{"id":856,"date":"2009-07-17T20:43:06","date_gmt":"2009-07-17T20:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2009\/07\/17\/dont-let-me-hear-you-using-that-kind-of-language-in-my-house\/"},"modified":"2009-08-12T11:36:10","modified_gmt":"2009-08-12T11:36:10","slug":"dont-let-me-hear-you-using-that-kind-of-language-in-my-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethwoods.net\/blog1\/2009\/07\/17\/dont-let-me-hear-you-using-that-kind-of-language-in-my-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Don’t let me hear you using that kind of language in my house"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are some things I just don\u2019t like to see in print.<\/p>\n

In the realm of music, I do not like to see a reference to Haydn\u00a0which includes any of\u00a0the following terms-<\/p>\n

\u201ccharming\u201d<\/p>\n

or<\/p>\n

\u201cdelightful\u201d<\/p>\n

or<\/p>\n

“innocent”<\/p>\n

or<\/p>\n

“jolly”<\/p>\n

case study follows-<\/p>\n

I wandered into a bookstore today, and spied two large and expensive volumes on Haydn (one was actually on Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven). The cover of one used words like \u201crhetoric\u201d and \u201cgenius\u201d while the other one described the same composer as \u201clittle more than a servant\u201d whose music was \u201cdelightful.\u201d<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t need to tell you which one I bought.<\/p>\n

“Delightful” reduces a work of art to an object of entertainment, as does “charming.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Good natured” reduces a genius musician philsopher to a bumpkin.<\/p>\n

\u00a0“Servant” reduces the director of the greatest orchestra ever assembled to the status of a musical cleaning lady.<\/p>\n

Really, people\u2026. Why write a book about a composer you don\u2019t understand?<\/p>\n

(Maybe I should ask __________<\/a>\u00a0 ____________\u2026.)<\/p>\n