The Well-Tempered Ear
Will using first names with Beethoven and Mozart help fight racism and sexism in the concert hall?
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By Jacob Stockinger
Why do concert programs read simply Beethoven for Beethoven (below top), but Florence Price for Florence Price (below bottom)?
According to a recent controversial essay by Chris White (below), a professor of music theory at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, it reflects and reinforces sexism and racism.
White is calling for universal “fullnaming” to put women composers and composers of color on an equal footing with the traditional canon of dead white male composers. All people may be equal, but all composers and their music are not.
You can certainly make a case for his interesting argument against using “mononyns,” as he calls them. But it still seems less than convincing to many, including The Ear. It many ways it seems downright silly and arbitrary. Isn’t it obvious that not all composers are equal in quality of their work?
It is the latest dustup in the classical music world, coming right on the heels of, and logically linked to, the idea that Beethoven is responsible for sexism and racism in the concert hall and the so-called “cancel culture” that is allied with the social and political protest movements of the past year, including Black Lives Matter.
That was treated here in a previous post: https://welltempered.wordpress.com/2020/09/19/did-beethoven-and-his-music-especially-the-iconic-fifth-symphony-foster-racism-exclusion-and-elitism-in-the-concert-hall-the-ear-thinks-that-is-pc-nonsense-what-do-you-think/
Here is a link to the complete article by White about the inclusion and absence of first names as it appeared on Slate: https://slate.com/culture/2020/10/fullname-famous-composers-racism-sexism.html
Funny, The Ear thinks of using only last names as little more than a function of: quality, importance and time; of fame and familiarity; and sometimes of promoting clarity and preventing confusion — not of race or gender.
It is why we say Bach (below) when we mean Johann Sebastian, and why we say Wilhelm Friedemann or Carl Philipp Emmanuel or Johann Christian when we mean one of his sons.
It is why we say Richard Strauss to distinguish him from Johann Strauss.
But it also why Haydn means Franz Joseph (below), not his less important brother Michael Haydn.
And why the American composer Henry Cowell is listed with his full name and not just Cowell.
Perhaps one day – if we hear enough of the music by the recently rediscovered Black female composer Florence Price often enough and like it enough – she will be known simply as Price. After all, the Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu is not usually listed as simply Takemitsu.
Actually, the Ear prefers using full names for all composers — famous or not, male or female, white or black — especially when it is for the general public. But it seems more a matter of politeness, respect and education than of sociopolitical change and social justice.
That is not to say that those of us in classical music don’t see a need to correct the racism and sexism of the past, to foster diversity and inclusiveness. White has a point. Still, the whole idea of using both names in all cases seems more than a bit naïve, superficial and simplistic as a solution to racism and sexism.
It sounds a lot like the kind of theoretical speculation and contrarian thinking you might expect from an assistant professor trying to get noticed and make his mark on big contemporary issues so that he can get tenure and become an associate professor. A high public profile certainly helps that.
But whatever you think of White’s motives or purpose, his essay is causing a “meltdown” on Twitter: https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/threads/‘fullnaming’-mozart-and-beethoven-to-fight-sexism-and-racism-twitter-squabbles-over-slate-article.1108776/
Should you want to know more about Professor White or to leave a message of either support or disagreement, here is a link to his home website: http://www.chriswmwhite.com
What do you think about the idea of using first names for all composers as a way to combat racism and sexism in classical music?
The Ear wants to hear.
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Music education: Madison Youth Choirs perform their Spring Concert series “Seriously Funny” this Sunday
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By Jacob Stockinger
The Ear has received the following announcement to post:
“This spring, the Madison Youth Choirs singers (below) are exploring the unexpected ways that elements of humor, from irony and incongruity to improvisation and timing, are reflected in a wide variety of classical and contemporary musical compositions.
“We’re learning that music, like humor, is a kind of language, operating with its own sense of logic, patterns, and conventions that composers can twist to surprise us and take our musical journey to new places.
“As we study the complexity of humor as a mode of creative expression, we are discovering the power of satire, wit, and misdirection to help us reexamine our assumptions, musical and otherwise.
“In our culminating concert series, our singers will present works including “No, di voi non vo’ fidarmi” by George Frideric Handel; Timothy Takach’s “I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach; the “Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls; and the second movement of Chichester Psalms by Leonard Bernstein.”
