[silence] interesting thoughts on music and society

[Ralph Lichtensteiger]

still interesting thoughts on music and society:

Drowned by music, etc. / Johns Hopkins Magazine - September 1994 Issue

"Our society is not geared toward giving us time for contemplation,"  
he says. "In music, you have to be aware of each note, discovering  
its function and purpose. At the same time, you have to back up far  
enough to discern the overall shape and quality of these notes."

Fleisher continues, "In our society we're being drowned by endless  
facts. We're not trained to discard the chaff and keep the wheat, and  
certainly not trained to organize the wheat in a structure for the  
good of humankind. Information is not knowledge, and knowledge is not  
wisdom."

Fleisher sees Americans not only drowned by facts, but drowned by  
music--in their cars, in shopping malls, on the street, even at the  
ballpark. As a result, he says, "we begin to treat this music as  
background. It's a kind of trivialization. Listening to music should  
not be passive. It's an activity."

He continues, "Art suffers from a basic misunderstanding, which comes  
from the industry that peddles the arts. That misunderstanding is  
that the arts are entertainment, something one does only if one can  
afford it and has the time."

read the complete text at

http://www.jhu.edu/~jhumag/994web/cultss.html

best,
ralph li
http://www.lichtensteiger.de/diary.html


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