Classical music in the 21st century
The drafting of my newest piece has prompted me to ponder the state of classical music in this century.
The way I see it (watch out, Starbucks), classical music has become old-fashioned in the minds of today, very much like marriage, morality and religious conviction. There are a few who still hold fast to it, but the general populace has lost interest. Classical music has been disposed of as a relic of the past, and is being supplanted by what I know is a desperately pitiful substitute.
Of course, I always have people telling me to become more "well-rounded," as they call it, which means that I should join the mass of highly uncritical, inclusive youths in their adoration of non-music. It's ironic that they discard my musical discernment and call themselves open-minded. I suppose mental exclusivity of any kind is frowned upon nowadays. Let's all simply accept whatever waste is thrown at our feet and revel in it in our newfound religion of novelty. Noise is the new music.
July 7th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Phil, as long as there are people who will follow, trends will always trend downward. the state of classical music is an interesting one. people will listen to it, then immediately change the station when they realize that it is classical MUSIC. people don't want something that will make them think about whats going on around them, they want to hear about someone else's life( [C]rap). I enjoy classical music and techno; the classical for the instrumentation, and the techno because it makes interesting background noise.
as for the well rounded comment, isn't it better to be sharp on one subject than blunt all around? just my two cents worth...(you might have to start charging nickels!)