The MYC Spring Concerts, “Seriously Funny: Musical Humor, Wit, and Whimsy” will take place this Sunday afternoon and evening, May 13, at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave., across from Camp Randall Stadium.
Performance are: 1:30 p.m. for Girlchoirs; 4 p.m. for Boychoirs; and 7 p.m. for High School Ensembles.
Tickets will be available at the door: $10 for general admission; $5 for students 7-18; and free for children under 7. A separate ticket is required for each performance.
This concert is supported by American Girl’s Fund for Children, BMO Harris Bank, Dane Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation, and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation. This project is also supported by the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the Madison Youth Choirs (MYC):
Recognized as an innovator in youth choral music education, Madison Youth Choirs (MYC) welcomes singers of all ability levels, annually serving more than 1,000 young people, ages 7-18, through a wide variety of choral programs in our community.
Cultivating a comprehensive music education philosophy that inspires self-confidence, personal responsibility, and a spirit of inquiry leading students to become “expert noticers,” MYC creates accessible, meaningful opportunities for youth to thrive in the arts and beyond.
For further information, go to www.madisonyouthchoirs.org or call (608) 238-7464.
Here is the Repertoire List for MYC 2018 Spring Concert Series, “Seriously Funny: Musical Humor, Wit and Whimsy”
1:30 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING MYC GIRLCHOIRS)
Choraliers
“Bee! I’m expecting you!” by Emma Lou Diemer
“A Menagerie of Songs” by Carolyn Jennings
Con Gioia
“When V and I” by Henry Purcell
“The Fate of Gilbert Gim” by Margaret Drynan
“The Cabbage-Tree Hat,” traditional Australian folk song
Capriccio (below)
“Papageno-Papagena Duet” (from The Magic Flute) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“Ich jauchze, ich lache” (from BWV 15) by Johann Sebastian Bach
“J’entends le Moulin,” French folk song, arr. Donald Patriquin
Combined Choirs
“Funiculi, Funicula” by Luigi Denza
4 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING MYC BOYCHOIRS)
Combined Boychoirs
“Sumer is icumen in,” Anonymous, 13th century Middle English piece
Purcell Boychoir
“When V and I” by Henry Purcell
“Modern Major-General” from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan
“Weevily Wheat,” arr. Dan Krunnfusz
Britten Boychoir (below)
“Gloria Tibi” by Leonard Bernstein
“The Plough Boy,” Traditional, arr. Benjamin Britten
Holst Boychoir
“Il est bel et bon” by Pierre Passereau
“Hopkinton” by William Billings
Ragazzi Boychoir
“I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach
“Rustics and Fishermen,” part V of Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten
“Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser
Combined Boychoirs
“Chichester Psalms” II. Adonai ro-i by Leonard Bernstein
7 P.M. CONCERT (FEATURING HIGH SCHOOL ENSEMBLES)
Cantilena
“A Girl’s Garden” from Frosting by Randall Thompson
“Love Learns by Laughing” by Thomas Morley
“Turn, Turn, Then Thine Eyes” from The Fairy Queen by Henry Purcell
“My Funny Valentine” from Babes in Arms by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart
“Etude 1 pour les cinq doigts d’après Monsieur Czerny” by Claude Debussy
Ragazzi
“I Will Howl” by Timothy Takach
“Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls by Frank Loesser
Cantabile
“sam was a man” by Vincent Persichetti, text by e.e. cummings
“No, di voi non vo’ fidarmi” by George Frideric Handel
“Cruel, You Pull Away Too Soon” by Thomas Morley
“This Sky Falls” by Jocelyn Hagen
“Svatba,” Traditional Bulgarian, arr. H.R. Todorov
Cantabile and Ragazzi
Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten
