Re: Re: OT: French composers are leaving France for the US?

[Dave Draper <dh.draper@virgin.net>]

But heh, look on the bright side....

Record three versions of a traditional lament (" Art for art's sake, 
money for god's sake" etc etc)...

call it a (Turner Prize submission) sound installation & pick up 25 
grand as you pass GO!!

(Just my cynical 25 cents' worth...)

Dave


On 19:59, Stefan Tiedje wrote:
> As I lived in France for almost 5 years, I'll add some of my own
> observations here:
>
> Am 30.11.10 13:01, schrieb Rick Walker:
>> Per Boysen wrote:
>>> Indeed surprising, given the fact that while most European
>>> countries are adapting to the bad economic times by decreasing tax
>>> financed support for the arts France has increased that budget post
>>> by seven percent.
>
> As always things are more complex than numbers alone. Yes, I doubt there
> is any country in Europe which puts more money into culture than France,
> even the tiniest village seems to have its own, well funded, 
>conservatoire.
> But - all is very controlled and it seems to be biased on the education
> of the educated upper and middle-class. Classical music is big, new
> music is supported if it sounds like Boulez (for the simple reason, that
> those who control the money flow do not know better). In Theater there
> is more freedom, as a crucial part of the whole art supporting system is
> based on the "intermittent du spectacle". It means that performing
> artist and also stage technicians have a status which allows for times
> without work to receive payment from the unemployment office easily.
> Composers do not have this status, they usually need a teaching job at
> one of the conservatoires, which they usually hate...
> Another effect is, that a performer from France is way cheaper for the
> organizers than a performer from other countries (they can accept a
> lower fee), which leads to less exchange. It seems to support the local
> artist, but in reality their mind nutrition suffers from a lack of
> foreign inspiration.
> The quality of craft is high, but the diversity is low (a lot sounds the
> same)...
>
> I'd wonder how french loopers look at that, this is just a very personal
> observation from a small angle...
>
>> One night,  we played at a village concert hall in the dead of
>> winter (it was snowing outside and very cold).    At the end of the
>> concert, we were treated to a gourmet meal by a couple of chefs from
>> the best restaurants in the region.   These folks had shut their
>> restaurants down to make the four of us this gourmet meal.  At the
>> end of the meal,  we were presented with bottles of wine that had our
>> names printed on the labels from regional vintners and then presented
>> with a beautiful Marzipan cake  that had our likenesses airbrushed on
>> with colored icing (and an amazing resemblance it bore).   This
>> largesse was jaw dropping to me.
>
> I had also different experiences in the country side. Local majors are
> proud of having artists present their work in their town. They wouldn't
> be able to pull out as much nowadays, but the spirit is very different
> to Paris and its surrounding areas. Its not like two different
> countries, its like two different planets...
>
> Stefan
>