Why Are Classical Musicians So Fearful?

(Sarcasm switch is off for this post.)

I’ve mentioned in passing how the social aspect of of my life as an amateur classical pianist was largely destroyed by the Branch Covidians. I’m going to get more specific here, and try (unsuccessfully, no doubt) to understand why classical musicians seem to be the most fearful of the Branch Covidians.

I started attending the Sonata Piano Camp in Bennington, Vermont, in January 2005. At the time I was living in California, and my first experience at camp was so enjoyable that I returned four more times, in the spring instead of the winter (though the winter was enjoyable, too). Eventually, I decided that Vermont was a better place for me than California, and I moved there in 2009.

Life circumstances prevented me from returning to piano camp after 2010. Last year I finally had the ability to go back, and was discouraged by camp rules requiring face diapers. I decided to wait a year, in the hopes that in 2022 the rules would be relaxed. Instead, this year camp rules became more strict, and now an experimental mRNA injection was required for attendance. A dream that had gestated for twelve years was destroyed.

One of the things that had attracted me to the small town where I live now was the existence of a summer chamber music concert series at the local church. These concerts were wonderful, and I looked forward to them every year. This same church also hosted some benefit concerts at which local amateur musicians played, and I played the piano at several of these concerts, including one in the summer of 2021.

So this year I was looking forward to another concert series, but that dream was also destroyed by new rules: an experimental mRNA injection was now required to attend. I wrote a protest email to the organizer of the series (a very fine pianist who usually played at each concert) but did not get a response.

Then recently, I wondered if there were other piano camps in New England that might not require experimental mRNA injections or other unscientific and unethical behaviors. I found one in Massachusetts, but it also required the injections. Amazingly, this camp required only the first two injections, and not the boosters, which just emphasizes the utter lack of logic behind the rules. If these people believe the propaganda around the injections, which now says that you have to get boosters because of the waning efficacy of the first injections, why are they ignoring this particular piece of the propaganda?

Also, in the last 2.5 years I had seen pianists I admire, like Daniil Trifonov, Simone Dinnerstein, and my last piano teacher (whom I haven’t seen in two years), play online concerts while wearing face diapers. This was so discouraging that I had to tell myself that these pianists were not stupid, but had simply fallen under the spell of the relentless fear campaign.

All of this made me wonder why classical musicians seem to hold on to their nonsensical beliefs after most other people (outside of medical establishments) have woken up to reality. Are classical musicians more emotionally sensitive, and thus more susceptible to emotional appeals (“your face diaper protects others”, “your experimental jab saves granny”)? I have no idea. I still haven’t been able to answer this question satisfactorily.

There is a tiny bright spot in all this. Recently, I discovered a chamber music concert series that does not impose any ridiculous requirements on attendees. It’s nearly a two hour drive away, but it’s worth it to have a small sense of normality return to my musical life.

It remains to be seen if the piano camp and the local concert series wake up to reality next year. I’m not feeling hopeful about this possibility, and am now considering moving away from this little town to some place a little more sane.