there's this renaissance-era composer whose work is gorgeous and totally unique, Carlo Gesualdo. he was some sort of prince in the 16th century. but he murdered his wife (and the guy she was having an affair with), and possibly some other people.
i guess what makes a case like this different is that there's really no way my listening to Gesualdo could be taken to condone murder? as opposed to, say, listening to one of those rappers who occasionally rap about shooting gays. some also say that Gesualdo's music was an attempt to express his guilt and striving for redemption, though that seems unlikely.
i know what you mean when you question whether or not you should continue to listen to this morally bankrupt composer whose music you enjoy- but i usually think of it in terms of what i hear is never going to be the same thing that the composer hears. and the same goes for any intention i get out of the music- it will not be the exact intention of the composer. so basically, you just disassociate the music from it's author, justified by the fact that subjectivity doesn't really exist in cases likethis. Even if you want to allow for some, it is definitely not dominant.
however, you might find that if you find the composer's morality reprehensible enough, it will start to change the way his music sounds.
While an artist's actions in life shouldn't have any sort of affect on the aptitude of their work, in my mind it makes a difference.
Somehow I'm more comfy feeling that the musicians/artists I admire are ALSO really good people. While I'm sure that is not the case and there is some manner of ignorance on my behalf, the feeling that an artist I admire is also a really great person has a lot of clout with me personally.
Should it be so, though? I would argue perhaps not. There are plenty of brilliant artists who in that effect are absolutely profound but in all other aspects of their lives they can fall apart. It shouldn't have a baring on the quality of their work, despite my tendency to perceive it as such.
I will freely admit that some of the artists I listen to are assholes, especially to their fans. That doesn't always stop me from listening to them. If I found out they were racist or homophobic or anything like that, in any way, I would no longer listen to them.
Perhaps the distinction between homophobic rappers and Gesualdo is the autobiographical personae of many rappers–that is to say, there is a link between artists and the narrative voices in their songs, one often reinforced by the artists themselves. In the latter case (homophobic rappers), I certainly do not feel bad about refusing to subsidize that kind of discourse. Then again, I can't imagine finding those voices compelling, except as negative examples.
In the specific case you raise, I can imagine qualms about appreciating the artist's music. Let me raise this issue, however: would the kind of music make a difference to your appreciation? If you find the music of an intellectual avant-garde composer stimulating, would it make any difference to your appreciation if it turned out that said composer mistreated those near a dear to him/her?
i think there's a kind of cultural/temporal difference that makes the Gesualdo case seem different!
i totally adore Stravinsky, but if i found out he was some kind of nazi sympathizer, i would cry and cry and maybe/probably even stop listening to his music that i love above almost all others. (easy for me to say, of course, since i know that he wasn't a nazi sympathizer...) if i found out something like this about an artist who's still alive, i would drop it like it's hot.
but Gesualdo's this dude from a very different world 400 years ago, when dueling was considered pretty honorable (and uxoricide was more of a gray area). not only does it bring cultural-moral relativism into play, it also makes me less conscious of Gesualdo as a person, and more "Gesualdo" as simply a body of music that was produced around that time.
posted on Sunday, Jan 3rd by le_sacre
morality has no cash value but art might.
I would stop listening. I refuse to listen to people who hold a discompassionate viewpoint toward anyone, no matter how they express it.
there's this renaissance-era composer whose work is gorgeous and totally unique, Carlo Gesualdo. he was some sort of prince in the 16th century. but he murdered his wife (and the guy she was having an affair with), and possibly some other people.
i guess what makes a case like this different is that there's really no way my listening to Gesualdo could be taken to condone murder? as opposed to, say, listening to one of those rappers who occasionally rap about shooting gays. some also say that Gesualdo's music was an attempt to express his guilt and striving for redemption, though that seems unlikely.
hmm, complicated.
i know what you mean when you question whether or not you should continue to listen to this morally bankrupt composer whose music you enjoy- but i usually think of it in terms of what i hear is never going to be the same thing that the composer hears. and the same goes for any intention i get out of the music- it will not be the exact intention of the composer. so basically, you just disassociate the music from it's author, justified by the fact that subjectivity doesn't really exist in cases likethis. Even if you want to allow for some, it is definitely not dominant.
however, you might find that if you find the composer's morality
reprehensible enough, it will start to change the way his music sounds.
maybe?
While an artist's actions in life shouldn't have any sort of affect on the aptitude of their work, in my mind it makes a difference.
Somehow I'm more comfy feeling that the musicians/artists I admire are ALSO really good people. While I'm sure that is not the case and there is some manner of ignorance on my behalf, the feeling that an artist I admire is also a really great person has a lot of clout with me personally.
Should it be so, though? I would argue perhaps not. There are plenty of brilliant artists who in that effect are absolutely profound but in all other aspects of their lives they can fall apart. It shouldn't have a baring on the quality of their work, despite my tendency to perceive it as such.
I will freely admit that some of the artists I listen to are assholes, especially to their fans. That doesn't always stop me from listening to them. If I found out they were racist or homophobic or anything like that, in any way, I would no longer listen to them.
Perhaps the distinction between homophobic rappers and Gesualdo is the autobiographical personae of many rappers–that is to say, there is a link between artists and the narrative voices in their songs, one often reinforced by the artists themselves. In the latter case (homophobic rappers), I certainly do not feel bad about refusing to subsidize that kind of discourse. Then again, I can't imagine finding those voices compelling, except as negative examples.
In the specific case you raise, I can imagine qualms about appreciating the artist's music. Let me raise this issue, however: would the kind of music make a difference to your appreciation? If you find the music of an intellectual avant-garde composer stimulating, would it make any difference to your appreciation if it turned out that said composer mistreated those near a dear to him/her?
a= and
i think there's a kind of cultural/temporal difference that makes the Gesualdo case seem different!
i totally adore Stravinsky, but if i found out he was some kind of nazi sympathizer, i would cry and cry and maybe/probably even stop listening to his music that i love above almost all others. (easy for me to say, of course, since i know that he wasn't a nazi sympathizer...) if i found out something like this about an artist who's still alive, i would drop it like it's hot.
but Gesualdo's this dude from a very different world 400 years ago, when dueling was considered pretty honorable (and uxoricide was more of a gray area). not only does it bring cultural-moral relativism into play, it also makes me less conscious of Gesualdo as a person, and more "Gesualdo" as simply a body of music that was produced around that time.