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The Crisis of Classical Music 1

  Tobias

When I wrote the "A new Movement" article for the first issue of our magazine, I wasn't even questioning whether there was a crisis of Classical Music or not. With sales of CDs slumping, orchestras filing for insolvency and a general public that seemed as though it couldn't care less, things were pretty obvious to me. I have come to change my mind over the last few months, especially because of the many fascinating statements of young artists on the subject in our "15 Questions" section. Still, I don't believe I am exagerating if I were to say the current situation is far from satisfactory. And from my point of view it has a lot do with the fact that the business has become incrusted and record companies have lost touch with the basic questions of their profession.

To make my point more clear, I'd like to draw a comparison to the development in European political life. It too, has come under heavy criticism over the last few years and just as much as there seems to be a certain lack of charisma in the musical landscape, there is an oveflow of boring beaurocrats in the parliaments of the European capitals. The reason for this is that we are living in "frozen" poltical systems. Take Konrad Adenauer for example, Germany's first chancelor. Adenauer, basically, was a simple man and hardly any better than any of the current incumbents. But just as much as Willy Brandt, he lived in turbulent times which gave him plenty of opportunities to act and leave a mark. The rules of the game were constantly questioned and adjusted. The current fatigue is a result of the struggles of the past, when the system was shaped. The debate in European political life is about day-to-day issues now, fundamental questions are put aside and that is what is making things so shallow.

In a way, that's what has happened to the business of Classical Music as well. The current misery of the industry is the direct result of its incredible success. In the 50s, 60s and 70s, Classical Music, which always used to be for the elite, grew out of proportion and into a mass-phenomenon. Conductors, Sopranos and Tenors, Violionists, Orchestras, they were the stars of their times. When Glen Gould released his version of the "Goldberg Variations", they were debated everywhere, when Van Cliburn triumphed in 58, he was breaking news.

Record companies found a clever way to market their product: They made themselves part of the package. The Deutsche Gramophon logo, which is still recognised today, is the result of a fundamental debate: Namely, that a record company had certain values, ideas and artists, that it offered a certain level of quality. Today, the logo and a uniform look for all of a label's releases are nothing more than a graphic designer's trick. The clever and groundbreaking idea has become a fad everyone uses. It is still working in some cases (take the Alpha label, for example, or Zig Zag Territoires), but it is detached from the real question: Where is this company going? What is it offering? What are its standards? What does it expect from an interpretation?

Again, this problem is the result of the industry's hubris. The structures in the business are the way they are because they were once extremely profitable and because they were understood by customers. That is no longer the case. If record companies want to grow beyond their current, mostly miserly existence, they will have to go back to basics. And think about the why's before the how's.

"The Crisis of Classical Music" by Tobias Fischer