Those of you who know me must have heard me mention at least once the name Richard Taruskin. I've been making a real effort this past month to absorb his book 'Text & Act'. A collection of essays dancing around topics in early music, it seems the further I read the more he writes on how others have misinterpreted the previous essay.
A point he brings up which I continue to meditate over is that musicians are better critical thinkers if they undergo a change in musical tradition such as from mainstream classical music to historical performance. If we are forced to completely rethink our approach to music we've been playing our whole life, will that not affect how we come to make artistic decisions whether they be big or small?
This transition of perceptions seems to be a rite of passage for most, but what about those who are born into the new tradition (that being historical performance)? Will they develop the same critical thinking skills without living through such a radical change?
