Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 9, 1998, Winnipeg, Manitoba Brian focus saturday free press a 4 q May 1998m it society of music changed drastically Over Century Superb music from changing world music has undergone a kind of democratic revolution Over the last Glenn com Poser and music director of the Norbert arts and cultural explores the development of music Over the last 100 years and where it is the end of the 20th Century and Ive noticed a sense of suspension in the conversations around its As if weve entered a Star trek like twi Light of each of us assuming the role of the Amateur historian who casts Back obsessively to Pon Der the milestones of the past 100 years our it seems to me that it want that Long ago that the term 20th Century was synonymous with the present or even the and artists All of whom were members of the Avant Garde marched on with fierce determination As they shaped the new now we look Back on the Avant Garde As a remnant from older much of the Art and music created in recent decades has been recessive As if weve been putting on the brakes As the Century comes to a groping for some kind of so what exactly did we manage to accomplish Back in those Days of course there was the explosion of technology and War on a global and a wealth of Radical ideas from physicists and we also gradually changed our attitude toward weve come a Long Way from the Early Days of our a time when Only male landowners could vote and our leaders could be More overt about the grand tradition of buying votes with these Days we can oust a govern ment if we feel it has misused our our opinions they Are collected by the pollsters and have a great Impact in shaping govern ment this changed attitude toward leadership has been reflected in All of our collective endeavours including the creation of music making after is a social and like any other social activity it involves the organization of a variety of wills for the Sake of a larger this kind of organization inevitably requires some form of in Europe and North America at Glenn Buhr the end of the 19th the reigning musical medium was the symphony a monarchist institution if Ever there was there were attempts among the who used the noises of factories and cars in their symphonic to bring a touch of com Mon life to the concert and there was Aaron croplands fanfare for the common Man which truly became a popular item in the House holds of Many common men when it was used As a theme for weekly television sports but the real democratic revolution in music was gestating far away from the concert Delta new Orleans Chicago Cool rhythm and Rock n Roll All of the tributaries of american Black music began to dominate popular and unlike the concert music of the 19th this music was not created by just one composer and then interpreted by a Hierarchy of work this new music was created collectively by the musicians who performed for jazz trumpeter Miles Davis relied heavily on the improvisational skills of other musicians to create his unique his bands became known for their interpretations of several classic and original jazz but Over the course of hundreds of con Cert tunes like thelonius monks round Midnight took on a completely original the creative instincts of each ensemble member and the style of Davis leadership were As important to the final product As the composition upon which each performance was this was the government of the Miles Davis jazz legend Miles Davis helped shift focus of As the Middle classes gained prominence toward the Middle of the Century and the phonograph record became the preferred medium for popular music emerged and became a loud pres ence in the airwaves something that none of us could by it want even necessary to be Musi Cally literate in order to influence the music All that anyone needed was a bit of Money to buy it was like voting with those artists who continued to be popular continued to when the beatles abandoned the concert stage in 1966 and withdrew into the recording they started an unprecedented social collaboration As a collective of of the groups four three John George Harrison and Paul Mccartney were son writ they occasionally consulted each other when composing their songs and producer George Martin the Only musically literate Mem ber of the collective was often called upon to create transitions and when Mozart wrote he would conceive of a simple harmonic dress it with the appropriate Bass line and accompanying add introductory and transition sections and orchestrate the Martin did most of this for Many of the beat Les especially for the music recorded during the sergeant Pep per although the beatles collaboration was by no Means always a Friendly it held together Long enough to generate some very Beautiful and elaborate there was an element of anarchy and Acci Dent to the beatles phenomenon and much of their Success was due to extra musical but they were among the first to create such a Peculiar society of musicians a government with no King or presi Dent or prime minister it was a big stretch from the hierarchic Monar Chy of the 19th Century symphony composers still write for the established classical inst the recent Success of people like Philip Henryk Gorecki and arvo part seems to suggest that creative musicians can still speak a new language and use an older medium to communicate effectively with a Large but Many changes Are under student composers Are studying the Avant Garde works written in the 50s with renewed and Many of the same Young musicians Are also fascinated by the operatic spectacle of recent Tours by Pink Floyd and Many aspire to pro Duce or or music videos that Combine the creative talents of several and most of them Are As aware of the music of Miles Davis and the beat Les As they Are of the works of Brahms and the society of music has changed so radically since the beginning of the Century that it is impossible to track its but during the Cen while we were living in the excitement and