It seems too soon to move onto an entirely different blog topic following Queen Elizabeth’s burial, especially when people are still paying their tributes to the late Queen at Green Park. Thus, this blogpost will reflect on the meaning of ‘accomplishment’, ‘impact’ and ‘legacy’ in the grander scheme of life, as well as being a platform for remembering a couple of musicians and musicologists who have recently passed away.
‘How much are we suppose to accomplish [in our life time]? Is more always better?’
This was a question asked by Classical-Life to the 51-year-old Lars Vogt, in an interview a little less than 2 months before he passed away.[i] Renowned for being a pianist and a conductor, Lars Vogt died of cancer earlier this month, on the 5th September.[ii] In answering this question, Lars recounted one event in his 30s, a dinner he had with his teacher, Karlheinz Kämmerling. At some point during that dinner Lars vented on how there were many things he hasn’t done and pieces he hasn’t learnt, and so his teacher told him to take his time and enjoy the life within every piece. Lars drew to the conclusion that trying to accomplish the-more-the-better is a ‘capitalist’ thinking and that we should “take this crazy pressure out that we need to do everything: who says we need to do everything!” Lars came to the realisation that he saw ‘accomplishing’ as being when a piece of music really lives inside of him, instead of being the quantity of played repertoire.
But is it normal to think that the more one accomplishes, the more expansive the ‘impact’ they make in this world? Richard Taruskin, a phenomenon musicologist who died age 77 on 1st July 2022, is one example of ‘impact’ in the musicosphere: both for academics and performers. Over the past 4 decades, he wrote extensively on a wide-encompassing range of musicological subjects and history, whilst upholding his expert connissance in Russian music. Taruskin believed in the importance of speaking out one’s true voice, even during times when it seems invasive to do so. As observed by William Robin in New York Times,
‘Mr. Taruskin’s most consequential flame-throwing was his campaign against the movement for “historically authentic” performances of early music… He didn’t want conductors like Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Roger Norrington to stop performing; he just wanted them to drop the pretense of “authenticity.” And many did.’[iii]
Taruskin’s writings have certainly influenced my thinking as a music academic; his Text & Act has been one of the long-standing books on my shelf.[iv] From time to time I share and discuss his texts with my fellow colleagues and students, not least mentioning that his were the must-reads during my years as a music student. So perhaps ‘impact’ may not be strong enough a word to express Taruskin’s influence on the whole, and instead ‘legacy’ would be more appropriate (?), as Taruskin’s scholarships have been and still is impacting many in musicosphere. But what does it actually mean, to perpetuate one’s legacy? A few months ago, William Bennett, flute teacher of my dear friend Alena Walentin, passed away at age 86. In loving memory of her teacher, Alena said she wishes to continue in his legacy. I asked her what this would look like, and she replied saying that it is ‘passing the values that he believed in and taught to his students, some of these values having been what he inherited from his teacher Marcel Moyse, but above all the values were the enjoyment of ‘playing the flute and communicating through music’.
I end this blogpost with remarking that there is a certain sense of striving for ‘hope’ in musical pursuits, whether it is realising accomplishments, being impactful, or fostering a legacy.
[i] The interview was filmed on 23 July 2022, and broadcasted on Classical-Life’s Youtube channel, https://youtu.be/zMV5gCmnMlk, accessed 21/09/22.
[ii] Admittedly, I do not know much about this pianist, except that he came second at the Leeds Piano Competition in 1990. Whilst writing this blogpost, I was listening to his performance of the Schumann A minor piano concerto with CBSO (Simon Rattle conducting), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9o2Y5MZkEU, accessed 21/09/22.
[iii] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/arts/music/richard-taruskin-dead.html, accessed 21/09/22.
[iv] Taruskin, Richard (1995). Text & act essays on music and performance. New York: Oxford University Press.
Joyce Tang 