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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#15519 Post contents: I myself am a proponent of "difficult" twentieth-century music, but I don't expect any comments here to "convert" the "opponents" of that music. For a number of reasons, I find it hard to swallow that government subsidy led to the current state of classical music. But, for argument's sake, let's say that government subsidy did permit or promote the composition of "difficult" "atonal" music which is not of much use to the general public. Let us note, however, that Stockhausen's music was very useful to the Beatles, Miles Davis, the Grateful Dead, and Bjork, all of whom enjoy significant popularity. Stephen Sondheim studied under Milton Babbitt (an Ivy-League atonalist), and Sondheim's musical "Sweeney Todd" has become a popular film. So, at least some of this difficult music has, indirectly, been useful to the general public. Sent at: 2008 07 09