turmoil of a rapidly changing composers and recording artists created some wonderful and it sounded like nothing that anyone could have pre letters to the editor philippine election coverage appreciated kudos to the Winnipeg free As an i deeply relish Reading the series of Arti cles about philippine elections reported by your reporter Dan our Man in these kinds of items make the free press particularly in these climes and times when a num ber of residents in this adopted coun try Are undergoing some form of cultural for leaving behind their and their land of news from the old country is like a fresh water and food that quenches thirst and satiates the pangs of hunger the thirst and hunger of deep Long ing to be in touch with the old Home Dan Letts news updates bring nostalgia As it is cathartic to the Mab Hay a Long live Winnipeg free press Bob Gabuna Winnipeg Cuba real democracy the free press editorial of april 21 on prime minister Jean Chretien one Day visit to Cuba is labelled a so called Holiday in the article four free and in translation it Means All our capitalist and Back to the Good old Days of pro dictator when phony and corrupt politicians ruled the country from the top of it is no Accident when some people Call Fidel Castro a dicta Tor and oppressor because it is not in their interest when people in socialist Cuba take part in the decision making process in a real democracy from the Bottom More and More latin american countries perhaps realize that including is the Only Way to survive in the global free Trade cutthroat Competition to protect them selves from at Winnipeg How to reach us the free press welcomes letters from letters must be signed and should include a clearly printed address and Telephone names will be published but not All letters May be edited for style and Short letters Are less Likely to be please address letters to letters to the Winnipeg free 1355 Mountain Winnipeg r2x letters can be sent to our fax number letters 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Letters sent via the internet obviously cannot be but must include Home address and Telephone tories neglect Fishers in my travels through Western Cana i picked up a newspaper and read about the Canadian wheat boards i help but think of the parallels Between the Freshwater fish marketing Board and that of the wheat both monopolies have government bureaucrats for marketing represent both monopolies have the sanctimonious right to throw the people they serve in jail for trying to Market their own both monopolies have their Mem Bers scattered throughout Western effectively keeping members from assembling or forming any con of there is one other parallel both Farmers and Fishers look to their elected Premier Gary Fil for rightfully As the conservative philosophy has nothing to do with marketing boards and less with monopolies at that what i was told when i ran for the tories in Boniface in but these Are graceless times we five when balancing and volts take precedent Over farm ers or Fishers rights to make a Kim Sigurdson los Angeles Urban myth causes fear it was with interest that i read your article about Riverbank erosion in Winnipeg free april especially the comments about a House on Kingston Crescent where massive Ero Sion appears to have taken your article contains remarks by City Waterways Engineer Don Kinger ski that the House in question is presently metres from the River Bank and he heard that it used to have a Tennis court behind he then speculates that this indicates an erosion rate of some 90 feet in 90 this Story Falls into the category of Urban myth and of All should know he should also know there never was a Tennis court in the rear the House he is talking about was built around 1914 by Charles who later became mayor of Gray had an apparent liking for the naming his Home the Anchorage he built a substantial Dock by driving wooden pilings into the River bed along his these pilings Are still in existence and to this Day Mark the River Edge of the while there has been some erosion on the upper Riverbank it is less than 10 per cent of the 90 feet quoted by using the pilings As a base line and taking into consideration Aerial photographs from the 1940s and 1950s that show Kingston it is Clear that the rate of erosion has not been As severe As Many people choose to this observation is supported by the recollections of people who have lived in the property during the past 80 including one of Grays stories like the one repeated by Kingerski often take on a life of their while this is amusing in Many such Sto Ries can produce undesirable Side during the flood of several of the Neighbours of the property were convinced that the whole House was about to slide into the they insisted that government authorities build a ring Dike around the entire to Calm these valuable time and resources were allocated to this unneeded the reality is that this particular property was the scene of an Exten Sive Riverbank stabilization a program that Kingerski knew it is irresponsible to now dredge up the myth of the Tennis an action that might Lead to future neighbourhood concerns As other flood conditions John Kenny Winnipeg remember what game is about with regard to the fan apathy theme of late concerning sports franchises in our i must agree with some of the arguments being put for it comes Down to maintain ing i offer one there is a Young Well Call him who attended an Ihl Moose game no big right except it was Johns dying wish to see this professional yet minor hockey team play before he not Disney not meeting a just a Moose sports in Winnipeg but i wont list All the reasons just this had his heroes and they were local and they were reachable and they made him Happy before he with that the pundits and scorned fans and sportswriters alike can return to bickering about All the negative i remember what the game is All so did ale Loudon Winnipeg doonesbury by Garry Trudeau Point in our with Butcho youkn06u Iff tto just not that tsim ;