The soundscape of the world is changing. Noise pollution is now a world problem. It would seem that the world soundscape has reached an apex of vulgarity in our time, and many experts have predicted universal deafness as the ultimate consequence unless the problem can be brought quickly under control. R. Murray Schafer, The Tuning of the World, 1977
Telluride, Colorado – My wife and I spend the winter months in Austin, Texas, for the most part, and count ourselves fortunate to be able to avoid the bitter cold and pesky blizzards that beset so much of our native Canada between November and April. Occasionally, however, we succumb to an irrational longing to “enjoy” the romance of winter once again. So it was that we accepted an invitation to spend a week in Telluride, Colorado, one of the skiing capitals of North America, with my brother-in-law and his wife.
I should emphasize that there was no music involved, with the proviso that I have always considered that “music” can take many forms, from a simple bird song to a formal concert, and more importantly, that the world is such an endlessly complex and fascinating place that a day with or without music can almost always be memorable.
The state of Colorado generates a great deal of musical activity, but most of it is in the summertime in places like Aspen, Vail and Breckenridge. All of these towns are in eastern Colorado while Telluride is in the extreme southwestern corner of the state. Telluride is a former mining town founded in 1878 and located in a beautiful box canyon. A very small town (population: 2, 500), it is nowhere near Interstate highways or major airports. Most people going to Telluride fly into Montrose, rent a car, and drive south about 65 miles. Although Telluride has exploded as a winter destination in the past 15 years, one still must make an effort to get there.
My wife and I made the effort on a sunny day in January, flying American Airlines from Austin to Dallas and then from Dallas to Montrose. The second leg of the journey was on a commuter jet – a CRJ900 – built by Bombardier in Canada. We had the misfortune to sit in the middle of the plane, right over the jet engines; that’s when I was reminded of Murray Schafer’s seminal book on soundscapes.
About 40 years ago, Schafer began warning us that the sound environment we were creating for ourselves was decidedly hazardous to our health. The upside of Murray’s research was that we would learn to listen more intelligently to sounds in the world around us and begin to appreciate what nature had to offer. His most important message was that we needed to be pro-active about controlling our soundscape.
So here I was, 20,000 feet in the air, trapped in an aluminum tube with an ear-splitting noise level I could do nothing to control. After all, we couldn’t walk to Telluride, driving took too long and was too dicey anyway in the middle of winter.
But the wise man, when offered lemons, makes lemonade instead of demanding foie gras. I reflected again on Murray’s soundscape book and remembered that Karl Heinz Stockhausen, no less, had found a portal to compositional inspiration in the sound of the engines during flights he took across America in 1958:
I was always leaning my ear – I love to fly, I must say – against the window, listening with earphones directly to the inner vibrations. And though theoretically a physicist would have said that the engine sound doesn’t change, it changed all the time because I was listening to all the partials within the spectrum. It was a fantastically beautiful experience… I made sketches for Carré during that time. (The Tuning of the World, p. 113)
Safely on the ground and nearing Telluride by car, I became increasingly excited by the majesty of the mountains but apprehensive about what I would find in the town itself. Thousands flocked here every winter for skiing and other activities. I had images of snowmobiles racing everywhere with their characteristically annoying noise levels. Surprise! During our five days in Telluride, I did not see a single snowmobile. And the noise generated by all these skiers? Virtually nothing. The most characteristic sounds in Telluride were the almost inaudible whisper of skis on snow as they glided down the slopes, and in the evening the crunch of boots on snow packed on sidewalks in the slumbering town of Telluride and its neighbor, Mountain Village.
In fact, Telluride is one of the most environmentally responsible communities I have ever come across. Everything that is done here – from home-building, to sign placement, to driving and parking – seems geared to preserving all that is ‘natural.’ One of the man-made wonders of the place is the gondola system that links the communities of Telluride and Mountain Village. A spectacularly beautiful ride, it also serves a very practical purpose; it is the most direct route between the two towns and offers a reliable and free alternative to driving. It is also virtually pollution-free. It makes almost no noise and is powered to a great extent by electricity from renewable sources.
A stay in Telluride is a wondrous experience in the winter, but for music, prime time is in August; that’s when the Telluride Chamber Music Festival takes place, with the highly regarded Telluride Film Festival not far behind.
One note of caution: elevation at Telluride is 8, 750 ft., and Mountain Village, 9, 545 ft. There is a popular restaurant called Alpino Vino at 11,966 ft., accessible only by snow-coach – really a bulldozer used for grooming the slopes. High altitudes can cause problems for some people. Experts advise drinking copious amounts of water as well as taking time to adjust before engaging in vigorous skiing or hiking.
We are shameless eaters wherever we travel and Telluride proved to be an exceptional destination for fine dining. We had a superb Thai meal at Siam; in fact, it was so good that we had to go back for more the very next night. Don’t miss a dish called “The King and I” (a pairing of crispy duck and jumbo shrimp) or “Molly’s Lobster Tempura”, both with outstanding house-made Thai sauces. We also enjoyed great Detroit pizza at Brown Dog Pizza, wonderful veal at Allred’s and pan-seared dry-aged NY strip steak with goat cheese gratin potatoes at a cosy French restaurant called La Marmotte.
My wife was born in Turku, Finland and never ceases to be amazed by this tiny country’s global reach. Sure enough, Finns had made their way to Telluride in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and left their mark during the mining days; they are remembered in a part of Telluride called Finn Town.
- SCRUTINY | TSO Lets Berlioz Do The Talking In Season Opener - September 21, 2018
- RECORD KEEPING | Even Yannick Nézet-Séguin Can’t Make Us Love Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito - September 6, 2018
- RECORD KEEPING | Giovanna d’Arco With Anna Netrebko Explains Why The Best Operas Survive - August 30, 2018
