Giggsalot | Posted 7/16/2011 6:21:29 AM | message detail | quote
Talking in terms of "stature" kills the whole argument, though, Lasa - stature comes with time, and active composers haven't had that. For all we know people will revere Richard D. James' or Mark Hollis' bodies of work in centuries to come.
It's also a weird argument on the basis that - and I accept that this isn't true for everyone - for the most part, people like the classical music that they are told is good. People will say "oh I love Mozart" without having listened to his peers to see if they prefer any of their works. Bach's "stature," I imagine, will continue to rise almost exponentially over time, as more and more of his contemporaries are forgotten and people assume his was the only music in that period which was worth listening to. No-one actively performing in this information age can even hope to compete with the near-mythical status age brings.
Oh goodness, thank you for saying so elegantly what I can't possibly hope to come up with at 6 in the morning.