At dinner after last night's book group, I was struck by how many members of the group are very knowledgeable about classical music. Not just Steve, but also Fred, Robert, Tim and probably others I am forgetting or don't know about. I would really like to find some way to benefit from this assembly of musical expertise.
One thought, not sure if a good one: is it possible to detect anything specifically gay in the music of gay classical composers—Tchaikovsky, Britten, Copland for instance? I don't mean, in words or literary structures associated with their music—song lyrics, librettos of operas, written "programs" of symphonies—but in the music itself? Probably not—music doesn't make reference to external reality in the ways that either literature or the (representational) visual arts do. Certainly, there wouldn't be any one "gay trait"—there aren't many traits Copland shares with Tchaikovsky, are there? And while music obviously generates emotions, I don't think gay people's emotions are very different from straight people's. So, this is probably a dead end, but if anyone has any thoughts, I'd be glad to know.
Another question: I can't off hand think of any known gay composers before Tchaikovsky—are there any? [posted for John]
