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Entry: The Death of Music by the Spirit of Government Subsidies Link: http://www.takimag.com/site/article/the_death_of_music_from_the_spirit_of_government_subsidies#15302 Post contents: Let me pose a question at the end of this fascinating essay: if indeed it was "unlimited taxpayer funding" and the consequent government control that was the actual culprit in the decline, how then do we explain the history of what we call "classical music," which has enjoyed the largesse of both governments (kings and kaisers, in particulary) as well as substantial patronage from individual sponsors since certainly the late middle ages and Renaissance? I would certainly agree that a incestuous relationship, at least since 1945, has had negative consequenses. But shouldn't we also emphasize the fact that the self-appointed (and faceless, mostly) bureaucrats in charge of "cultural" agencies for the past 60 years have a philosophy that is markedly different from, say, a Prince Eszterhazy or Lobkowicz, and that commissions from, for example, a king of Prussia or Naples, were much more in line with traditional tastes and practice? Royal favor was important to 18th and 19th century composers, but the emphasis and direction, even among royal bureaucracies, was much more in line with popular tastes and traditions. I would also like to read what Mr. Stove has to say about the "Saturday night massacre" of broadcast Classical music in the 1960s, when the major networks in the USA removed all classical music programming from commercial media, including the NBC support for the Met Opera, the NY Phil, the cancelling of the Bell Telephone Hour and the Voice of Firestone, etc. Previously, at least to some degree, classical music was not completely identified in the public mind as "elistist," but with its migration to PBS and "educational" niche media, such an impression was solidified in the public mind, it seems to me. Finally, I'd be interested in Mr. Stove's view of Norman Lebrecht's ideas on the decline. Again, fascinating and thought-provoking essay, which I greatly enjoyed reading. Sent at: 2008 07 09