A book by David Blum

Introduction by Paul Tortelier

Forward by Anthony Hopkins

This valuable book was published in paperback form by the University of California Press in 1980. Despite this ageing of some 40 years, its topicality is as relevant today as when first published.

Pablo Casals (1876-1973) was regarded as one of the greatest cello players and composers of the twentieth century. He refused to be classed as a “cellist” as he described himself as a “musician”. He was also an active protester against oppressive governments (those that misuse their power and mistreat citizens), including that of the Spanish tyrant Francisco Franco (1892–1975) from which he had fled.

Anthony Hopkins starts the forward by stating that “to become a legend in one’s lifetime…The phrase has become a cliché, debased by the ease with which the media of today can create legends for a public ever hungry for new idols of worship. Yet such legendary figures do exist and have existed, figures whose stature is more enduring than that of the television interviewer, the newspaper columnist or the pop star. The true creators, writers, painters, sculptors and composers are ultimately judged by the value posterity places upon their work; thus, the Work is in the long run more important than the Maker.”

Further to this, in the introduction to the book, Paul Tortelier notes, using the words from T.S. Eliot: ”the communication of the dead is tongued with fire beyond the language of the living”

David Blum was a conductor born in 1935. Blum was mainly associated with the Esterhazy Orchestra, based in New York, whose name implies an interest associated with Bach, Haydn and Mozart. Casals was very interested in Blum’s work becoming Honorary President of the Esterhazy Orchestra in1961. Blum died in 1989.

The latter period covered by Casals life’s work was one in which I grew up – how times have changed! Casals wrote, “I will say only elemental things, nothing complicated – as everything ought to be, beginning with life. But you must know that the simplest things are the ones that count”. The world, then, was, in many ways, a far simpler place to understand. Commercially, life was booming, as there was a need for the world economy to expand due to population expansion. This meant there arose a need for a greater number of people to become educated for participation in the economic boom that took place. It was an age where opportunity for much social mobility attracted those who aspired to greater opportunity in education leading to greater financial reward. The sophistication and complications that it has finally brought about with its maturation in the 21^st century could never have been anticipated in Casals time. To confirm this, with almost naïve-sounding contrast, Casals wrote:

“I have an idea…a plan for the education of children…It is so simple, yet we have never thought of it…as soon as the child can understand the meaning of a word, he should be told that this word represents a miracle. When we speak of the eye, we should explain what a miracle it is to be able to see. We should explain what a miracle it is to be able to speak. What a marvel are our hands!  When the wonder of each word has been made clear, then every child should be taught to realize: ‘I am a miracle – and he is also a miracle. I am a unique being; there never has been a person like me since the beginning of the world – nor will there be until our world comes to an end. And he, too, is unique and will be until our world will end. Therefore, I cannot kill him – and he cannot kill me’. Only in this way can we do away with the impulse for wars. At school they teach that that two plus two equals four. That is not what life is all about”… Real understanding does not come from what we learn in books; it comes from love – love of nature, of man. For what is learned in that way is truly understood…”As a humanist, I cannot accept the final words used in this very moving statement, however Casals continued: “…I cannot believe these marvels which surround us – the miracle which is life – can come from nothingness? The miracle must come from somewhere. It comes from God” Quoted in the heading of the final chapter, Epilogue, of this book is the following: “In music, in the sea, in a flower, in a leaf, in an act of kindness…I see what people call God  in all these things.

In terms of interpretation, the  basis of this book, Casals commits himself to extremely practical conclusions which only experience and talent could arouse. These ideas are discussed by Blum taking us through real examples of Casals interpretation of dynamics and phrases as well as analysis of the emphasis on notation within the phrase – so interesting. How sad that modern technique and bowing problems lead us away from the music and truth.

In conclusion, piecing together a logical thread that feels true from my experience, including that of a life’s work in music and coping with a happy family life as well as all the unwelcome but accepted impositions that life brings, the Work teaches us that the Maker is the same human being as was pointed out by Anthony Hopkins. We cannot explain the folly of politicians who take us to war, nor can we explain the arrogance of educators who impose their theories on us as if the experience of the individual is irrelevant and needs extreme suppression to make the accepted story line untrue and ultimately floored. The Work that commercialism pumps into the Maker in order for it to fit in with the commercialism that society exploits in favour of the few is at the expense of the many thus destroying the true practical potential of all humanity.

