The problems with playing music only from the past arise more from the glorification that music rather than from the performance itself. Innovation is hindered when the music of bygone eras is made out to be the end-all be-all of musical creation. This impenetrable cult of classical music, rife with condescension and pretentiousness, discourages newcomers and experimentation. It is a disservice to students and new composers especially, made to worry that their music won’t be legitimate in the shadow of revered classical tradition. At least, this is an experience of mine that I am generalizing. Additionally, it’s hard to say how we should even judge music of the present, seeing as our tastes have expanded very little in the past few centuries (when compared to the evolution of other art forms). This stagnation blinds us to new ideas and limits our perception of what is “quality” work. In all of this, I am over-simplifying and describing the world of classical music at its worst. There are many musical spaces in which deviation and error are welcomed, and plenty of compositions being written by living people, but none are given the recognition I think they deserve.
Off the top of my head, I can’t come up with very many pieces to play on the piano in the thought experiment. There are some modern composers I’ve found while preparing for RCM exams (Dennis Alexander, for one) and film scores I enjoy playing, like those of Joe Hisaishi. But overall, I would need to discover a lot more music to come anywhere close a substantial repertoire.
I am tempted to agree with the Nietzsche quote, because I don’t think it’s worthwhile to examine the art and ideas of the past using the values of the past. But at the same time, I struggle to see how the quote could be put into action. For example, when deciding what is worth playing in the present, choosing from a collection of songs from the past, what would the process described in the quote look like? Regardless, I do agree with Nietzsche in relation to the problem of “drawing the past down on you”, because I think that is what often happens with classical music.
