A música no Canadá, com Yann Martel

Ocasionalmente, vou passando pelo site em que Yann Martel divulga a "correspondência" que mantém com o Primeiro Ministro canadiano.
Esta semana toca um tema que nos é particularmente caro: a música não apenas do, mas no nosso tempo.
O autor justifica a escolha de A Sonata Kreutzer, de Tolstoi, para livro da quinzena.

"Why a book on music? Because serious music, at least as represented by new and classical music, is fast disappearing from our Canadian lives. I have belatedly learned of the latest proof of this: the CBC Radio Orchestra is to be disbanded. Already our public radio’s fare of music has been paltrified. There was once, Mr. Harper, a show called Two New Hours on CBC, hosted by Larry Lake. It played Canadian new music. Its last slot, surely the least desirable for any show, was on Sundays between 10 pm and midnight, too late for the early birds, too early for the night owls. Airing at that time, no surprise that few people managed to listen to it. When I did, though, I was grateful. New music is a strange offering. It is, as far as I can tell, music that has broken free. Free of rules, forms, traditions, expectations. Frontier music. New world music. Anarchy as music. Which might explain the screechy violins, the pianos gone crazy, the weird electronic stuff.

I have intense memories of listening to Two New Hours and doing nothing but that. Because really, it's impossible to read while your radio is sounding like two tractors mating. I suppose I'm more jaded when it comes to writing—jaded, jealous, bored, whatever. But I listened to Two New Hours out of pure curiosity. And I was surprised, moved and proud that there were creators out there responding to our world in such fresh and serious ways. Because it was clear to me: this was serious stuff, strange as it sounded. This was music that, under whatever guise, was the voice of a single person trying to communicate with me. And I listened, thrilled at the newness of it. That is, I listened until the show was cancelled.

And now the CBC Radio Orchestra, the last radio orchestra in North America, is to be similarly cancelled. No more, “That was _____, played by the CBC Radio Orchstra, conducted by Mario Bernardi,” as I heard for years. Who will play us our Bach and Mozart now, besides our R. Murray Schaffer and Christos Hatzis?

It amazes me that at a time when Canada is riding the commodities wave to unprecedented wealth, with most levels of government experiencing budgetary surpluses, that we are riding ourselves of a piddley little orchestra. If this is how we are when in fortune, how will we be when in misfortune? How much culture exactly can we do without before we have become lifeless, corporate drones?

I believe that both in good and bad times we need beautiful music."

Yann Martel

We simply need art music, "beautiful" (what does this mean?!) or not, diria eu.
Mesmo podendo não apreciar a escrita e os escritos de Martel, há que convir que o sr toca questões importantes.