Re: Meaning of "Klezmer"

[MaxwellSt <MaxwellSt...>]

<< Why this pervasive need to be elitist? >>

I don't agree with it, but I understand where it comes from.

I saw it in the eyes of my violinist who was playing (ignored) in a crowded 
lobby, as the man who was chatting with someone directly in front of him 
reached over and put his empty cocktail glass onto Alex's music stand.  It 
was hard for him to keep playing.

Artists are so undervalued in this country (cf. sports icons) that there is a 
strong reaction among artists against pandering to the masses.  I hope I 
never have to ask my musicians to go through with a gig like the one at which 
we were instructed (again, for cocktails) to mount a giant construction which 
resembled a house in the shtetl with the violinist (you guessed it) teetering 
on the "roof" above the other musicians.  But it's not just in America or 
these times that artists go unappreciated--I imagine how chattering party 
guests might have ignored Bach's latest compositions because no one had 
explained to them that he was a genius and they should show a little respect.

Having said all of that, artists who take themselves too seriously are as 
insufferable as anyone else who does, in my view of things.

Lori in Chicago

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