Musical elitism is a vast topic that touches on aspiration, historical legacy, class, gatekeeping, education, snobbery, wealth, privilege, classical music and popular culture. In this video I take a broad look at all of these.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
05:22 - Ancient China & Confucius
09:21 - The Secret Power of Music
11:51 - The Sex Pistols
15:46 - Mozart
21:11 - Mainstream Elitism
26:47 - The Classical Image
40:58 - The Curious Case of Milton Babbitt
46:00 - The Imposter Phenomenon
52:38 - The Cultural Revolution
59:55 - Final Thoughts
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Subtitles by Pentameron
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So many links!
Papers
“The Music and Musical Instruments of Ancient China” by Robert W. Marks
Source: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Oct., 1932), pp. 593-607
“The musicality of Plato” by Leon Crickmore
Source: Hermathena, No. 180 (Summer 2006), pp. 19-43
“Musical Art in Early Confucian Philosophy” by Siu-Chi Huang
“Moral Psychology and Degenerate Regimes in Plato’s Republic” by Peiying (Peggy) Zhu (thesis)
“Why Chinese people play Western classical music” by Hao Huang
“Music under Mao, Its Background and Aftermath” by Mao Yu Run
Source: Asian Music , Spring - Summer, 1991, Vol. 22, No. 2
‘Milton Babbitt Encounters Academia (And Vice Versa)’ by Brian Harker
Souce: American Music Vol. 26, No. 3 (Fall, 2008)
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Articles
“After the Cultural Revolution: what western classical music means in China” - The Guardian
Confucianism Revival in China - The Economist (June 23rd 2021)
New York Times article on Classical music in China (1974)
New Statesman article on elitism in classical music (July, 2012)
BPI research on inequality in access to music in state schools
Relevant articles in the New Statesman by Andrew Mellor
Interview with John Lydon, The Times, UK, (March 1999)
Grundy Banned, The Guardian, (December 03, 1976)
Obscene Child, Sheila Fitzpatrick
Einaudi & Elitism in Classical Music, The Cross-Eyed Pianist (2020)
“Who cares if you listen?” Milton Babbitt, High Fidelity, vol. 8, no. 2 (1958)
A perfect Roger Ebert summary of ‘Masked and Anonymous’
Pat Metheny on Kenny G
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Reports
BPI teachers survey (2019)
Musicians Union Education Statistics Report (2015)
Arts Council - Creating a more inclusive classical music (2021)
Arts Council - In Harmony programme (link to a report on the homepage)
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Books
“Mozart: Portrait of a Genius” by Norbert Elias (1993)
“Mozart” by Maynard Solomon (1995)
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“The Secret Power of Music” by David Tame (1984, read at your own risk)
“Class, Control, and Classical Music”, Anna Bull (2019)
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Film
“The Filth and the Fury” - a documentary by Julian Temple
“Mao to Mozart - Isaac Stern in China” (1979)