Steinitz

Margaret Steinitz, Artistic Director of the London Bach Society, contributed the following paper to the section “Burning Issues” at the conclusion of the Fourth International J. S. Bach Dialogue Meeting on 4 January 2009. She brought a fresh and thought-provoking angle to the discussions of the meeting, by stepping away from the exploration of the musicological past, and instead looking at the contemporary reality of Bach reception. (For further details, see Report on the Fourth J.S. Bach Dialogue Meeting in Understanding Bach, 4.) On the work of the London Bach Society,  see http://www.bachlive.co.uk/.

 

Before I begin, I should just like to thank Bach Network UK for planning and organising this splendid weekend – an inspiring way to begin the year.

What I have to say is in very stark contrast and prepared from an entirely different perspective to any paper that has been presented hitherto. Some of you might even think my ‘burning issue’ is irrelevant in the context of BNUK’s raison d’être and is therefore out of place here. I hope, however, that the following will show that ‘New Directions in Bach Studies’ in today’s world means promoting a much wider brief than might otherwise have been considered.

I have been at the sharp end of the London Bach Society’s pioneering work now for over 35 years, for much of this time working closely with my husband, the late Paul Steinitz (1909-1988), founder of the London Bach Society (LBS) and whose centenary it is this year. LBS is essentially performance-driven. In addition to our work promoting period-style performances, we completed our historic Bach cantata cycle (begun in 1958) in 1987 and promoted many other complementary and innovative projects alongside it. In the years since Paul’s death in 1988 I have endeavoured to build on these achievements, using his and the Society’s musical legacy in a positive, productive and contemporary way. Since its foundation in 1946, the way LBS has presented its Bach performances has been on the basis of the conviction that his music is for everyone, and this idea remains at the very centre of what we do. We cater for those who know a lot about Bach as well as those who know very little. In this spirit, we have created a platform in the U.K. for lesser-known works to be performed, including compositions by the Bach family (giving many of them their first performance in this country), by Bach’s precursors and by other eighteenth century composers such as Handel and Telemann – so that these, too, may eventually come to find equal favour with audiences. We aim to raise listeners’ awareness and to enhance their knowledge of the Bach story, setting it in the context of its time and place.

We have achieved this from the concert platform, from within the conservatoire and university, and in the community. Singers and players of the new generation grace our stage and work alongside seasoned specialists. And, all this has enjoyed the support of a loyal and enthusiastic following. Not only do we want to keep it that way, but we also wish to go forward and to be continually useful in the community. 

The music of Bach has had an unprecedented revival in the last sixty years. However, it is my firm belief that, whether we want to face it or not, the days when Bach’s music is so freely performed and enjoyed may well be numbered.

When you go to your next public concert, look around: you may well see a full house and feel satisfied as a consequence (especially if you are the promoter!). But look again, this time more closely, and then assess the average age of that audience: how many young people are there present? (By ‘young’ I mean under thirty).

The fashion, taste, lifestyle and culture of the teens and twenties today is inspired by the internet, texting, emailing, the mobile phone, downloading music and so forth. Instant! Instant! Instant! Societies are now multi-cultural, generating wider cultural, often secular, musical interests that move away from the traditional and familiar Western European mainstream … and that includes the music of J. S. Bach. What chance is there then of us being able to build on so much that has already been achieved in Bach study and performance by so many people in the last half-century, and to take it forward? Is the Bach world to become rarefied, small and exclusive – an ‘enclave’? Or will his music drift into obscurity for another generation to rediscover? Yes, it might. These are all possibilities to be faced, unless we take action now, all of us: scholar, performer, listener and devotee. There are no quick fixes either.

Engaging young people in what is called ‘classical music’ is a massive task. In this country’s Public Schools there will be many and sustained opportunities for pupils to  experience first-hand the classical and contemporary music repertoire. This will provide a basis on which to build for those who then move on to become Oxbridge Choral Scholars, for example – backed up by parental support, though not necessarily. The door has been opened for them. Some – we are dealing with a small number here – will then become professional musicians. However, it is a very different story in the State School system where most of our children are now educated. The opportunities for them to become acquainted with classical music are at best limited and at worst non-existent. Therefore, how much talent lies untapped, how much interest is unstimulated?