Wars, migration, mental health, gender identity, and climate change, as well as poverty to name but a few are the tortuous outcomes of an unhappy impractical world.

We need to seek the love and naturalness, the basis of our indestructible humanity once again.

Music has got the same problem as the rest of the issues tormenting us all. Abstract music, relaying corrupted and impractical feelings ensures the elitist nature of music and not only its move away from nature, but its inevitable decline; it portrays the same lie that society is propagating.

Technical complexity of music is not necessarily about the awesome dexterity of the performer, a cult in the performers favour; technical dexterity should be used to make the feelings behind the music strong and communicative not to overpower the audience into awe-struck submission by a lie lacking in genuine feeling, the truth.

How we overcome these problems is up to society, every person on the planet, solving them altogether without the extreme individualism that numbs us all into acquiescence.

We all need time to reflect on life, to realise our talents by becoming socially and objectively excited by nature which is reality. A guaranteed practical and creative role for all people is the only way out of the general crisis.

Ron Tendler October 2019

In modern society, there has always been a gap between the dual sophistication of the educated and their culture as opposed to the less or should I say differently educated and their culture which appears more popular and even more commercially successful; I suggest this latter category appears happy to be entertained whilst the former consider themselves cultured and more discerning. This article attempts to explore the differences between culture and entertainment with a view to understanding their roles in what seems to be a society divided by different cultures. The aim of this item is to be more that of an open and on-going discussion rather than definitive.
John Ruskin,(1)* writing about art, noticed this disparity in 1843 when he wrote: “ When public taste seems plunging deeper and deeper into degradation day by day, and when the press universally exerts such power as it possesses to direct the feeling of the nation more completely to all that is theatrical, affected and false in art…it becomes the imperative duty of all who have any perception or knowledge of what is really great in art, and any desire for its advancement in England, to come fearlessly forward, regardless of such individual interests as are likely to be injured by the knowledge of what is good or right, to declare and demonstrate wherever they exist, the essence and the authority of the beautiful and the true.”(2)*
Similarly, in 1975, 132 years later, Shostakovich wrote, “Great music, the receptacle of all the greatest spiritual insights of mankind from ancient times up to the present, will not, of course, perish under pressure from the avant-garde. It is not the first time it has been rejected, reviled and ridiculed, but it has always stood firm… Great music is eternal, like life. Every new generation makes its own contribution to the treasure-house of world art…Music becomes a fact of life, alive and effective only when it is heard and is understood by those for whom it is written…We must never lower our criteria of art. Otherwise art will degenerate to the level of amusement, of empty, mindless diversion. The danger exists in modern society, which is bombarded with all sorts of sounds. The ‘ninth wave’ of second-rate pop music is constantly crashing against the pillars of great music, threatening to pulverise them and wash them away.” He goes on to explain that an aesthetic code is inherited and addresses the human heart, and through the response of this heart it gains immortality. “Music unites people and helps each person to become more aware of himself, it enriches his thoughts and feelings…these days, music – like all other forms of art – is going through a complicated period; it is seeking to express our unsettling but glorious modern age…Of course, in all art forms new paths must be developed. If art were to stop in its development it would be its downfall. It is reassuring that art today knows many new paths, but only those which are based on the great classical traditions have any future”.(3)*
Culture can be simply defined as “the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs values and knowledge which constitute the shared bases of social action.”(4)* Additionally, to clarify this point as relevant to this article, “the artistic and social pursuits, expression, and tastes valued by a society or class, as in the arts, manners dress etc.”(5)* The complication arises in defining the differences between culture and entertainment precisely because of the class element in society. Within the culture of a society there exists a material element (e.g. machinery, experience in the field of production) and a spiritual one (e.g. achievements in the realm of science, art, literature, philosophy, ethics and education). These combine over the course of time into a succession of socio-economic formations, the arts (culture) reflecting the action of the dominant socio-economic group; the subjugated masses enjoying their different approach often seen as entertainment. Entertainment is defined as “the act or art of entertaining, which can be provided by a professional singer, comedian or other performer who takes part in public entertainment”, the implication being “the provision of amusement.”(6)* This amusement possibly avoids exploring the depths of the material and spiritual elements and relies on conscious inaccuracies of these elements to provide release from the real tensions of life. Shostakovich reminded us, that, at worse: “We must never lower our criteria for art. Otherwise art will degenerate to the level of amusement, of empty, mindless diversion”. Similarly, Ruskin warns of “the theatrical, affected and false in art”.
In comparing the implications of cultural reflection with those that are entertaining, there is a different process at work. I suggest that being entertained releases the superficial tensions that come about through more immediate and generalised sensations of living. More profound processes are at work when the superficial emotion of being entertained is replaced by specific and more complex, reflections of reality. In this process, deeper emotional responses are aroused mirroring a fuller complexity of relations between people and also to the objective world. Emotions are shaped by society and play a tremendous part in what is considered to be acceptable behaviour, practical and involving full cognitive activity. These aspects lead to complete understanding and the concept of truth. Emotions are an indication of success or failure of activity, the conformity or non-conformity of objects or phenomena to ones needs or interests. Sthenic emotions create energy and satisfaction whereas asthenic emotions are negative and unsatisfactory in effect.
Behind the emotional content are interests. These are a purposeful orientation of thought and action reflecting the material and spiritual ingredients, mentioned above, by an individual, social group or historically developed community. These correspond to the objective needs and tendencies of social development, constituting the interests of society. The interests of the dominant class are united by voluntary associations and similar personal interests. Thus, in a class divided society, different social groups will have different interests which will show in their lack of unity of ideas with each other and even become diametrically opposed to the status quo. A stable interest in an economically stable society is an important requisite for a creative attitude, cumulatively leading to a broadening of horizons and enrichment of knowledge.
With current developments where the divisions in the understanding of history, society and the direction of both are not necessarily conducive to stability, direct access to definable material and spiritual ingredients is divergent, it is no wonder that culture and entertainment are not easily nourishing either the thirst of the artist or the audience. So when John Keats wrote “Beauty is truth, truth beauty, – that is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know”(7)* where does this leave us? I suggest that the culture of the dominant class can no longer exploit any former stability in the form of its chosen culture with such confidence as the more commercially led and more readily self-modernising entertainment grows in appeal across social groupings – big changes and influences are realigning socio-economic allegiances resulting in a fusing of opposing cultures.

