The tendency for us to be monolingual English speakers in the United States is actually something that is odd compared to the way most people experience language.
John McWhorter, The Science of Language, The Great Courses, Chantilly, Virginia. 2008
The community of musicians has never before been confronted with the level of fragmentation that exists today. Analytic method is divorced from musical reflex, composers from performers, and conventional repertoire from new repertoire. In this century these polarities have developed because of the momentum of compartmentalization--a trend that has played an important role in many aspects of culture, education, and technology. Countertrends in specific areas of human endeavor and in the work of extraordinary, multifaceted people have asserted themselves sporadically, but not with the same, sustained persistence as the overriding tendency towards specialization. A lack of mutual understanding is apparent both among and within the major groups of participants in musical life: composers, performers, theorists, and audiences. Most contemporary composers write mainly for their colleagues and a narrowly defined group of listeners in major cities and universities....
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