Classical canon

[Jisu Shin]

Last time I talked about what I can call "the decline of classical music", and that we can no longer create wonderful, moving pieces of classical music to add to the canon.  I cannot disagree with this notion more. Classical music has NOT died.  It can not die.  Do we all wonder why the music of Beethoven, Bach, and Brahms has survived this long?  That's what I hope to discuss in this blog entry.

And from the feedbacks from other people, it is clear that there have been MANY fantastic composers of music that are great just like great classical composers. The reason why classical music moves us so is because it delves deep into the human experience. 

I will now address the notion that we "cannot add to the canon".  Each composer of the classical music canon has added their own stamp.  Beethoven with his full orchestra, Mahler with his tear-wrenching  symphonies, Stravinsky with his atonal structure...  Can you add something to the canon?  When you listen to classical music, do you hear the human experience expressed in a different way in your head?  If so, please write it down so we can all enjoy it.  I believe Stravinsky heard classical music differently in his mind, as did Debussy.  They didn't set out to "add to the canon", they were adding their stamp to it by letting us in on what they have discovered.  As a result, we have added them to the canon.