(1)* 8 February 1819 – 20 January 1900 was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, water-colourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and political economy. His writing styles and literary forms were equally varied. Ruskin penned essays and treatises, poetry and lectures, travel guides and manuals, letters and even a fairy tale),
(2)* Modern Painters Vol.1 3.4
(3)* Dimitri Shostakovich: About Himself and His Times P.334-335
(4)* Collins English Dictionary
(5)* ibid
(6)* ibid
(7)* Conclusion to Ode on a Grecian Urn

Ron Tendler 27 July 2016

These papers come up now and again as I research my work as a composer. I believe that composing music with meaning has to reflect reality. Research raises many issues both musical and ideological. Meaningful music has to be based on ideas relating to the real world as I do not believe in escaping into abstract ideas, an unreasonable tool used to avoid reality and the resulting chaos when expressed thus. This could be seen as a contradictory statement as music is an abstract art. In music, time is a horizontal element characterised by melody whilst space is created by harmony and or counterpoint in a vertical plain. Using this interpretation, music can reflect reality! In fact, I suggest, all art is a reflection of the tensions brought about by the act of living and therefore linked to reality. These tensions can then be resolved through any creative medium (e.g. art, sculpture, drama, and so on) which has a tradition with a common thread into the future. Changes in life redefine the future allowing for endless possibilities in the representation that the arts reflect.

Composing raises so many issues that superfluous ideas, irrelevant to the essence of one composition, can be transferred into documents or other compositions.