There is also the question of the demise in German language teaching. Only about 4% of Brits speak German. Since the 1980s pressure on budgets and an ever-changing and more demanding curriculum have determined that the study of music must be way down the pecking order in many schools. There is a failure to grasp that the discipline, the power of concentration and the enhancement of self-esteem required and nurtured by the study and practice of music can significantly help the whole education process of our children. The situation in Britain’s Primary Schools is of the greatest concern, because it is here that children could have their first introduction to a wide variety of music and that latent talents can be discovered.

Setting today’s cultural life in the context of our historic cultural heritage often meets with ignorance, prejudice and that dreaded word, ‘elitism’. Should we accept that response, or use our skills to help fill gaps and reverse prejudices?

The London Bach Society, forever optimistic and willing to set an example, has for the last three years included a schools’ project, which is promoted in collaboration with the British-German Association’s Youthbridge scheme, in its annual autumn Bachfest. Knowing where and how to start has taken some thought, as you may appreciate. These are some of our strategies:

• First: find a common ground, find a natural way to Bach – dance. (This also avoids any perceived religious conflicts or difficulties of communication);
• Give the children the best, both in musical expertise and in the choice of music;
• Create an informal atmosphere and get the children involved in something ‘completely new’;
• Be prepared to get down to the very basics: a casual reference to ‘that piano-thing over there’ (a beautifully decorated Italian harpsichord loaned to LBS one year) convinced me that we could not be accused of patronising them –this was all new experience ‘big-time’ as they say.
• Imagine today’s young people learning about and performing baroque dances, about the gestures and their meaning; show them how these relate to the means of communication used today (whether in flirtation, in self-expression, in conveying a mood or an image, for example).

In November 2008 we welcomed over 100 teenagers, including a party from schools in Dresden (c. 25), who were taught (by Baroque dance expert Mary Collins) and then danced a farandole – all 100 of them; likewise, a sarabande was then performed with a smaller group of about twelve. As a complement, movements from Bach’s first Orchestral Suite were played; the musicians (members of Steinitz Bach Players, the professional period-instrument orchestra of LBS founded in 1968) then demonstrated their instruments. Most of the pupils had never seen a violin in the flesh before, never mind a Baroque one! Each participant was given a CD of the Bach Suites as a gift. Most, if not all, of the pupils present were hearing Bach’s music for the very first time – especially the British pupils. By the end of this two-hour interactive session they were not only excited, but also surprised by their excitement. It was fun for them.

Previously in 2003, we had taken a similar presentation into the plush modern Board Room of a festival sponsor whose employees were insurance brokers. They too were surprised at their enjoyment!

Some State Secondary Schools possess a Performing Arts department that includes Drama and Dance as well as music. These are still comparatively few in number.

Other organisations, as for example the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the LSO and the Hallé Orchestra, also include imaginative schools’ projects in their itineraries, with similarly surprising results. Music organisations the length and breadth of the country should all be encouraged to engage with local schools. Imagine what could be achieved over the long term if there was a regular slot for participation by children in, for example, the annual Christmas concert or summer bonanza promoted by the local music society?

Young people today are not indifferent, but they cannot be expected to readily accept Bach’s music, or Mozart’s, Beethoven’s, Brahms’s (etc) just on our ‘say so’ – if the door to knowledge or experience of it is closed to them. The remedy lies in our own hands and we must be unselfish about it. This is not just another opportunity to market our own excellence as musicians or scholars either. Bach’s music is not just a means to promote ourselves, but should be used to give life-enhancing experience. After all, he too served the community: so must we.

2009 is a very special year and I suggest that, amidst all the financial gloom and doom, it is also a year of opportunity as well as celebration. Purcell, Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn all have anniversaries and in the Bach world, it is the 200th anniversary of the first performance in Britain of a Bach choral work directed by Samuel Wesley.^[1] It is a year when vitally important Bach research will continue; Bach Festivals around the world will cope somehow with the precarious financial climate that is prevailing. But above all it is an opportunity for us to reflect upon how Bach’s musical legacy might be promoted in the future – with a small heart or a big heart? Are we prepared to reach out and to think outside of that box to ensure Bach’s legacy is available and accessible to all?

For example: how about giving the first performance of the next exciting discovery emerging from the Bach-Archiv’s current survey at a specially devised concert for schools?^[2] Let them be the first to hear and experience it! A more positive statement of intent could not possibly be made – providing access and a new direction in Bach study. I want us to nurture a generation that is as much at ease with Bach, Mozart, and so forth, as it is with the popular culture – prejudice resulting from ignorance giving way to tolerance and understanding. Thank you.

 

© Margaret Steinitz, January 2009