AW.: Re: stay calm & no one gets hurt / terms of endearment - part d...

In einer Nachricht vom 1/6/00 3:44:15 PM (MEZ) Mitteleurop�ische Zeit
schreibt Afmmjr@aol.com:

<< Perhaps it's time to accept that we live in different worlds. I thought I
would list some of The New York Times definitions of "microtonal" and it is
the one that I share. (Please refrain from all knee-jerk NYC bashing, thank
you.)
...
(snip)
...
American Festival of Microtonal Music
(since 1981)
>>

Unfortunately, I think this is another case of folks from New York City
stepping in and redefining everything on their own terms as if the rest of
the universe did not exist. When the choice is between a traditional
definition that means something and a new usage that means anything at all
(and thus, unltimately, nothing at all), I'll stay with the tradition.

(Like Partch, I admit that I've been happy to have largely avoided NYC,
sharing Reyner Banham's viewpoint that, culturally, it's not really part of
the American continent, just another island off the coast of Europe like
Britain or Ireland).

To what extent Mr. Reinhard's concerts ought to be called "American",
"microtonal", or even a "festival" is open to debate. I know no one in the
alternative tuning community outside of NYC who would be arrogant enough to
claim a comprehensive, representative title like "American"; Mr. Reinhard's
allo-encompassing definition of "microtonal" renders it superfluous as an
adjective; and the enterprise lacks the seasonal structure of festivals
elsewhere. He's certainly free to call his programs whatever he wishes, but
insistance on a particular label doesn't make it any more convincing.