Moderately Confused by Jeff Stahler for October 14, 2021

You bet he did.

If only , not so many of those Masters would have died in poverty or beholding to a patron !

Chopin, maybe not. But Liszt, on the other hand, . . .

The grossly overpriced touring t-shirts were just grand.

I don’t know about roadies, but there were plenty of groupies!

Classical composers and performers suffered delayed success, then gradual approval among growing audiences. Their compositions included a wide variety of sensations and emotions. Many are still appreciated generations centuries later. Some modern musicians seem to rise very quickly using hype, glitter, light shows, and technology, but have only about a 2 generation tenure in the public mind. Wonder if it is because of the very repetitive nature of the lyrics and the music, the narrow choice of instruments, or the limited vocal ranges? Or all three.

My son was a props master for the road trip of Jekyll and Hyde. It was his job to supervise the roadies. Usually these people were not a reliable work force.

We caught up with him at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. He told us, “These guys are great. They show up on time, They’re sober. They do what you tell them to do.”

I told him “They’re cadets, they are used to taking orders.”

Probably not, Chopin loaded up his wagon with all his paintings and did the flea market circuit. Historians tell us feeding his mule took all the profit so he could not afford to eat at a merch table.

Who else would carry the piano?

Maybe a page turner and an offering of sheet music.

I’m hearing the word “merch” fairly often.