emerged from traditional forms and sensibilities. Yet, although the 20th century had arguably the richest popular music of all (all kinds of jazz, then myriad styles of rock, now various kinds of electronic music), classical music has barely been touched (apart from some feeble attempts at jazz) due to modernism's allegiance to starting from year zero. Why not a theme-and-variations on "Oops, I did it again" by Britney Spears? It's a perfectly fine melody - a talented composer should be able to produce something both enjoyable and interesting. Why not a set of modern orchestral dances based on "techno" models? It would certainly be better than the current "cross-over" strategy.
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