Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner It is said that musicians, specially pianists, who are male are suspected to be gays.

If I live in that age and time, maybe I can also convince myself that I "fell in love" with George Sand :-) ...

I'm hearin about all these gay pianists...where are all the lesbians???

Oh my God! Perhaps starting to play the piano in third grade turned me gay! Maybe I should sue Steinway! Anybody know a good lawyer?

Ha. Your sounding like the overweight people who sued the fast food chains for making them fat because they decided to eat there.

what is it with guys and lesbians? i'm sure there were/are some lesbian pianists out there.

lol
ah, yes. The American answer to everything... :rolleyes: :p

To a large extent, this is a cultural problem ("problem" in the intellectual sense, of "something to puzzle out or solve.") Western males, or more particularly Americans, tend to be less concerned with the arts and less aesthetically sensitive than others. Educated Japanese males, for instance, are far more sensitive to aesthetic qualities in their music, graphic arts, pottery, etc., things many American males would not admit to responding to, even if they might want to.

Example: I'm a pathologist. My cousin Juel* asked me once, "When you're cutting up a brain, do you ever wonder about all the thoughts it had, the feelings it experienced?" "Nope."

But then I thought to myself, "Of course you do, you just don't talk about it." I suppose one might regard this is some kind of cultural straitjacket. I'd respond to that with, "And what good would talking about it do?"

*World-renowned author of numerous cookbooks on tofu, tempeh, carob, seaweed, and other minimally edible foodstuffs.

So my brooding, taciturn black Irish Dad, the one time gunner, stevedore, land surveyor, and engineer grows more than fifty varieties of camillias even though he is color blind, just because he likes the shapes.

I've been around plenty of pathologists when they were grossing. The female one ARE far more likely to talk about the thoughts of a brain than the male ones. The male ones are more likely to joke.

I think that artists and musicians care more about their art then they do someones sexual preference. The fine arts and music are very emotional, and take much of someone's soul to bring out. Therefore, there is more focus on the beauty of the arts rather than the other aspects of life.

The reason why I say this is that both of my parents went to art school, and a number of their friends are openly gay. They are accepted as friends just like other so-called straight people.

I was brought up to accept them as people, and what they can do as artists, rather than whom they sleep with.

To sum it up, who cares.

John

So true. As good old Rhett Butler said before most of you were born: "Frankly, my dear,........

well said. i don't care, but i'm sure there are a lot of gay construction workers. just saying that not all gays are "feminine" and "artsy". my cousin's a butcher, and his partner was in the marines until his commanding officer found out he was gay. they feared for his safety, so he left the job he loved because people only saw him as gay. they didn't see him as a man who had gone to Iraq, willing to sacrifice his life for his country. his "commrades" only saw him as a threat. when it comes down to it, it doesn't matter who one sleeps with.

So this is why I've been feeling all gay lately. I thought I was absorbing it from Burger King commercials.

"musicians who are male"?? Does this include rock, blues, and jazz musicians too?

wow, sex with all those hot groupie girls must sure be a tiring front to keep up.

I go to a performing arts high school and we have so many gay people that you would not believe it...

it shouldn't matter, but I believe it does matter to all too many people. And for a variety of dubious reasons.

I was wondering if you were hoping to hook up with people on here? Are you 'gay', 'bi', 'straight'?...

Ironically, as I type this, the radio is playing 'YMCA'... ha ha

I know of one guitar teacher at a prestigious NYC school who is a sister of Dorothy. She's very well known in the guitar world..

A lot of pianists I've met have been gay, but as most have said here, it isn't an issue. It would be a HUGE problem in my field, (Finance), but 'the arts' embraces it wholeheartedly...

I often wonder how many people have libraries of books lining their walls with opinions on all, but having never opened nor read any, basing their opinions on the cover of each.

Coincidentally, I think it is precisely because there is a larger density of gay/bi-sexualism in the 'arts' fields that results in a greater acceptance of such a disposition (being neither right nor wrong, good nor evil), whereas the same cannot be said of most other fields. It would make for an interesting study, but I'm not sure how much conclusive evidence one could unearth.

And I had to laugh at this observation: :p

I TOTALLY agree - book covers are SO misleading.

A study would be interesting, but it would be fraught in difficulties. It would be a variation on the, 'did having gay parents/siblings make me gay?' etc etc ...

Did anyone brought up the horowitz quote yet?
Something like all great pianists are either jewish or gay. All of the heteros better start convertin. (or become gay)

I am and I'm quite sure it wasn't the piano that caused it.

I'm in the prepress business and there have always been a number of openly gay people where I work (graphic designers, typesetters, etc.).