[TheChairGuy]

Well hey...if you miss your Metro, then you've got 10 minutes to hang out and listen...!

Phil, et al,

It was in the entrance of the Metro station (by the windows and doors).....you have to make your way down an enormously long escalator to reach the bowels where the subway runs there in DC. It's a lot longer way down than any subway I remember in NYC, for instance (more like some in Paris I remember in depths, actually)

So, you wouldn't take the chance of missing your Metro train by stopping to listening to music hundreds of feet above where your train is. 10 minutes of even great music at 7:51AM ain't worth getting docked pay or missing important appointments.

Maybe DB is right...that classical music consciousness has hit new lows in the US (and indeed, worldwide).  But, this piece is just fluff - it points to little regarding this point.

[mjosef]

Personally I don't see where the fluff is... several valid point were made in the article... adult priorities are screwed up... kids are more aware... adults walk around in a daze... etc etc...
And for the fella that said "look at whats posted in the whats playing now music circle" as some kind of barometer of AC members musical taste... yeah, its mostly rock and pop, but there are many posts of classical, jazz and other worldly music... the pop/rock may outnumber other genre but that reflects the "culture" of western society. How one's impression of culture is interpreted is a just that...personal.

[nathanm]

A similar experiment was performed by some youths driving through a suburban neighborhood playing an erudite rap tune by Ice T over their car stereo for all to hear.  Unfortunately the stuffy, uncultured suburbanites did not appreciate the finer aspects of the poetry.  Shameful!

Another experiment was performed wherein Artist Who You Never Even Heard Of Cause You Suck hung his masterpiece oil painting "Ultang's Path To Enlightenment" on the wall of a McDonald's drive through and stood beside it with a donation box.  Despite the beautiful composition and sublime color choices used by this master painter, the boorish customers refused to stand in awe of its beauty and instead just wanted to get their burgers.  Dreadful!  What is the world coming to!?

But seriously, here's my theory why classical music isn't appreciated as much as classical music fans might like:
1. A lot of it is beautiful and glorious, but more of it is really really boring
2. There's no tangible song titles, there's only technical jargon which is hard for non-musicians to understand
3. There's multiple recordings of the same thing - what to get?

These factors conspire against the music buyer.  It's very easy to become discouraged trying to find classical I've found.

Like anything, music is totally subjective.  You can't simply declare a certain time period or composer to be the greatest thing ever and expect people to fundamentally "get it".  You are either moved by a particular classical piece or you aren't.  It just seems to me that there's always been a condescending attitude and snobbery when it comes to classical.  The attitude is that THIS music here, THIS is inspired and magnificent and everything that follows is but a crude approximation.  After composer X died the world shall never see his like.  I just don't buy it.  There's great classical no doubt, but it is not above criticism based solely on its antiquity or historical influence.

[AB]

I am listening to Smetana's "Die Moldau" right now and I would stop to listen to it at any time even if I was late for work - especially if it was being performed in a subway atrium.

[mjosef]

Just came across this followup/behind the scenes story behind this story.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/04/06/DI2007040601228.html

[JohnR]

Note the phrase "I think the enthusiastic classical-music blogosphere helped give it a viral life"... so maybe interest in classical music isn't dead??

[mjosef]

They may be small... but they got 'pull'... Mr. Bell will have some new fans too. Hell, now I too have to pick up one of his cds to hear what the fuss is all about. 

[Daygloworange]

One reader wrote in with what I think is a very valid point. He mentions that perhaps the repertoire that Bell had chosen could have achieved better results. I totally agree. I think that if he had been playing perhaps some more incendiary pieces like "Flight of The Bumblebee" or "Caprice No. 5" by Paganini, and done it with a little flair, he would have been able to garner a little more attention.

There are numerous street performers in Toronto, some fabulous ones. The really good ones often have a real flair and have good (not necessarily great) showmanship qualities. I have seen the same in Montreal and New York as well.

I think you could have gotten a totally different result to this experiment if for but a few things.

For example, if they had gotten Nigel Kennedy, I believe the results would have been entirely different.

Cheers

[Dan Banquer]

If the sound of a Stradivarius played by a skilled and gifted player doesn't grab you right away, then I just don't know what will.
               d.b.

[Daygloworange]

Dan,

I hear ya, believe me. I studied privately with a concert violinist for many years. It's my favorite solo instrument. But not everybody feels that way.

Cheers

[ooheadsoo]

Ok, Bell might not be Nigel Kennedy, but he's no conservative stiff player, like Heifetz or something.

But seriously, here's my theory why classical music isn't appreciated as much as classical music fans might like:
1. A lot of it is beautiful and glorious, but more of it is really really boring

Classical music has a steep learning curve, especially as time progresses.  That's just the way it is.  For many people who have grown up listening to popular stuff, most of which is easy listening (that's why it's popular, eh?,) they may well be incapable of appreciating much of the repertoire.  I fall asleep at concerts all the time, especially when listening to pieces I don't know and haven't studied.  It's something that takes a real investment before you start to get returns.

