07 Forbidden Othello
The role of the band is that of spreading, among marches and popular songs, also opera music, which used to be an genre d’élite for rich people who could afford going to the theatre. A note from the Government dated March, 29th, 1887 and published on the daily “La Provincia”, forbids bands from playing any score from “Othello”, since this work was not yet a public work. The real reason is that the “Well-thinkers” (regulars of theatres) didn’t like that “educated” music would be played (and according to them, “mistreated” ) by bands with arrangements that were often prepared by the conductors themselves and adapted for the band.These “well-thinkers” had not understood the importance that the band would have had in the diffusion of this kind of music among the people of the lower classes.As a matter of fact, before the spread of radios, televisions, record players, the bands held the precious task of making the works and symphonies of the greatest musicians of the time into popular airs.
