Who Killed Classical Music
A Book Review
JulieVW
SMU
Contemporary Issues
June 2, 2003
Norman Lebrecht believes classical music died. In his book, Who Killed Classical Music? Maestros, Managers, and Corporate Politics Lebrecht writes a eulogy blaming the art form for it's own demise by selling out to greed, money, fame, and pop culture.
Tracing the history of music business, beginning with Bach, Librech analyzes how super star demands and corporate sponsors combined with greedy agents to destroy classical music. He yearns for the good old days when symphonies paid for themselves using the basic economic principals of supply and demand. The story of Herbert von Karagan and demands he made on the Berlin Philharmonic in 1955 provide an example of the outrageous fees required by performers. This created an impossible precedent (167). "No longer was a performer's pay fixed by his of her drawing power at the box-office," Librech writes, "but by what a power-mad conductor decided he or she ought to receive - with a dip into a public or corporate pocket" (p. 169).
According to Lebrecht it costs a million times more to produce a today than it did in 1950, which is 40 times the rate of inflation (p 24). Corporate and public funds can no longer sustain the business, causing many musical organizations to go bankrupt.
Liebrecht offers fabulous insights, and observations (such as "Politicians will find "few votes in saving a symphony orchestra, and more kudos to be gained from getting photographed with Pavarotti in the park" (p 19). Stories about arts managers and performers provide inside dirt and specific example to back his claims. The name dropping gets tedious, and readers not familiar with the major conductors and performers of the last century might find the middle section difficult to endure.
Every issue has at least two sides. I disagree with Lebrecht's arguments and find his logic flawed. Who Killed Classical Music challenges me to defend my opinions. This will provide balance and perspective to my final paper making it an excellent resource.
I would offer a qualified recommendation of this book to colleagues involved in arts administration. This historical study of the music business offers interesting background information which could be useful to anyone seriously analyzing the state of the symphony. Liebrecht's doomsday eulogy, however, offers few insights or practical suggestions to manage current difficulties. Arts administrators reading Who Killed Classical Music will need to look elsewhere for creative ways to preserve, promote, and present classical music to diverse postmodern audiences.
Reference
Lebrecht, Norman. (1997). Who killed classical music? Maestros, managers, and corporate politics. Secaucus: Carol Publishing Group.