2. There's no tangible song titles, there's only technical jargon which is hard for non-musicians to understand

Not much of a defense...but sometimes, they were works of art that were supposed to be "pure" and "absolute music," being a creation of sound.  You weren't supposed to put a name to it.  They also weren't always intended for public consumption until the late 18th/early 19th century.  Expensive music created primarily for private audiences.  Maybe that's why it's hard for people to identify pieces.  Oh well.  Again, has a steep learning curve.  Am I wrong in thinking that a lot of paintings are also unnamed but get names attached to them that is basically a description of the painting, like "the Mona Lisa?"  Easier to describe paintings than music without lyrics.  Songs usually have names.

3. There's multiple recordings of the same thing - what to get?

These factors conspire against the music buyer.  It's very easy to become discouraged trying to find classical I've found.

The more the merrier?

It usually takes a lot more ear training and PATIENCE to like classical.  Probably where a lot of the snobbery comes in.  Like jazz, for a while, there was a big push to get more complex and more dissonant to separate the chaff from the wheat, so to speak.  There's also the "test of time" aspect.  Gotta admit, a lot of this stuff is old

[James Romeyn]

I miss Live Oak & Terry (a native American folk guitarist/singer & his slinky wife/singer w/ straight silky blonde hair 1/2 way to the floor) at the Ghirardelli Wine Cellar (looooong gone).  Seeing him on the stage dozens of times for free (only had to buy wine/cheese/etc) was a great earthly delight.

[nathanm]

Here ya go; surely folks could appreciate this 11 year old girl absolutely shredding on violin:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2580131722071247554&q=ted.com

[Bemopti123]

Nathanm wrote:

"1. A lot of it is beautiful and glorious, but more of it is really really boring

It just seems to me that there's always been a condescending attitude and snobbery when it comes to classical."

I see this whole attitude of calling something that we do not necessarily get, boring, something that might fall into the category of the "Walmartization of America" as well as the rise of the "MTV" culture, where if "we" do not get the point within a minute, then there is no point of watching or listening to it. 

If one thinks at the fact that that just about 1500 years ago, during the dark ages, "writing" would have been considered something snobbish for those who were illiterate.

What DB, I think was trying to convey is the sad passing of an era when there was some sort of awe or respect for the classics, and classical music.  This is something to be lamented and yet, I see it as just part of this everchanging culture that is America. 

PS:  Do people remember older 1940s and 1950s American musicals that placed much emphasis on foreign influence and culture?  Much of that is gone today, perhaps because Americans were taught to be proud of American cultural products such as Hip-Hop, bad but entertaining TV and Hollywood. 

As for myself, I love some classical, while others I could do without, but I respect them all because it takes training and skill to perform many of these pieces. 

Anyone has read the article about the explosion of Classical Music in CHINA?  That is something might allow the Classical music scene to survive and flourish.

[Dan Banquer]

"What DB, I think was trying to convey is the sad passing of an era when there was some sort of awe or respect for the classics, and classical music.  This is something to be lamented and yet, I see it as just part of this everchanging culture that is America."

I'll settle for respect and appreciation of master musicians.
                   d.b. 

[weirdo]

"What DB, I think was trying to convey is the sad passing of an era when there was some sort of awe or respect for the classics, and classical music.  This is something to be lamented and yet, I see it as just part of this everchanging culture that is America."

I'll settle for respect and appreciation of master musicians.
                   d.b. 

[/i]

I'm sure it has to do with at least a taste of music appreciation early on in the education process. It wouldn't kill anyone to learn about Classical music. People would be amazed to learn that it is not just Euro music from the early 1800's.

Also, it is possible to love some classical and hate a large chunk of it. I like classical religious-type choral and romantic symphonies.  Hate opera and baroque. Good audio gear has in my case, contributed to my musical taste expansion. Even country music sounds good on my system. Maybe the lack of acceptance of high-end stereo gear by the American public has had a negative effect on sales of music outside of the popular catagory.

[Dan Banquer]

"Even country music sounds good on my system. Maybe the lack of acceptance of high-end stereo gear by the American public has had a negative effect on sales of music outside of the popular category. "

I don't think stereo gear has much to with it given the popularity of classical music before the discovery of electricity.
             d.b.

[Daygloworange]

Classical music was "pop" music, before the invention of electricity, wasn't it? 

Cheers

[Dan Banquer]

Since many classical melodies are based on folk songs that should be no surprise. Note how Pop music has changed over the past century or more and you will observe a consistent lowering of the "common denominator".
           d.b.

[PhilNYC]

I think anyone who doesn't have a lot of experience or appreciation for classical music should see the movie "Amadeus"...