For A Renewal of a Non-Professional Music Culture

It is obvious, that today's professional music scene has reached a state of stagnation. There are zillions of professional musicians, bands, orchestras and choirs trying to survive in the music business. Surviving means: earning money. And because, they have nothing else to earn their money with, they are forced to orientate on the free market. The taste of the majority of the music consumers and concertgoers determines the repertoire. And the taste of the majority is influenced by the media, like radio and TV and the great record companies.

If you look at the radio program of today, it's obvious, that the broadcasting stations prefer easy consumable music, like Pop, Smooth Jazz and "Light Classical Music". The necessity to reach a big audience causes a tremendous conservatism in the playlists of the broadcasting stations. They are only interested in having a big audience for their commercials, they are not interested in creating an audience for contemporary and innovative music, which mostly isn't so catchy, like the stuff, we have listened to a lot of times.

And in the concert-halls of today, we face the same phenomenon. They rather play Beethoven's 9th Symphony or Mozart's "Magic Flute" ad nauseam, than trying something new and taking the risk to have only a relatively small audience.

On the other hand the stars of the business earn astronomical amounts of money with doing mostly the same repertoire (i.e. German Violinist Anne Sophie Mutter gets an amount of € 50.000+ for one concert!). And the trend has not come to an end...

So our music culture goes round in circles, without giving new talents and progressive music a chance. So, how can we change the situation? Who can try to renew the music culture?

In my opinion, the huge number of non-professional artists plays a more and more important role in contemporary music. They are doing music "just for fun" and not for commercial purposes. This fact gives them a great freedom to perform music, which is cold-shouldered by the professional music business. And not seldom the non-professional musicians are making music on a high artistic level and with a bigger enthusiasm than the Professionals, who are only doing "Business as Usual". The "Amateurs" are the medium of a more contemporary and innovative music-scene. They nowadays are playing the role of the public communities, which shut down one orchestra after the other, because there is no money left! The Amateurs maintain an active music life, which is as important as eating and drinking; without an active music-scene a polity is drying up!

So this little comment is to encourage all music amateurs to perform music in public. We really have a hand in reviving the contemporary music culture!

Let's make our children sing!

I've made the experience for many years now, that music is the most wonderful gift on earth. Since my early childhood I've been surrounded by music and music was not only a decorative attachment, but a vital part of my life. If you are able to express yourself musically, then music enriches your whole life and helps you also in difficult situations. I remember, that everytime, when I was down, I went to my piano and was improvising not seldom for hours and I felt much better after that.

But music is not only a comforter, it also has a significant effect on your intelligence and your social behaviour. A growing body of scientific studies prove, that children with a musical education are more intelligent and have extraordinary high communication skills. It doesn't depend so much on the instrument, they learn to play, but in my opinion, the most effective way of making music is singing.

Singing is the straightest way of making music, because your body and soul are your instruments. When I return from work and have to go to the rehearsal of our chamber choir, I not seldom don't feel like going to it, because I'm tired. But after the first warm up of the voice, I feel, how all the mental pressure drops away and how I become satisfied and relax. If more children would be educated in music, there would be less senslessness and violence in their lives. So I very much agree with our former german secretary of the interior Otto Schily, who said in a speech in the German Bundestag in 1998:

"...The one, who shuts down public music schools, is damaging the inner social security...If children are only taught intellectual and not also musically,there will be character deformations, which can also end in violence..."

So let's make our children sing! I'm convinced that this will cause a better and more peaceful society!

Have a peaceful and a Happy 2006!