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To the punchline then: the young foreign composer was, of course, Ludwig Van Beethoven, and in that one concert he premiered his ''Symphony No. 6'' in F Major (“''Pastoral''”), his ''Piano Concerto No. 4'', his ''Choral Fantasia'', as well as playing a few choice cuts from his previously performed ''Mass'' in C Major. If that wasn’t enough — and surely the premiere of the ''Pastoral'', by itself, would have been enough to make the record of humankind’s highest achievements — after the interval, the orchestra debuted the most revolutionary music, bar ''none'' ever written: the ''Disco Theme to Saturday Night Fever'',<ref>I am sorry. I couldn’t resist.</ref> although then known only as ''Symphony No. 5'' in C Minor.<ref>Anyone interested in Beethoven’s symphonies — that is, in Jimi Hendrix’s words, “everybody here with hearts — ''any'' kind of hearts — and ears” — should check out Professor Robert Greenberg’s wonderful [https://robertgreenbergmusic.com/download/beethoven-symphonies/ lectures about Beethoven].</ref> | To the punchline then: the young foreign composer was, of course, Ludwig Van Beethoven, and in that one concert he premiered his ''Symphony No. 6'' in F Major (“''Pastoral''”), his ''Piano Concerto No. 4'', his ''Choral Fantasia'', as well as playing a few choice cuts from his previously performed ''Mass'' in C Major. If that wasn’t enough — and surely the premiere of the ''Pastoral'', by itself, would have been enough to make the record of humankind’s highest achievements — after the interval, the orchestra debuted the most revolutionary music, bar ''none'' ever written: the ''Disco Theme to Saturday Night Fever'',<ref>I am sorry. I couldn’t resist.</ref> although then known only as ''Symphony No. 5'' in C Minor.<ref>Anyone interested in Beethoven’s symphonies — that is, in Jimi Hendrix’s words, “everybody here with hearts — ''any'' kind of hearts — and ears” — should check out Professor Robert Greenberg’s wonderful [https://robertgreenbergmusic.com/download/beethoven-symphonies/ lectures about Beethoven].</ref> | ||
If the [[JC]] could travel back in time — with thermals and a cushion, of course — for one night in all of human history, this is the night he’d choose. ''Imagine being one of those lucky 1,500 who heard the fifth symphony for the first time in history''. There | If the [[JC]] could travel back in time — with thermals and a cushion, of course — for one night in all of human history, this is the night he’d choose. ''Imagine being one of those lucky 1,500 who heard the fifth symphony for the first time in history''. There have few watersheds in the cultural history of western civilisation quite as profound as this one. Western music would never be the same again. | ||
Okay, so, ''hindsight''? | Okay, so, ''hindsight''? | ||
“Hindsight” because I would choose that night, only thanks to the colossal cultural significance imbued upon it ''by the two hundred years of subsequent history from which we now benefit.'' The “lucky 1,500” probably found it quite tiresome. You can imagine them complaining to their spouses about it | “Hindsight” because I would choose that night, only thanks to the colossal cultural significance imbued upon it ''by the two hundred years of subsequent history from which we now benefit.'' The “lucky 1,500” probably found it quite tiresome. You can imagine them complaining to their spouses about it when they got home. To be sure, they may well have — most probably did — come, later in life, to freight that interminable, mediocre performance with a sacred quality, but only in hindsight: one could scarcely apprehend its significance without a context it was, on the night, categorically impossible to have. | ||
This is the human condition, summarised. Only ''once it has happened'' — [[past tense]] — and often, only months or years after that, can we ''possibly'' | This is the human condition, summarised. Only ''once it has happened'' — [[past tense]] — and often, only months or years after that, can we ''possibly'' appreciate the significance of the unexpected. | ||
===The category error: providing for the future by reference to the past=== | ===The category error: providing for the future by reference to the past=== | ||
This is where my friend the middle manager makes his [[category error]]. [[Data]] all come from the same place: [[Past results are no guarantee of future performance|the past]]. When we review risks, catastrophes and step-changes; when we consider [[punctuated equilibrium|punctuations to the equilibrium]] be they fair or foul, our wisdom, our careful analysis, our sage opinions, our hot takes, our [[thought leader]]ship — ''all'' of these are [[Second-order derivative|derived]] from, predicated on, and delimited by [[data]] which, when the event played out, ''we did not have''. | This is where my friend the middle manager makes his [[category error]]. [[Data]] all come from the same place: [[Past results are no guarantee of future performance|the past]]. When we review risks, catastrophes and step-changes; when we consider [[punctuated equilibrium|punctuations to the equilibrium]] be they fair or foul, our wisdom, our careful analysis, our sage opinions, our hot takes, our [[thought leader]]ship — ''all'' of these are [[Second-order derivative|derived]] from, predicated on, and delimited by [[data]] which, when the event played out, ''we did not have''. | ||