I had the pleasure and privilege of going to the opera Saturday night in Grand Rapids, MI. We saw a lavish production of "Romeo and Juliette" by C. Gounod in DeVos Hall. The hall seats 2400 people and the production was a virtual sell-out two nights in a row. The talent of the singers, musicians, tech crew, costumers, and others was very apparent. My wife and I were guests of another couple and we couldn't have had a more enjoyable evening.
Two nights earlier I hosted my semi-annual student recital in Lansing. The students ranging in age from 5 to 17 years old played music from the renaissance, baroque, classical, and contemporary periods, with a couple of folk songs tossed in by the little ones. These kids take their music as serious as any piano or violin student. They work hard (occasionally), get frustrated (often), and take pride in their accomplishments. I don't choose their recital piece. They choose their own from songs they've learned in the recent past. Veteran students will occasionally learn a new song and decide that they may play that at the next recital which can be several months away.
I mention these as a rebuttal to the notion that classical music is dead or dying. Nearly five thousand people in Grand Rapids would disagree. Twenty five children and their families in Lansing would disagree also. I admit that these numbers pale in comparison to the audience sizes that pop music is used to, but it's always been that way.
Trying to compare pop music to classical is unfair to both. How do you compare an intimate dinner for two at a lovely bistro to eating burgers and fries out of a paper sack from a fast food chain? For most of us, the fast food fits more easily into our daily routines and budget. But it's corporate and the bistro is local. Music is the same. Pop music is corporate and can be found in any media market in the country. But classical is local and far more intimate.
People who love classical music don't love it to the exclusion of other styles. I have a thing for blues based rock. I often play duets with a flutist who likes eighties style punk. I know many classical musicians who listen to many other styles of music. The reverse is not often true unfortunately. I've spoken to many people who just won't listen to anything other than their favorites. In a rare, worse case situation, I had a mother of a third grader pull her son from a beginning class because we weren't learning any Johnny Cash tunes after only threes weeks.
Classical music is not for all day every day. It is more special than that. We get married to it. We are buried to it. And we often worship with it. And with a 500 year history there is a lot to choose from. You don't have to like it all. I certainly don't. Pick and choose. It's so easy today to listen for free. But more important, please experience it live. You don't have to hang on to every note. You can let your mind wander and just let the music be your guide. And you don't need to understand it anymore than you need to be a marine biologist to enjoy a lobster dinner. And while you're at it listen to some jazz, or americana, or (if you're up to it) some eighties style punk.