Thursday, June 22, 2006
Success
We've talked here before about what constitutes failure for a composer, but I'd like to talk about what constitutes success. There's an interesting article by Ingram Marshall over at NewMusicBox today called The Tipping Point. In it, he talks about a potential downside to what we consider "success." He basically argues that having achieved the dream, we kind of lose it in a way:
In fact, the artists who haven't experienced that real tipping point might be better off than those who have, for they still have that ongoing struggle to break through, to finally be able to say, "I've made it; I am who I wanted to be." Once you've achieved that, well, like Michael [Gordon] you still have to face the hum drum localized struggle of finding "the right notes." Now, there's a certain expectation. Now, you are really in trouble! The element of surprise is an amazing thing; it's remarkable what one can accomplish when it's on your side. Once expectations are established, the game changes considerably. Struggling to maintain a standard is much less fun, it seems, than striving to set one.
Thoughts?
posted by Ian Moss
1:06 AM
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