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A review by mgerboc
The Maestro Myth: Great Conductors in Pursuit of Power by Norman Lebrecht
4.0
This book was truly eye-opening. While released in 1991, the trajectory documented and foreseen by Norman Lebrecht of the role of conductor/music director and classical music in general is spot on, and connections through today can easily be made. Capitalism is truly evil, and market economics have wreaked havoc in this artistic sphere. The construct of the conductor as mystic musical priest may have its roots in some sort of the truth, but market forces, really propelled by Herbert von Karajan, created an unholy marriage between art and money, has made monopoly inevitable (especially as seen in the chapter on Ronald Wilford - DAMN), forced a sort of bland middle-of-the-road interpretive style the only commercially successful venture, and has excluded women and people of color from the industry.
There is some hyperbole and a few annoying factual inaccuracies, and the book starts a bit slow. However, these issues don't really affect the overarching story that's being told.
Of particular note - the entire chapter dedicated to Karajan; the guy was a Nazi and never apologized for it. Why don't more people talk about that? Is there so much money still being made on the Karajan-records industry that people turn a blind eye? He also, in his insanely successful, egomaniacal, and fascist need for control and domination, basically ruined the conductor/musician/audience relationship and salted the fields for anyone trying to come up in his shadow.
Additionally, as a Clevelander, there is a cool section on Franz Welser-Möst as one of the very few bright spots among younger conductors.
If you're at all interested in classical music and its history, or the business side the music industry, this is definitely a must read.
There is some hyperbole and a few annoying factual inaccuracies, and the book starts a bit slow. However, these issues don't really affect the overarching story that's being told.
Of particular note - the entire chapter dedicated to Karajan; the guy was a Nazi and never apologized for it. Why don't more people talk about that? Is there so much money still being made on the Karajan-records industry that people turn a blind eye? He also, in his insanely successful, egomaniacal, and fascist need for control and domination, basically ruined the conductor/musician/audience relationship and salted the fields for anyone trying to come up in his shadow.
Additionally, as a Clevelander, there is a cool section on Franz Welser-Möst as one of the very few bright spots among younger conductors.
If you're at all interested in classical music and its history, or the business side the music industry, this is definitely a must read.