Some [adjective] news
Two articles have come to my attention:
The first from the Economist on the necessity of doctorates. Being a doctoral student myself, many of the points of the article ring true. Read it here.
The second is a speech by Tom Service (of the Guardian) at the Sound festival, regarding the necessity of ‘contemporary classical music’. Being uncomfortably wedged into a spot that one might (with some clenching of teeth) call ‘contemporary classical’, this also rang particularly true for me. Read it here, plus a quick quote below:
“The problem I’m dealing with is that there are still some composers, institutions, and ideologies out there who are labouring under the misapprehension that what they’re doing is the single true path, the way of the future, the sole route to enlightenment, and the real reflection of our times – and I think that those ways of thinking can perniciously permeate contemporary classical musical culture.”
Comments on how the two articles may give a clue to the future of extended research into ‘new music’ are welcome.