Tags: #AmericanGirl, #AustralianMusic, #BenjaminBritten, #BMOHarrisBank, #BroadwayMusical, #Bulgarianmusic, #CampRandall, #CampRandallStadium, #CarlCzerny, #ChichesterPsalms, #ChoralMusic, #ClaudeDebussy, #ContemporaryComposer, #ContemporaryMusic, #DaneArts, #EndresManufacturing, #FirstCongregationalUnitedChurchofChrist, #FolkMusic, #FrankLoesser, #FrenchMusic, #FugueforTinhorns, #GeorgeFridericHandel, #GilbertandSullivan, #GustavHolst, #GuysandDolls, #HenryPurcell, #HighSchool, #JohannSebastianBach, #LeonardBernstein, #LorenzHart, #MadisonYouthChoirs, #MiddleEnglish, #MiddleSchool, #ModernMajor-General, #MusicEducation, #NationalEndowmentfortheArts, #NewMusic, #PierrePassereau, #PiratesofPenzance, #PleasantT.Rowland, #RandallThompson, #RichardRodgers, #RodgersandHart, #SpringConcert, #StateOfWisconsin, #TheCapitalTimes, #TheEvjueFoundation, #TheMagicFlute, #ThomasMorley, #TimothyTakach, #VincentPersichetti, #W.JeromeFrautschi, #WilliamBillings, #WisconsinArtsBoard, #WolfgangAmadeusMozart, #YouthChoirs, admission, afternoon, American Girl, Arts, assumptions, Bach, Baroque, BMO Harris Bank, boy, boychoir, Broadway musical, Bulgaria, Carl Czerny, children, Choir, choral music, Classical music, community, composer, conventions, dance, duet, e.e. cummings, Early music, evening, folk song, folksong, foundation, free, fugue, Fugue for Tinhorns, G&S, George Frideric Handel, Gilbert and Sullivan, girl, girlchoir, girls, Gloriana, Gustav Holst, Guys and Dolls, high school, Holst, Humor, improvisation, incongruity, inquiry', irony, Jacob Stockinger, Johann Sebastian Bach, language, logic, Madison, Madison Youth Choirs, menagerie, Middle school, Modern Major-General, movement, Music, Music education, musical, National Endowment for the Arts, NEA, New Music, opera, Papagena, Papageno, patterns, performance, personal, Piano, poem, poet, Poetry, power, Purcell, responsibility, sature'wit, self-confidence, singer, singers, Singing, song, stadium, summer, Sunday, text, The Capital Times, The Evjue Foundation, ticket, timing, traditional, United States, University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Vincent Persichetti, voys, whimsy, William Billings, Wisconsin Arts Board, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, young people, Youth, YouTube
Classical music: This is your brain on music! New scientific research shows that the human brain evolved special channels for hearing music. Read all about it!
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By Jacob Stockinger
What is your brain like on music? (The illustration below is by Marcos Chin.)
One of the most fascinating stories The Ear has ever read about music and science came last Tuesday in this week’s Science Times section of The New York Times.
The “Music Channel” story was reported by the acclaimed science writer and journalist Natalie Angier (below), who won a Pulitzer Prize and has been nominated for a National Book Award She also included a sidebar story about her own experience undergoing the kind of MRI scan that helped researchers.
The upshot is this: No matter what kind of music you like – classical, jazz, folk, country, rock, pop – the human brain has developed special neural pathways to perceive the music.
In short, the human brain seems to have its own music room.
The story says this may help to explain why music seems a universal, cross-cultural phenomenon and why the first music instruments, such as the vulture bone flute found in Germany (below, in a photo by Jensen of the University of Tubingen) date back 42,000 years — some 24,000 years before the first cave painting appear in Lascaux, France.
Plus, the story points out that the scientists and researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) do not get the same result with non-musical noises. The special nerve pathways or circuits seem to have evolved specifically to receive musical information.
There is a lot more fascinating information in the story.
For The Ear, the bottom line is that we are closer to knowing why music has such deep appeal in so many different ways. And the researchers say that this study is just the beginning. (You can hear more about the effects of music on the human brain and body in a YouTube video at the bottom.)
The Ear looks forward to seeing more research about why music is special to the human brain: Is it the structure of music? The logic and intellectual content? Primarily the melody or harmony or rhythm? The emotional content?
Here is a link to the must-read story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/science/new-ways-into-the-brains-music-room.html?_r=0
And here is the sidebar story, “Lending Her Ears to MIT Experiment,” about Natalie Angier’s own experience with the MIT research study about music and the human brain. It explains the research methods in details from a subjective point of view:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/science/lending-her-ears-to-an-mit-experiment.html
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