Why is classical music dying

But all of that changed in the 20th century when "rules of concert etiquette" began incorporating themselves into performances. Suddenly, clapping mid-piece was unacceptable. Applause between movements, or parts, of pieces became that way as well. Regular concertgoers would shoot glares of disdain toward anyone violating such rules. Performers speaking from the stage? Improvisation in a concert? Rarely done and almost never taught in even the most prestigious classical music colleges and conservatories.

With this stifling atmosphere of rules and "appropriateness," it is no wonder that people especially youth are apprehensive and often uninterested in the whole idea of classical music. Somehow, classical music has become inaccessible and unwelcoming. Ferropolis, Germany — Music festivals are as much a part of summer as being eaten by insects.

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There is a similar notion to popular music. Because of this favouritism, one genre has been losing substantial listening popularity. This genre is called classical music. We have heard the term classical music throughout our lifetimes. Some may know of famous classical composers such as Beethoven or Mozart. But is this where the knowledge of classical music ends with the current and generation? According to TheTide. The study concluded that only 8.

In , the percentage continued to decrease. There could be many reasons as to why classical music has gone into the music shadowlands. Before this time, classical music atmospheres were more relaxed. For example, at the time, mid applause during an orchestrated piece was widely accepted. Today, random acts of applause are highly not encouraged and could be seen as disrespectful.

So, the younger generation may be put off by these notions and the constant pressure to stay still and silent for hours. Therefore, a huge reason why classical music could be diminishing. It looks like younger people have no interest in classical music. Younger people who decide to try it out might look around, feel out of place, and never attend another concert.

Evidence that classical music is dying? While it is true that the audience at symphony concerts is getting older and older, it is not true that you have to be old nowadays to like classical music. Schools that still have orchestras have no trouble finding members.

College and university music programs are graduating record numbers of students who play orchestral instruments. I attended a concert in a library where the intended audience for a string quartet another hoary classical music institution was pre-school and school children.

It played Beethoven, Britten, and Ravel—one 19th-century composer and two from the 20th century. And concerts by pop music icons are cheap? That may be true of concert series by major orchestras. Look for community orchestras, college and university orchestras, or whatever high school orchestras are still left. Like the decline in classical music on radio, this trend has developed over several decades.

Schools are under more and more pressure to have students score well on standardized tests. I suspect that has something to do with it. My ex-wife taught English as a Foreign Language for several years. She and teachers of other electives the arts, foreign languages, gym had to supervise the lunchroom.

Teachers of real academic subjects got duty-free lunch times. But too many of them seem not to regard electives in general, not just classical music, important enough to support. Conan started the program announcing that Washington, DC public radio station WETA had reinstated classical music programming due to popular demand after two years of being news and talk only.

That audience obviously kept letting the station know that they considered being able to listen to classical music important. Gioia said that classical music is thriving, but that we need to be vigilant to keep it that way.

He pointed to three trends: the broad decline of classical music on commercial radio stations, the decline of classical music on public stations, and the stability of the audience for classical music on radio. That is, stations have not stopped broadcasting classical music because their audiences have stopped wanting it. Audiences still consider it important. Conan asked whether the government should subsidize listeners of classical music. And he said that the marketplace puts a price on things, but some things are beyond price.

In a democracy, the arts have a role in society that the market should not entirely determine. I think that the whole vision of public radio is to provide in a sense those things which radio can provide for free to America and not be determined by the commercial environment. Diversity of programming I think should be one of the fundamentals of public radio. He grew up in a working-class family, by the way. He listened to classical music on the radio as he worked in manual labor long before he had the chance to attend a live concert.

Christie commented that there has never been a better time in the US for arts organizations, and classical music organizations in particular, to develop relevance with their audiences.

All the organizations he led were always developing collaborative ventures to deal with local issues. But all the education and availability issues always came up against the fixed costs of providing the services: salaries, maintaining the venues, etc. Ticket sales for all three orchestras were strong, and in Phoenix, the strongest in the history of the organization.

Classical music has always needed subsidies. Opera has needed them since the first public opera theater opened in If classical music audiences recognize the names of only a few living classical composers, they surely include John Corigilano. On his part of the program, he saw not so much the dying of classical music but its reestablishment in other venues than the concert hall.

That is, young composers all have blogs and websites where they put their music. They use social media, iTunes, Sirius Satellite Radio. Orchestras need to find ways to engage the audience during the performance and make them feel comfortable and free to express themselves. Cultivate a More Honest Approach to Failure Bergauer feels that a lot of orchestras have their head in the sand when it comes to self-criticism.

As a result, as an industry, we have a very inward-focused dialogue. Develop Mobile-Friendly Websites Bergauer says that its incredible that in , there are still many orchestras sans optimized mobile versions of their websites. Diversity Is Not Just on Stage Bergauer sees that too many orchestras see diversity through the prism of who is performing on stage or which composers they choose to play, but many have a lot of work to do in making sure the audience mirrors that same level of diversity.

Leaders need to cultivate boards that share their same attitude towards risk taking and data-driven management. And enjoy the music. We get it: you like to have control of your own internet experience. But advertising revenue helps support our journalism.