The Current State of Classical Music

[10levan]

Classical music has the stereotypical image of being elitist, stodgy, and boring. While this is very far from the truth, there is an element of truth about this stereotype that seemingly took hold as new types of popular music came into American culture. The reason I do not discuss the same trend within Europe is because Western classical music originated from there, and it has been part of the culture constantly. This is a very personal subject matter to me, because growing up around the piano, I noticed that people around me generally had little knowledge of or disliked this kind of music. Basically, classical music has not been in the mainstream cultural view for a while, instead languishing in its peripheral vision. I think that this is a shame. As a result of this, the institution attained the snooty, pretentious stereotype that has unfortunately been stuck on it ever since the development of popular culture. This shouldn't be. The Western classical tradition, from Baroque to the 20th century, has produced some of the most beautiful, poignant music expressing the human condition. Such beauty should continue to be taught, celebrated, and popular. However, it is understandable why in recent times, the classical music world, while continuing to thrive in its own sphere, has lost the favor of the general masses. This kind of music, while still enjoyable in background, cannot be appreciated fully without some thought and dedicated listening. In today's fast paced society, not everyone has the time or attitude to sit down for a 2 hour piano recital or orchestra concert. However, as orchestras face economic trouble and thousands of talented, conservatory musicians fight for a solo career or a position in an orchestra, the community has began to actively work on appealing to the masses without losing its integrity. With the advent of social media, orchestras, soloists, and chamber groups promote themselves and strive to show that they are accessible and for everyone. Free tickets to concerts are offered, and outreach to public schools are becoming more and more commonplace. I noticed in a recent concert by the New York Philharmonic that many young millennials made up the audience. Renee Fleming, one of the most famous and talented sopranos in the world, was invited to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. I see classical playlists on many of my friends' Spotify accounts. This gives me hope that we are making progress, and leaves me with this question to everyone: will we be living in a world where it's just as cool to go to the symphony as a rock concert? 

www.city-journal.org/2010/20_3_urb-classical-music.html

www.npr.org/blogs/monitormix/2009/11/ten_questions_for_a_critic_the.html

[6bnoah]

I agree with your perspective on classical music. The greatest works relevant, important, beautiful, and most importantly, universal. To disregard classical music as an entire genre is a huge generalization. Classical music ranges from the simple to the complex, dramatic to serene, soft to loud, long to short. The genre covers a huge range of sounds and emotions. Despite this, classical music is marginalized for a few important reasons. First of all, sitting down and listening to classical music is can be harder than other genres because there are no words and the structure of the music is often harder to discern. Classical music is definitely harder to sing along to than most popular music. Secondly, much of the spirit and energy of improvisation and individual virtuosity of jazz doesn't seem to exist in contemporary classical music. There is the widely held belief that what is written on the page is what should be played. When playing a classical piece one must adhere strictly to the notes on the page. There is room for individual interpretation but not much space for spontaneous creation. This was not always the case. In the times of Mozart and Beethoven, great musicians would have improvisational contests where they would compete to display the highest levels of virtuosity and creativity. The aspect of improvisation made the music feel alive - it was constantly changing, in the moment, and extremely impressive. I feel that if classical music retained some aspects of improvisation in cadenzas, solos, or other pieces, it would revive the genre to a certain extent and make it feel more like a product of our times instead of a relic of the past.

[6CJohnnie]

Classical music is hard to learn and, for most people, difficult to listen to. People find it difficult to listen to because there are no lyrics (unless it's a vocal work), it has complicated formats, and frankly, people know almost nothing about it. Classical music encompasses about 700 years of works, which is daunting to most people and makes it difficult to know where to begin if one expresses an interest in classical music. Today, classical music is often considered to be for the rich and the elite. Great musical institutions such as the Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna Philharmonic, and other orchestras and operas around the world struggle to find audiences. Their productions are expensive and hard to understand. The opera particularly struggles with the issue of lack of audience because of the works. Most works performed in major opera houses–the staples like Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, La Bohème, and Carmen–are about issues of the composers' times; for example, Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro were written and performed around the time of the French Revolution. These operas discuss the themes of the nobility and the plight of the middle class, making them genius and important works during their era, not to mention that the amazing music is written by one of the greatest composers in history. Because most classical music does not reflect the issues and the popularities of our time, people struggle to relate to it and like it. (Today, popular genres such as rap discuss the prevalent issues of today's society. Electronic Dance Music and house music are simple and have the same format and therefore appeal to a wider audience).

[10BEthan]

I agree with your viewpoints Evan. In Europe, the culture is very different than in the United States. Popular culture icons such as Nicki Minaj in the United States are often replaced with trending pianists or violinists in cultural hubs such as Vienna. In a place like Vienna, music education is a given, while in America, often the first thing to go in a public school because of budget cuts is music education. With a simple shift of values in America, this problem could easily be changed and less classical music institutions would face bankruptcy and lockouts.