A Modest Proposal for the Classical Music Industry

The new production of Richard Wagner's Ring cycle at New York's Metropolitan Opera House raises some interesting questions about the business end of classical music in contemporary society. According to Alex Ross in a recent edition of The New Yorker, the production's budget is $16 million, quite a huge amount of money, though it is spread out over 4 operas. My question is why is this much money being spent on perhaps the most popular opera of all time? So much time, effort, and money goes into making productions of operas written hundreds of years ago; it's no wonder that the average American would be unaware of any opera written within the last hundred years, or even a single American composer of opera.

This problem presents itself everywhere in the classical music industry. The big orchestral and choral organizations spend the vast majority of their time performing works by a few dozen long-dead composers that are already well known to audiences. Of course, part of the reason that these organizations feel the pressure to do this is that Mozart and Beethoven sell; even though they haven't been alive for two hundred years, they are the biggest names in classical music.

Why is this? In Mozart's time, it would have seemed ridiculous for orchestras to constantly be playing the organum of Perotin or motets by Josquin, so why is it normal for the New York Philharmonic to play so much Classical and Romantic period music? This is a self fulfilling prophecy; because organizations like the Met and the New York Philharmonic play so little contemporary music, people assume that composers today are just worse than their predecessors, or don't exist. In turn, composers are unable to make enough money to support their art, and go back to their day jobs.

To solve this problem, I have a bit of a "Modest Proposal" for the classical music industry: what if all of the big orchestras and opera houses across the nation made a pact not to play any music older than one hundred years old for the next twenty years? Of course, this is somewhat unlikely to happen, and would cause an immense blow-back from the stodgy classical music audience, but here is a case for why this would revitalize the classical music industry.

If orchestras, etc. were to commission vastly more contemporary music from American composers, it would cost more, and likely require additional support from government or private sources. However, it would ultimately not be overwhelmingly expensive (particularly in comparison with a $16 million production of the Ring), and would kick-start a "Renaissance" (rebirth) of the art of composition in American society. Playing 20th century music would forcefully acclimate audiences to the trends in the non-tonal period of music which they very well could have missed under the overwhelming layer of classical and romantic music in contemporary society. This would cause a paradigm shift in the perception of music in many people, particularly in the generation that would live their childhood through the 20 year period, and would likely alter the face of the classical music culture for decades.

Now, don't get me wrong; I love Mozart, and there is certainly a place for him in modern performance. I just wish that he left a little bit more space for the people who are actually alive today.