You can tell a lot about a person from their iPod playlist. An ‘iPod audit’ has become the modern equivalent of studying a person’s bookshelf, or even glimpsing at the contents of their bathroom cabinet when you need to make a quick survey of their disposition.
To test the musical health of modern classical performers we asked the winners, nominees, performers and some guests what they were currently listening to. The answers gave an indication of a classical music scene with a broad range of tastes, the expected and the not so expected (obscure jazz or electronic house music, anyone?), with an overall focus on enjoying great music.
As David Garrett (violin virtuoso and Green Day fan) says, (quoting Irvin Berlin, who was no slouch himself) ‘there is good music and bad music in any genre’. The lesson from the musicians on the night is, whatever kind of music you like, make sure you listen to the best.
