With those words of the Buddha from the Kalama Sutta and a photo from my travels on the the Manali to Leh highway in Jammu and Kashmir I leave you to spin again on the wheel of life. Take care but also take risks.
via On An Overgrown Path: Think on these things.
This read like a farewell blog post, and so far there hasn’t been another from On an Overgrown Path.
Although quoting that particular passage of the Buddha’s teachings seems a good way to close a blog, I hope it’s not the last we hear from its author. Overgrown Path is consistently one of the blogs I read that feels substantial. The ideas are provocative, and the intersection of western and eastern and middle-eastern values and traditions and art forms offers a fresh look at what art and life can be. There’s a kind of myopic focus that exists in any field, whether classical music or otherwise, and I appreciate On and Overgrown Path for breaking free of the nonsense and looking for real meaning, both via the questions it asks and the answers it suggests.
Nevertheless, if that is the final post, then I wish its author the best.
UPDATE: He’s still blogging. All is well.
What music would you recommend for a new classical listener??
Hi Ian, I am sending this somewhat unusual email to a few ‘virtual’ friends around the world whose opinions I respect – all of you are professional musicians.
Reaching a new classical audience is the hot topic. The following exchange has taken place via Facebook between me (BS) and an Overgrown Path reader in India (DR) :
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DR – Hey there. I am a big fan of the blog and a friend of mine wanted to start off listening to classical music. I wanted to know some recommendations for beginners
BS – You ask a very important question, and one to which there is no easy answer. Can you give me a brief biographical sketch of your friend to help me? – I assume they live in India. With some background I will try to make suggestions.
DR – Brief bio: Educational background: Marketing and IT. Age: 27. Occupation: IT Consultant. Hobbies: Singing pop rock. Favorite movies: The Hunger Games saga. Music they currently listen to: Joan Baez, Nick Cave, Tom Waits and have heard a bit of Wagner.
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There is no easy answer to the reader’s question; which shows the problem that classical music faces in reaching a new audience. As the profile of the new listener closely matches classical music’s much discussed new young audience, I thought it worth opening out the discussion as a blog post.
Now here is the crunch. The recipients of this email are better qualified than me to recommend repertoire for a classical neophyte. So only – and only – if you have time and feel so inclined, could you email me back your recommend music for this new listener, taking into account the supplied profile. If enough of you reply to justify a blog post, I will publish your recommendations as part of the post, identify you and provide a link to your website – which means you receive some exposure for helping write the post! Your views will make interesting reading and may, hopefully, start some debate. It will also be fun – remember fun? – to compare the differing recommendations.
Your response can be as short – just recommended music – or as long – reasons why you are recommending – as you want. I will simply publish your response verbatim.
There is no rush to reply as I will not look at this again until I return from Morocco in ten days time.
If you don’t want to participate that is, of course, no problem at all. This is simply an attempt to approach a difficult and important question from a different angle.
Regards,
Bob Shingleton
I’m flattered that you would ask. Thank you. I’ll consider the question and do my best.