A Little Unexpected Humility

My screeds on this blog about rock musicians aiming for the gold standard of high culture without wanting to actually do the required work led me to read about the band Incubus' guitarist Michael Einziger, who is, apparently, hard at work on a symphony. I like his take: he couldn't play due to carpal tunnel, so he decided to learn about music five days a week, discovering there were "gaps" in his knowledge. And while the article about his progress on Billboard would not exist without his fame as a rock star (can you imagine an article that says "John Harbison Hard at Work on String Quartet"?), applause applause to Mr. Einziger for saying the words I've been waiting for the rock star cum composer to say. From the article: "The Grammy-nominated musician says he understands that the classical work's appeal should not depend on it having been written by a rock musician."

'...it has to stand up to the work of other composers as well ... and [is] a pretty hefty task for me to endure.'

Bravo. Can't wait to hear your symphony. Please send me the score if you like.

Oh, and please also tell the good folks at Playbill to settle on a spelling of your name.