Nothing heightens feelings of powerlessness more than a political season. Over the past few months, we’ve seen parties fractured, pundits paralyzed, analytics rendered ineffectual. Fault lines shatter old allegiances, and formerly stable demographics appear to no longer apply. The democratic tradition itself feels newly imperiled; as the middle class dissolves, the world’s ultra-rich consolidate their power, and poverty chases the rest of us. As Yeats’ words are dusted off once again—“The best lack all conviction, while the worst / are full of passionate intensity”—many of us are no longer certain on which side of this divide we fall. Surely, we think, there must be a thoughtful middle. Art can be a vehicle for understanding, interpreting, and reinforcing social structures, and classical music in particular has long played such a role. From Shostakovich’s satirical blasts, to Copland’s paeans to the common man, composers have long been employed—whether wittingly or not—in political discourse.
The Elusive Middle
An Interview with Nathan Currier
