tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post4696526539642280163..comments2024-03-24T03:14:07.639-04:00Comments on [listen]: Top 10 FeverAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12939881701345686354noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-39764860362754001982011-01-26T17:27:20.714-05:002011-01-26T17:27:20.714-05:00"SELF-INDULGENT"?!
Slowly Steve turned...."SELF-INDULGENT"?!<br /><br /><i>Slowly Steve turned...step by step...inch by inch...</i>Ju Grrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514964.post-3135231915267419982011-01-13T21:26:35.775-05:002011-01-13T21:26:35.775-05:00Steve,
For me, Wagner's real failing was an i...Steve,<br /><br />For me, Wagner's real failing was an inability to edit, to cut down to the essential. It's self-indulgent. I mean, how many hours do you really need to explore a musical (or dramatic) idea? How much of a "distillation process" do composers undertake before they reach the point when "no more should be cut, and no more should be added"? Of course, there is no answer: it's all part of the subjective creative (and editorial) genius that drives each composer. <br /><br />But what makes a work of art great, in my book, is the ability to distill the wheat from the chaff. This requires a critical eye, indeed a 'self-critical' eye -- something Wagner lacked. <br /><br />Don't get me wrong. For me, Wagner delivers plenty of wheat, and there are moments here and there that are among the most beautiful ever written, but he also leaves in far too much chaff. If his ego had been less great, perhaps he wouldn't have been as prominent an artist, true. But he also might have been a greater one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com