Ethics of Playing Old Music.

By only playing the music of the past new or aspiring composers are inhibited from making an impact and potentially a living as well as slowing the advancement of orchestral music significantly. In the computer industry for example a five year old piece of equipment is considered incredibly outdated and in desperate need of replacement yet a 200 year old piece of music is considered to be perfect and unable to be improved upon.  That isn’t to say that new music should be played regardless of its quality just to support the composer and to advance the genre but, if a piece of above average music would be released today it should take precedence over older works to ensure the composer continues to create works of a similar caliber. Also, by only playing the music of the past the representation of white males is infinitely higher than any other group of individuals which would be completely unacceptable in any other field of study. 

What would I play if All music disappeared?

If all the music of non-living composers where to disappear overnight I would still continue to play any of the pieces that remain in my music folder such as “Evening Song” by Carson P Cooman (no recording available) and “Brass quintet No. 1” by B M Jacobowitz (no recording available) and “Trains of Thought” by Alex Shapiro since they would all be very easily accessible. For new music to fill out my emptied repertoire I would look to find or create trombone arrangements of pieces like “Windjammer” by Robert Buckley as melodic but still technically challenging pieces. Some things that are more upbeat that I would try and play are “Buckjump” by Trombone Shorty since I listen to a lot of music like this and to make sure I have a wide variety of music and artists to choose from. 

My Thoughts on a Quote From Nietzsche.

“If you are to venture to interpret the past, you can only do so out of the fullest exertion of the present. Only when you put forth your noblest qualities in all their strength will you divine what is worth knowing and preserving in the past. Like to like! Otherwise, you will draw the past down on you.”

I like this quote since it encourages you to know your own situation and capabilities and then, with that context investigate the past and all of the things that it contains. I believe it also acts as a cautionary tale against letting the past define everything that occurs in your life due to the negative wording of  the portions of the quote that deal with the past.