Advanced?

Nothing shows the lack of philosophical thinking more than the moment when academics or composers talk about the 'advanced language' of new music since 1900, as if the language of music is in a process of linear development to something 'more sophisticated', more 'complex', more this or that, somehow better, reflecting modern times, etc. etc. It is the naive view of music history as if it were a history of science, as if every new style, new aesthetic, new composition technique were a step 'forward' - as implied in the term 'advanced' - towards, yes, towards what? Better music?

The sophistication of Palestrina's music is lightyears different from the sophistication of Ravel or Stravinsky, but it would be entirely wrong to say that Ravel wrote 'more advanced' music than Palestrina. It is different music, with its own sophistication and complexity.  There is no more sophisticated music than, say, a Mozart string quintet with its subtle psychological playing with relationships, proportions, deviations from set-up patterns, balance, liveliness, etc. etc. - not to mention the rich palette of direct, emotional expression and appeal. But the nonsensical notion of 'advanced musical language' is parrotted everywhere at conservatories, universities, within new music circles, entirely divorced from the real world of art and true creative thinking.

It were entirely irrelevant if such notions were the prerogative of some private entertainment clubs. But no, they are established concepts handed-down to young people who want to learn the craft of writing music. And they are destroyed before they even began.

Therefore, it would be a great experiment if an institution would be set-up like the new visual art academies which teach realist, figurative drawing and painting, along traditional lines, say: 'music academies' where the nature of music is analysed, its psychology made understood, and the traditional craft of getting imagined sound scapes down on paper in such a practical way that living instrumentalists can realize them in concert. This would be a real 'advance' on the nonsense being spread through the educational channels.