Read online:
I’m not here to go to concerts. This is my vacation. When I am here I am not working. Although I may be preparing for an upcoming performance, I’m here to enjoy the beach and time with my wife and family.
-David Zinman
I suppose if I were a well known conductor and I did music as much as Zinman probably does I might not want to go to concerts while on a holiday, but I actually love to go to concerts. It’s really a joy, and I look forward to the day when I’m no longer performing at all, but just enjoying.
Well. Sort of anyway!
Here’s another part of the interview with the conductor:
Making classical music appeal to the masses without compromising artistic integrity is a challenge of which Zinman is well aware.
“It all begins with education,” Zinman said. “As a young person, if you play baseball, you’ll tend to want to go see a professional baseball game. And if you play in a school orchestra or band you’ll want to go hear the professionals play. We all want to emulate our heroes. Sadly, if a school budget has to be cut and you have a football team and an arts program, guess which program gets cut.”
With many recent crossover artists such as tenor Andrea Bocelli, whose wide appeal has clouded the line between classical and popular music, Zinman once again cites the lack of education as the problem.
“Making classical music popular really works against it,” Zinman said. “Classical music has to do with the emotions and the soul.”
