Post by hiredfox October 18, 2012 (1 of 31)
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Just asking... seems so to me.
Having attended a concert at the RFH, London on Tuesday evening led by (our own) Andrew Litton that featured Natasha Paremski, a Russian born blonde bombshell of a pianist that until now we had never heard of and noting all the new pretty young faces cropping up on Pentatone and other labels these days that we have never heard of, one does begin to wonder where all of this is leading?
If you are female, talented but not particularly blessed with good looks does that mean a career in teaching is your destiny instead of the classical concert hall or on record? It would be most ungallant of me to name those few who are still exceptions to this "rule" but the exceptions seem to be fewer with every day that passes. I think this may have started with Julie Fischer, that's right Julie who?
Personally, I think it absolutely deplorable; maybe we should boycott the guilty labels?
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Post by Claude October 18, 2012 (2 of 31)
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"Is female beauty a condition of classical success"
Yes, if the musical talent is only average.
No, if she's an outstanding musician.
That's valid for showbusiness in the wide sense, including sports (best example: Anna Kournikova, average tennis player, huge tennis star).
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To be fair, possessing great talent is secondary if the entertainer is good-looking enough. That sadly seems to be true in film, TV & music of all varities. It's a bit different in sport because even Adonis himself couldn't become a (say) football star if he couldn't even make the England team or compete at (inter)national level. [The last swipe at the English footy team is deliberate & deserved.]
In classical music, there are those who undoubtably we'd never have heard from if they weren't blessed with their good looks. Equally though, there are those who aren't "conventionally good-looking" that have made it right to the top (and deservedly so). [For some of his last films, HvK admitted to keeping the camera away from certain players!] I do wonder sometimes though whether exposure in an adulatry light changes our prior prejudices to that person & consider them more attractive than if we'd seen them in the street.
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Post by pgmdir October 18, 2012 (4 of 31)
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Certainly true of Universal labels these days. But I can't say that it seems to be true of the males--- Have you seen Friar whatshisname, the "new Italian tenor!" on Decca? Sheesh. Still, if a few more younger males are attracted to classical music because of the beauty of the performer, they will perhaps become more discriminating later on.
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Post by seth October 18, 2012 (5 of 31)
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hiredfox said:
Just asking... seems so to me.
Having attended a concert at the RFH, London on Tuesday evening led by (our own) Andrew Litton that featured Natasha Paremski, a Russian born blonde bombshell of a pianist that until now we had never heard of and noting all the new pretty young faces cropping up on Pentatone and other labels these days that we have never heard of, one does begin to wonder where all of this is leading?
If you are female, talented but not particularly blessed with good looks does that mean a career in teaching is your destiny instead of the classical concert hall or on record? It would be most ungallant of me to name those few who are still exceptions to this "rule" but the exceptions seem to be fewer with every day that passes. I think this may have started with Julie Fischer, that's right Julie who?
Personally, I think it absolutely deplorable; maybe we should boycott the guilty labels?
I imagine that artist, entertainers, performers, etc have been chosen for looks over talent going all the way back to the Romans, ancient Egypt and even Mesopotamia.
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hiredfox said:
I think this may have started with Julie Fischer, that's right Julie who?
remember Ofra Hannoy? Jane Rutter (an oz phenomenon)? and even Michela Petri glamorised herself to get back in the limelight.
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Post by BIS fan October 18, 2012 (7 of 31)
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You could be right. But I’ve been thinking: hasn’t it always be a little bit that way? I mean: a Gramophone magazine with Ricardo Chailly on it – sorry: just an example, because I’ve got that image of him on his latest Beethoven discs before me - could sell less than one with beauty mrs. X or Y on it. A magazine with the word SEX on it sells better than one without. I think record companies sometimes put all their PR aces on the looks of a boy or girl. He or she’s very young, and talented, but there’re indeed much more not so pretty cliché looking pretty boys and girls around with talent too. I call this the Playboyrization of our society. Universal music is a fine example: almost every month a new fresh face. So, classical musicians are recycled too; or positively speaking: they get a chance and if they don’t make it: to the galleys! We find beautiful people more clever and smarter, like to be near them, like to be like them, even if it isn’t true (they're clever or talented). Blondes with long legs always get the highest pay raise (in Western society). We’re conditioned that way. Question is: can we still judge the voice of say Netrebko, Garanca or Fleming only by the quality of their voices? No, only the blind can. We’ll always have a picture in our minds of him or her when listening to one of their recordings. And feel prettier when we think/know he or she is a beauty; it’s just plain hormones and psychology. Second: Classical music is dominated by males 40-75. So the only thing labels have to do is trying to push the careers of young woman so they sell more records or tickets. Why? Because these listeners would like to have them as their daughters (or daughters in law or ‘Girl Next Door’). Labels do that cleverly. No this isn’t plain sexism; this is the psychology of selling products. And if you like it or not: classical music is a product too.
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nucaleena said:
remember Ofra Hannoy? Jane Rutter (an oz phenomenon)? and even Michela Petri glamorised herself to get back in the limelight.
And look at some of the old covers for one M Argerich...
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Post by hiredfox October 19, 2012 (9 of 31)
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Polly Nomial said:
And look at some of the old covers for one M Argerich...
Well at least Martha Argerich could play a bit!
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Post by akiralx October 19, 2012 (10 of 31)
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hiredfox said:
Well at least Martha Argerich could play a bit!
Yep, and glamorous - here with the 'young Saracen' Claudio Abbado...
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