For example, it should be clear by now that I don’t agree that “the cultural descendant of Beethoven is The Beatles”, and it should be equally clear why: in addition to the fact that the actual memetic lineage from Beethoven to the Beatles is much less direct than from Beethoven to contemporary art-composers (a point I didn’t actually mention explicitly), Beethoven’s intention—his profession, his métier—was to write the most interesting/advanced/sophisticated music he could. (Beyond the blatant evidence of the music itself, as compared with his (more “popular”!) contemporaries, this is a matter of historical record, as revealed in his letters.) In this crucial respect, he resembles contemporary academic composers much more than the Beatles (who, as popular musicians, have few rivals, of course).
I wonder if pre-WWII jazz musicians are closer in spirit to this, in terms of both “writing the most interesting/advanced/sophisticated music [they] could” and “advancing the field of music”?
I wonder if pre-WWII jazz musicians are closer in spirit to this, in terms of both “writing the most interesting/advanced/sophisticated music [they] could” and “advancing the field of music”?
Quite possibly. I don’t even see any need to restrict to pre-WWII. My impression is that, among the various styles of popular music, jazz has tended to come closest to manifesting this ideal in general.
I wonder if pre-WWII jazz musicians are closer in spirit to this, in terms of both “writing the most interesting/advanced/sophisticated music [they] could” and “advancing the field of music”?
Quite possibly. I don’t even see any need to restrict to pre-WWII. My impression is that, among the various styles of popular music, jazz has tended to come closest to manifesting this ideal in general.