The Crux of “Best Ever” Canon Listings
Once upon a time I had a heated discussion with my former teacher in philosophy on the matter Mozart versus Beethoven. Who won?
At that time I disliked Mozart. I found his music trite, yes, even ridiculous and comical. On the other hand I had great respect for Beethoven and his dark, dramatic and romantic-melancholic compositions, whether for piano or full symphonic orchestra.
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I had the upper hand in the debate against my teacher. My theoretical knowledge on music was more extensive than his, and I enjoyed ridiculing Wolfgang Amadeus and his imbecile, or at least very predictable, harmonic standard solutions, as they occur unbearably often in his court music.
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My teacher Hermann was on the verge of exploding. At one point he stretched out his arms in frustration – I could almost imagine him hanging on a cross – and in pure despair he shouted:
“That’s your cardinal problem, Gorm! You analyse everything!!”. Was he right?
The human race has always been competitive, and we have always strived for order, perfection, celebrating prodigies and the ultimate, the best
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Well, thinking about it now, perhaps we as. But I still managed to outmanoeuvre and out-philosophy my old teacher, leaving him squirming like a fish on deck, clinging on to his pathetic Mozart-icon. I felt a strange kind of satisfaction resulting from our debate.
However: One thing is to outsmart your teacher with solid arguments. Another is to secure a world order; an absolute hierarchy in which Beethoven is superior to Mozart.
Stan Getz versus John Coltrane?
What would have been the turnout if I’d debated an omniscient jazz lover and stated that I really enjoy Frank Zappa and Dizzy Gillespie? Would this scholar have outclassed me with a lesson on “the greatest masters of jazz”, and would it feel like enlightenment or pure indoctrination?
The greatest guitarist ever? The greatest album? Greatest singer and pop song? Greatest drummer, cellist, harmonica or banjo player of all times? Etc, etc.
Such listings are, if not futile, then close to being just that. We can all nominate and choose our favourites. There is no truth or clear-cut conclusion. So why bother with canons and aesthetic/artistic hierarchies at all?
Competition and the principle of insecurity and estrangement – drive us, and both command us to produce and navigate according to normative and authoritarian listings
Because we are competitive – and insecure. The human race has always been competitive, and we have always strived for order, perfection, celebrating prodigies and the ultimate, the best. On the other hand, phenomena that we cannot interpret, decode or fully connect with tend to make us uneasy and insecure.
Both vehicles – competition and the principle of insecurity and estrangement – drive us, and both command us to produce and navigate according to normative and authoritarian listings. Try digesting that.
