"You have to take the long view that what I do as a classical musician is going to have a long shelf life." – John Adams on communicating with the audience.
To think about the effect that your creation will have on others is at the core of most art-making, whether the creator is experimental or more broadly communicative. Art-making is just part of culture, like food, clothing, wine, sport, etc. It is the expression of our social being in the world. And so it will be complex, like our existence in the world, full of joy and sorrow, struggle and triumph. All of these human emotions are shared by most art, whether the art be of organized sound, visual space, or movement or words. There will be difficult art and easy art. But when a composer (or any creator) takes on the responsibility to engage, through his/her writing, the audience who will hear (see) it, that is the long view. That audience may be small, large, highly-educated, or not: it is the intention to connect with "the other" that creates the "long view" to which Adams refers.
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