The question was phrased something like this. Imagine that you were hosting a dinner party for two musicians -- a living performer and a dead composer. Who would you want to invite and what would you serve for dinner? I laughed about the last part of the question since I would probably end up ordering take out! I knew the student was needing answers, so I gave a valid response off the cuff. I have continued to think about the question and have really had some difficulty narrowing my response to just two people.
For the current performer, I'm leaning toward a conductor.....maybe Michael Tilson Thomas or Esa Pekka Salonen. Both of these men give such riveting interpretations and appear to be both highly intelligent and delightful conversationalists.
The composers have me in a pickle! I would love to sit with Copland to talk about his approach to American music, but I also think it would be absolutely amazing to listen to Mozart or Stravinsky talk about the art of composition. Wagner would be fascinating -- despite his personal philosophies about humanity, he certainly knew something about dramatic moments! That doesn't even begin to explore the wonderful possibilities.....Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Bach........the list could just go on and on.
Let's face it...I can't think of any English Speaking dead composers, so Mozart was going to be my original choice. And he'd be put to work playing background music so he wouldn't kill the conversation. However, I broadened my definition of composer and came up with a better person.
ReplyDeleteAnswer: Greg Graffin,Charles Chaplin, and they would get steak. I think it would probably be the most awesome dinner in the history of dinners and I'd make it a 23 course meal, just to drag it out for a few days. I'd finish the event with a Guitar Hero contest where I'd destroy both of them.