What do you think of the value of art?

I sort of agree with Glenn Gould's sentiments as he voiced them in the documentary "The Art of Piano"...

Originally Posted by Glenn Gould

I think that that what happened in the 18th century when performers stopped being composers was the great disaster for music.

…and I think that to look at it today as a irrevocable move, and to say that this is not any longer correctable, that we cannot in fact get back to that glorious time when performers had a composers insight into music, and when an audience consisted largely of people who performed and composed for themselves, that we cannot get back to that I think is simply to say that music is finished. There are many people around that will tell you that music in our purely occidental sense is finished.

I don’t share that gloom I must say, but there is cause for it.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by LeHah

This is a good topic for intelligent people to debate. One has yet to show up.

Between Kolba, yevheniy and the person who started this thread, someone should close this before another no-wit throws in the five cents he got back from recycling a bottle.

I just found it interesting that Glenn Gould had that opinion almost 50 years ago...

I myself do sort of believe that music, and possibly the other fine arts are in a way sort of losing their original meaning and becoming trivialized in today's society. Just go to a classical concert or visit your local art museum and you will usually find yourself surrounded mostly by elderly people from a dieing era. I'm also constantly hearing of Concert Halls and Museums losing their funding -- some to the point of even closing entirely. A recently case in point I know of is the King Tutankhamun exhibit that visited my local museum recently. Based on what I read in various news paper articles and other media they didn't seem to meet anywhere near their projected turnout; I think they even ended up taking a loss on the whole exhibit. I also believe I read somewhere that at least one of my local concert halls has somewhere around a $2 million dollar deficit.

I'm really hesitant to think about what the future holds in store for the fine arts...

There's nowhere I can't reach.