So it’s perfectly
possible to live
a broadly satisfying life
all on your own, communing
with high art, being a lonely
heroic figure that walks
that long, dramatic path to
the piano centre stage.
This all works fine
as long as you cling
to the notion that the music
you’re playing is written
by dead, distant gods.
On the other hand, it all
blows apart when you start
integrating living composers,
as all the fixed points get swept
away; all composers take
on a human face, the church-like reverence
disappears, and suddenly audiences
become a collection of individuals
who may or may not
like what you’re doing. Promoters
start getting nervous, so you,
the performer,
have to start communicating
fast. That’s why.
From An Interview with Joanna MacGregor on SoundCircus. Submitted by Andrew Bailey.
Verbatim Poetry 