Are we still feeling the effects of that 19th century divide on music of today?
Classical music has taken on a quasi-religious feeling with the formality of the performances, the relative expertise of the performers, and the lack of control for an audience member over the whole experience. If you’re at an art museum and you don’t like a painting, you can move to a different section of the museum. If you’re sitting in a performance hall and you don’t like the piece that is being played, you can’t turn off your ears. I think a lot of people feel a sort of claustrophobia and fear that they are going to be imprisoned for the duration of the piece even if they don’t like it, because in a concert hall there is no escape.
How would you suggest dealing with the possibility that you might not like everything you hear?
Try to suspend judgment and find something in what you are listening to that is challenging or interesting. Listening to any kind of music can be an adventure. The modern classical music that many in the older generation have trouble appreciating is best aimed at younger listeners who are often excited by something new and experimental.
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Emily Parkhurst: emily.parkhurst@yahoo.com
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