Interview with Nicholas Routley
November 13th 2006 02:50
I recently had the opportunity to pitch a few questions to Australian educator, pianist and composer Nicholas Routley, concerning Australian music and music education. His views are an interesting dissemination on some of the concerns regarding professional music making in this country.
Peter Smith: You have expressed concern that Australia's government is starting to instigate reforms which you see as initial moves towards fascism. Looking at fascist institutions of the past, there is generally a trend towards central control of the arts resulting in forced trends of nationalism in music. Do you think there is any danger of this occurring in Australia, at any level?
Nicholas Routley: Yes, the signs are there, particularly but not only in the anti-terrorist legislation. Detention on suspicion is the first manifestation of totalitarianism, which despite making all sorts of noises about defence of its own people always begins by some sort of attack on its own people; or to be specific, powerful minorities within its own people - Jews in Hitler's Germany, capitalists in all communist countries, communists in McCarthy's America, Muslims in Howard's Australia. The current push for "Australian values" (though no-one is sure what these might be) resembles the [the actions of] ministries set up by both Hitler and Stalin to ensure that the aesthetic endeavours of their countries were more nationalistically appropriate. To say forced trends is perhaps too much, but [given] that the arts are so heavily dependent on Government funding this is certainly already an issue.
PS: What threats do you see to the development of quality musical education in Australia?
NR: We have the ridiculous situation of a decreasing number of specialist music educators in schools coupled with an increasing number of admissions to tertiary courses in music. It's not rocket science to see that the latter are going to be worse trained both at school and at university. Mind you, music is not alone in this.
PS: What main improvement(s) do you think musical education in Australia needs?
NR: More, better trained, and better paid music specialists in both primary and secondary schools; and fewer places at universities.
PS: Looking now at composition, do you see compositions which make use of Aboriginal musical elements as a positive which brings awareness to the depths of Aboriginal culture, or as a negative which simply trivialises and exploits this culture?
NR: Well, it depends how the composer uses this material. I think something like Andrew Schulz' Journey to Horseshoe Bend, for example, would significantly deepen most audience's awareness of interaction between Western and Aboriginal music. But just to quote an inevitably compromised transcription of an indiginous melody is to imply that it can sit culturally without discord in Western musical language, which i think is very close to kitsch.
PS: Is the awareness of this culture adequate in Australia?
NR: No, no, and no.
PS: Besides the Aboriginal influence, are there any compositional elements which you associate particularly only with Australian music?
NR: Not even the Aboriginal quotations (I would not speak of an influence) I would associate with Australian music, as there are plenty of composers who agree with me about this. I do not look for "Australinness" so perhaps i do not find it for that reason; but it seems to me that the composers who I admire here all sound different. I am profoundly grateful that the absurdities of high modernism made little impact here; but apart from that I fail to discern something which i would call Australian. That, from me, is a great compliment.
PS: Finally, what would you like to see happen with the future of Australian music?
NR: To speak of myself as a composer, I do not strive for a particular style, or a particular national flavour. Some of my music has a strong political energy behind it, particularly my choral piece De Profundis, which is a passionate plea for better treatment for refugees who arrive here(If Australian values consist [of] detaining refugees in camps worse than prisons for years without explanation, for example, then they are not for me). I would like composers to be true to themselves, which doesn't mean only that they write what they feel like - they need to know themselves thoroughly first, and rather than seek influences, actually detach themselves from them. Then they will write music that is truly theirs, for which they are truly responsible, and if someone wants to call it Australian, that's fine by me.
I thank Nicholas for his time and wisdom.
Peter Smith: You have expressed concern that Australia's government is starting to instigate reforms which you see as initial moves towards fascism. Looking at fascist institutions of the past, there is generally a trend towards central control of the arts resulting in forced trends of nationalism in music. Do you think there is any danger of this occurring in Australia, at any level?
Traditional Aboriginal music cannot be converted into Western notation without compromise, says Nicholas Routley.
PS: What threats do you see to the development of quality musical education in Australia?
NR: We have the ridiculous situation of a decreasing number of specialist music educators in schools coupled with an increasing number of admissions to tertiary courses in music. It's not rocket science to see that the latter are going to be worse trained both at school and at university. Mind you, music is not alone in this.
PS: What main improvement(s) do you think musical education in Australia needs?
NR: More, better trained, and better paid music specialists in both primary and secondary schools; and fewer places at universities.
PS: Looking now at composition, do you see compositions which make use of Aboriginal musical elements as a positive which brings awareness to the depths of Aboriginal culture, or as a negative which simply trivialises and exploits this culture?
NR: Well, it depends how the composer uses this material. I think something like Andrew Schulz' Journey to Horseshoe Bend, for example, would significantly deepen most audience's awareness of interaction between Western and Aboriginal music. But just to quote an inevitably compromised transcription of an indiginous melody is to imply that it can sit culturally without discord in Western musical language, which i think is very close to kitsch.
PS: Is the awareness of this culture adequate in Australia?
NR: No, no, and no.
PS: Besides the Aboriginal influence, are there any compositional elements which you associate particularly only with Australian music?
NR: Not even the Aboriginal quotations (I would not speak of an influence) I would associate with Australian music, as there are plenty of composers who agree with me about this. I do not look for "Australinness" so perhaps i do not find it for that reason; but it seems to me that the composers who I admire here all sound different. I am profoundly grateful that the absurdities of high modernism made little impact here; but apart from that I fail to discern something which i would call Australian. That, from me, is a great compliment.
PS: Finally, what would you like to see happen with the future of Australian music?
NR: To speak of myself as a composer, I do not strive for a particular style, or a particular national flavour. Some of my music has a strong political energy behind it, particularly my choral piece De Profundis, which is a passionate plea for better treatment for refugees who arrive here(If Australian values consist [of] detaining refugees in camps worse than prisons for years without explanation, for example, then they are not for me). I would like composers to be true to themselves, which doesn't mean only that they write what they feel like - they need to know themselves thoroughly first, and rather than seek influences, actually detach themselves from them. Then they will write music that is truly theirs, for which they are truly responsible, and if someone wants to call it Australian, that's fine by me.
I thank Nicholas for his time and wisdom.
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