5.04: Stuffy, Boring, Old, Lame

Positive / Visible / Social (Organized): orchestras and the question of “public goods”
Show NotesWe talk about orchestras, ask whether financial viability is a guide to the health or importance of particular institutions (hint: Betteridge’s Law), and look at how orchestras and other such institutions can be real markers of cultural health even for the people they don’t directly affect.
Links

• An article in The New York Times, in 1903, referenced in The Perilous Life of Symphony Orchestras, by Robert J. Flanagan:

  The permanent orchestra season has, as usual, been financially a bad one all over the country. With the end of April… come the bills for those who pay the piper…. There is always a deficit, which public-spirited guarantors are called upon to pay year after year. A permanent orchestra, it seems pretty welle stablished by American experience, is not at present a paying institution, and is not likely immediately to become so…. [Neverthless,] the prevailing note of the guarantors of the America Orchestras is one of hopefulness. Things are coming on; the public is being educated; it will support the orchestras in larger and larger numbers till they are finally… self-supporting.
  
• Stephen’s top three Dutch minimalist recommendations:
  • “Canto Ostinato” by Simeon Ten Holt
  • Joep Franssens, whose best known work is “Music of the Spheres”
  • Jeroen van Veen
• Prog rock Chris likes:
  • Explosions in the Sky
  • Faunts (and especially their album M4)
• Other music mentioned on the show:
  • Bach’s Mass in B Minor
  • Lecrae
  • Industrial music
  • Stomp dance
  • Mahler Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”
  • Blue Man Group
  • Spoken word
  • Poetry slam
• A few of Chris’ composed works

Music

• “Generation Love” by Jon Reynolds – used by permission.
• “Winning Slowly Theme” by Chris Krycho. Composed along with hours of other music over the course of his teenage years and adult life. Maybe he’ll make a second career out of that.

Sponsors

Many thanks to the people who help us make this show possible by their financial support! This month’s sponsors:

• Andrew Fallows
• Kurt Klassen
• Jeremy Cherfas
• Jeremy W. Sherman

If you’d like to support the show, you can make a pledge at Patreon or give directly via Square Cash.
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