The Controversy Over Period Instrument Fanaticism Has Died Down At Musoc.Org
There has been no new response to the whole "Christopher Hogwash " argument for some time now at
muoc.org . It seems that both John Boyden and his son Matthew have vented their anger and the temper
tantrums are over . But I will continue in my attempts to expose the arrogance and snootiness of musicians
and others who think that period instruments are the only way , especially those who insist on pushing the
whole HIP movement further and further and further into the 20th century and to belittle and dismiss
musicians and orchestras who do not use period instruments .
Do we really have a desperate need for performances of the music of Mahler, Richard Strauss ,
Gustav Holst, Elgar, and other composers who lived in the 20th century ? I think not . If orchestras
such as the New Queen's Hall orchestra exist , so be it . Let them perform and make recordings by all
means . But to use orchestras like this as a stick with which to bash orchestras as great as the London
symphony , New York Philharmonic , Berlin Philharmonic and others is the height of arrogance and
presumption .
There are other orchestras , such as John Eliot Gardiner's Orchestre Revolutionaire & Romantique ,
the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment etc, which specialize in the music of Mozart,Haydn,
Beethoven , Berlioz and Schubert etc , music from the 18th and early 19th century , but these do not in any way invalidate the performances of the great mainstream orchestras of Vienna, Berlin,
New York,Chicago, Amsterdam , London, Paris and other great musical centers .
By the way ; some one should remind Matthew Boyden's mother to give him a thorough
spanking . He's been a very naughty and rude little boy , and needs to learn some manners !