21 January 2009

The things I learned about people who love classical music

Ok, this is probably akin to beating a dead horse, and I have more productive ways to waste my time than to devote time to this, but I couldn't resist.

So what can we say about the top 100 musical selections that 6200 voters who purport to like classical music picked this year?
-Evidently, they don't like Haydn.
-They also eschew string quartets. (Boccherini's Fandango, which isn't a quartet anyway, doesn't count.)
-They don't like Bartok, either.
-They don't like opera (and the overture to XYZ opera doesn't count)
-. . .or choral works for that matter.
-I'm fine with them liking Pachelbel, but picking it over Mozart's Jupiter Symphony? For reals?
-They also prefer Eric Satie's Gymnopedies to Brahms PC2.
-They also don't listen to anything before and after a certain date, but we already knew that.

Who are these people and where/how did they come up with this list?
Do the voters select these pieces by themselves? Or is it a preordained list?

* * *
Update: I found the methodology. The list is preordained. So that partly explains the lack of string quartets, since I don't see a single string quartet listed here.

Very well, then. This isn't a top-100 list of listener's favorites; it's a list of top-100 pieces that the classical radio station wants to foist on to the listeners.

The proper way to create a list of listener's picks would be to a) eliminate the multiple choice method, for starters.
b) If you're going to list only music from say, 1700 to 1900, then don't call it the poll for "the best musical piece of all time".
c) Since you're just asking participants to pick one piece, listing the top 100 of these selections seems like overkill. How about just listing the top 10 or 15?
d) The rankings displayed on the right and left hand sides are a bit misleading. For example, if you look at the rankings, it looks like Zipoli's "Elevazione"
moved up in the ranks from a non-rank last year to #82 this year, which I think most people would interpret as showing an increase in popularity. However, in this case, given the format of the survey, this just means that this piece wasn't one of the listed pieces last year. In other words, for whatever reason, the surveyer didn't find "Elevazione" foist-worthy last year, whereas this year, they did.

I suppose it would be cynical of me to suggest that this whole poll thing is not really a "listener poll", but a way for radio stations to legitimize and validate the vapidly tuneful do-re-mi repertoire they continute to play and then pat themselves on their back for the good job they have been doing.

7 comments:

Sator Arepo said...

That's just stupid. The pre-ordained list is ridiculous. No Bartok?

Rachmaninoff? Ugh. Barber? Ugh.

Brandenburgs (which are awesome)?: surprise! Beethoven symphonies?: Surprise.

Lame.

And oh, Papa Haydn? Awesome.

anzu said...

Hi. Long time no talk! Sorry I've been remiss about responding to comments. Taking 3 classes and working full-time is beginning to take a toll on me. . .I wasn't sure if I was more disturbed by the lack of string quartets (which might explain the lack of Haydn, Bartok, Janacek, etc.), or other things. . . but I agree. This list is lame.

Sator Arepo said...

Bartok 4th quartet is awesome. I took a Bartok class with Elliot Antekoltz, who literally wrote the book on Bartok, and I learned a ton. Also, Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste. Also, Divertimento for Strings is awesome.

Hi anzu!

SA

Sator Arepo said...

Working full-time and going to grad school sucks. Been there, done that. I cut it to half-time and it's far better, although I'm also teaching two sections.

Good luck, and keep in touch.

SA

Jack Hill said...

Was this poll conducted by KDFC? Nuf said!

Anonymous said...

i grew up in the bay area, remember the old kkhi (pause to wipe away wistful tear) fondly; was even broadcast over their airwaves many times as part of their "our youth in concert" series during my tenure in multiple youth orchestras.

i gave up listening to kdfc years ago when they went full-tilt into their current "classical music as anesthesia" campaign. you know, the one where they urge listeners to play them in the background at work because g-d knows they'd never play anything which would demand anyone's full attention or which wasn't "soothing".

one is thankful for ipod-ready car stereos...

anzu said...

I do admit I sometimes have music playing in the background at work, but kdfc is horrible. KZSU has a nice eclectic mix on Monday mornings 6-9 a.m.