Is true Genius dead, or has the focus simply shifted?

Question:I was and still am, a bit of a heavy metal fan.
My musical tastes have changed over the years however, to something a little more eclectic.
I'd go through all the genres, but it'd take too long.

Recently though, I have discovered the birlliance that was Frédéric Fran?ois Chopin. After listening to some of his peices, I became facinated by the man behind the music and i did a little delving into Wikipedia.
I was saddened to learn of his particular circumstances, dying at the very young age of 39 and the somewhat troubled life he had lived.
In contrast to that though was his ability to come up with such masterful works, beginning roughly at the age of 7.
His music, no matter how old, would live on for centuries it seems.

Now, my question is this. Where are the people for this century, the ones that will create masterpeices of musical genius??
When today's society is focus on quick-fix manufactured bands, has the originality died away for good, or simply shifted elsewhere?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I was and still am, a bit of a heavy metal fan.
My musical tastes have changed over the years however, to something a little more eclectic.
I'd go through all the genres, but it'd take too long.

Recently though, I have discovered the birlliance that was Frédéric Fran?ois Chopin. After listening to some of his peices, I became facinated by the man behind the music and i did a little delving into Wikipedia.
I was saddened to learn of his particular circumstances, dying at the very young age of 39 and the somewhat troubled life he had lived.
In contrast to that though was his ability to come up with such masterful works, beginning roughly at the age of 7.
His music, no matter how old, would live on for centuries it seems.

Now, my question is this. Where are the people for this century, the ones that will create masterpeices of musical genius??
When today's society is focus on quick-fix manufactured bands, has the originality died away for good, or simply shifted elsewhere?

Genius needs opportunity, recognition and reward in order to create their works.

First, many people we think were geniuses, were not recognized as such when they were alive. Often, they were ahead of their time. Cultures do value different things, and creativity is often not valued, conformity is.

Plus many geniuses may have difficulty dealing with the practical responsibilities of life. Or they may think they have to give up their talent, to do something practical so they can pay their bills.

There are people out there with the ability. But schools cut back on the arts, showing us how little we really value it. And people now think they should get music free. The artist can't live that way. Unfortunately, our culture must change, but those that really have the desire will find a way.

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Personally, I think the "focus on quick-fix manufactured bands" will eventually provoke a resurgence in "real" music. People are stupid, but any culture as a whole can only tolerate so much BS. So many people, right now, are mad about the state of music that it's inevitable that one of them will bring back the real thing.

On a different note, I do think genius is thriving in other areas. I won't name anything, but I read a book written in the 90s that blew my mind, and I saw a contemporary painting this weekend that I couldn't believe. Then again, there are lots of naive books being written, and lots of emperor's-new-clothes "experimental" artists as well.

1. The overwhelming dominance of "pop" music (that is, non-formal music) may be obscuring the geniuses who are doing their work in the universities of the world, or wherever these people do their work. We don't hear them on radio (not even classical radio) or any other distribution method. Who is pushing the edge of musical theory? We, the public, don't know because we don't hear them. We don't even hear them being talked about.

2. We, the public, might be lagging in our taste for formal music. Think about the so-called greats of the 20th century: Berg or Stravinsky, for example. I don't think I can even listen to them and understand their work very well. Chopin (19th C.)? I haven't fully digested all that he has done (and I don't think I could without some professor telling me what to look for). Maybe in a hundred years, the common folk with a taste for formal music might learn who the greats of this century are.

One mans' genius is another mans confusion. To some there will always be "greats" to others there never will be again. Its all in your perspective....

One, since you seem intent on focusing on music, you will have to look in schools like Julliard to discover who hopes to be the 21st century equivalent to Chopin or Beethoven. Also, check places like opera companies and symphonies to see who is premiering new or commissioned pieces from composers

And two, the term "genius" was discussed brilliantly in a New York Times article a few years ago. I think it was called "Here a Comic Genius, There a Comic Genius," and the premise was that we tend to attach the label "genius" to things or people who don't deserve it in order to sell more tickets or books or whatever. And it's true. In light of the TRUE comic genius of people like Charlie Chaplin (solos), Laurel and Hardy or Lucy and Ethel (duos), or The Marx Brothers (groups), how can you go around calling people geniuses like Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, or Chevy Chase?
A true genius does one of a couple of things -- brings something original to the art form (which kind of makes Laverne and Shirley builders on groundwork laid by Lucy and Ethel) or re-defines the art form (like Stephen Sondheim's work on Broadway musicals) or they excel in several different fields (like the comic Steve Martin who performs and writes) or they may create something timeless (believing that something that is incredibly good and popular today but not real genius will die away in a few years; Shakespeare lives on but will the first years of SNL with the Killer Bees, Emily Latella, and Point-Counter-Point and "Jane, you ignorant ****." Time will tell.)