Walking through the streets of Leipzig this past summer, I heard a sound which I knew to be professional musicians playing the music of Robert Schumann. Gravitating toward the sound and navigating through the various shops and people, I found myself standing in front of a group of four street musicians, 3 string players and a clarinet player, dressed in tuxedos with their cases neatly placed behind them and their music stands in front. I stood there several minutes enjoying the mostly art music with one show tune thrown in for fun. They were marvelous musicians, having achieved great skill on their respective instruments, and most certainly having attained some sort of status in the musical world. Their music was beautiful and I was moved by the accuracy, the artistry, and the expression. It was a real treat to hear them and my respect for their musicianship is unbounded. In my small world of musical training, I would give them a 1st division!
The next day we arrived in Berlin, in some ways a more modern and bourgeois city with a greater mix of cultures than Leipzig. Once again, I enjoyed the food, the environment, and the natural blend of art, antiques, and contemporary concepts that pervade the businesses and the people. And again, I heard some music. Yet this time the music was different. It was rough, raw, dance-like, fun, a little out of tune, melodious and tonal, but with an edge and a lack of sophistication. Not unpleasant, nothing offensive, nothing negative, but certainly different from the group I had heard the day before. I quickly found my way to their locale to find a trio comprised of a tuba, saxophone, and a baritone like horn.
Unlike the first group where I preferred to stand several feet back so as not to distract them from their musical goals, with this 2nd group, I moved near them and felt the energy that emanated not only from their instruments but their personalities as well. As they played, without any music in front of them, they caught my eye and smiled. I felt further drawn to them and upon the conclusion of a song we began to communicate. Using poor German, I asked them about the key of the baritone horn. I also let them know I was musician as well. They enjoyed the attempt at the language and I subsequently asked them to play "Chicken Dance." This meant nothing to them and I was quickly frustrated as I tried to translate the words chicken and dance into German. Finally, I started singing the song. They laughed and within 2 measures recognized the song and began to play it.
Their performance was pretty rough, replete with oom-pahs, shakes, missed notes, rhythm problems, and imperfect tuning. Again using my system of examining performance quality, I would give them a 4th division. But I loved every sound and every moment of the music that came from the heart, and I recognized their talent and skill and grew envious of the freedom they portrayed, and the earthy shimmering energy their music offered to those who could hear.
So my questions are: which group is the better group? which group is the most "right" for the cause of music? which group reaches the most people? which group should receive the highest respect? or the most money? which group philosophically will withstand the test of time?
While I am anxious for people's opinions on these difficult and complicated questions, I anticipate hearing some variation of this: each fulfills an important musical niche in the world and each should be valued and respected for what it is. One requires years of training and leans on the introspective, and the other requires a different kind of skill and personality. Both groups need collective and individual courage to perform in front of many people for little monetary gain, and both groups touched me in different ways!
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