Verschlagwortet: John Borstlap

2. Dezember 2013

A monument to freedom.

Here is a little fact that I find extremely funny considering my recent discussions of Borstlap and his vision of a new „classical revolution“ which attempts to revive a melodious and harmonious romantic style and shuns anything abstracted and „materialistic“…

29. November 2013

von Alexander Strauch

Läppische Kunst – von der Schwäche tonaler Kunstmusik im 21. Jahrhundert

Dank Moritz konnten unsere Blog-Leser Einblicke in die Gedankenwelt John Borstlaps gewinnen, der, einfach gesagt, eine Rückkehr zu Dur-Moll-Tonalität einfordert. Dies tat dieser auch komponierend. Allerdings ist er nicht allein. Steffen Wick berichtete in einem Gastbeitrag von seinen Erlebnissen von den Abschlusskonzerten eines Wettbewerbs des oberrheinischen Martin Münch, welcher Folkloreanspielungen,...

I am reading „The Classical Revolution“ by John Borstlap and think about it (9th and final part)

17. November 2013

von Moritz Eggert

I am reading „The Classical Revolution“ by John Borstlap and think about it (9th and final part)

We have reached the end, my friends. The final chapter of Borstlap’s book!

I am reading „The Classical Revolution“ by John Bostlap and think about it (8)

15. November 2013

von Moritz Eggert

I am reading „The Classical Revolution“ by John Bostlap and think about it (8)

This is my least favorite chapter of Borstlap’s book so far. Several times during reading I wanted to call out “but this is complete bullshit!” because of its po-faced preaching of a very vague “spirituality” of things and its depiction of contemporary times in the most simple of manners (Modernism and its ugly stepson Postmodernism are bad, New Classic is good, and there is not a lot else).

I read the „Classical Revolution“ by John Borstlap and think about it (7)

3. November 2013

von Moritz Eggert

I read the „Classical Revolution“ by John Borstlap and think about it (7)

In this chapter Borstlap describes his vision of a new “Renaissance” – a resurgence of classical values (therefore “Classical Revolution”, hohum) that will hopefully bring a new relevance to art.

I am reading John Borstlap’s „The Classical Revolution“ and think about it (6)

30. Oktober 2013

von Moritz Eggert

I am reading John Borstlap’s „The Classical Revolution“ and think about it (6)

When reading the first three words of the chapter title I was under the impression that this chapter would be about contemporary music in brothels (something that has actually been done already if I remember correctly).

Sadly it is mostly about modern concert halls instead. And how Borstlap really, really dislikes their architecture.

I am reading „The Classical Revolution“ by John Borstlap and think about it (5)

27. Oktober 2013

von Moritz Eggert

I am reading „The Classical Revolution“ by John Borstlap and think about it (5)

This is Borstlap’s most controversial chapter so far. In German we would say “he pulls his pants down”, meaning that he is revealing his pet hatreds for certain composers (especially Boulez, who he constantly criticizes for being extremely shallow and simple while hiding it under a layer of clever wordplay). These are the most important concepts of this chapter in a nutshell:

I am reading John Borstlap’s „The Classical Revolution“ and think about it (4)

22. Oktober 2013

von Moritz Eggert

I am reading John Borstlap’s „The Classical Revolution“ and think about it (4)

Oh my, what should I make of this long and rambling chapter?

In it Borstlap goes on and on about his most beloved insights, while the sheer repetition of his mantras “modernism is bad” and “tonality is good” slowly grate on the reader’s nerves because the feeling arises that matters of personal taste are falsely sold as “objective” golden rules for good music.

I read John Borstlap’s „The Classical Revolution“ and think about it (3)

18. Oktober 2013

von Moritz Eggert

I read John Borstlap’s „The Classical Revolution“ and think about it (3)

Now we come to the meaty part of Borstlap’s book – the first of 9 chapters in which he tells us what exactly is wrong with the music world.

I’m reading John Borstlap’s „The Classical Revolution“ and think about it (2)

16. Oktober 2013

von Moritz Eggert

I’m reading John Borstlap’s „The Classical Revolution“ and think about it (2)

I was astonished how much international resonance my last blog entry – the beginning of a commented reading of Borstlap’s much maligned book chapter by chapter – has created. Even though most comments I read condemned Borstlap’s critique of the “New Music Establishment” as laughable there seemed to be a hint at a bigger and perhaps even necessary discussion of the way arts and especially music are funded. Because I am interested in a more international opinion and perhaps even consensus on this I have decided to continue this series in English (perhaps as a little step towards an international edition of the Bad Blog Of Musick, which is something I always want to do but never get around doing sadly).