RE: Just for perspective...without aristocratic patronage (the de facto ‘public sponsorship’ back in the day) we would not be able to enjoy the music of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven...and quite a bit of classical literature, paintings etc. today.
I have often wondered though... what if the Europe of that time were ran more like free enterprise systems instead of ‘public sponsorships’, would there not be any PRIVATE wealthy patrons to support a Bach, Mozart or Beethoven? My guess is ‘YES’.
Think about it, the great Frederic Chopin had wealthy patrons (PRIVATE). Tchaikovsky’s patron was a wealth business woman, Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck who supported him for 13 years so that he could work on compositions FULL TIME. Savva Mamontov, a famous Russian industrialist and patron of the arts, supported Sergei Rachmaninoff. Johannes Brahms never had to have a patron to support him financially; he was able to take care of himself by giving piano lessons, conducting, composing and having his music printed. I could go on and on and on.
America had her Gershwin, Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, etc. were they sponsored by the public?
Van Gogh’s main patron was his own brother.
So, it is a huge leap to conclude that if there were no public sponsorship, great art or music would never be available.
A leap, with all due respect, that I did not make.
I just named some examples that came to mind. Would they have managed to be extraordinary artists even without the patronage? Who can tell after the fact?
The point being - in the course of history public patronage (as I defined it previously) was not neccessarily a bad thing. Above and beyond that, 'fortune is a fickle mistress'...
Had Bach never had the chance to write his cello sonatas, I could not possibly miss them. But as he did have the chance to do so, I would hardly be without them. Thus I am grateful for the patronage he received.
Don’t modern operas all lose money?
And while Spielberg and Lucas were singing the praises of Akira Kurosowa in the 1980s, if I recall properly, neither of them bothered to sponsor his film productions (he had trouble raising much money for his final film).
Look to “government” because liberals can never be counted on living the lifestyle they seek to impose on others.