Why Classical ?? -Reply

[Steve Pearson]

you wrote<  We can decry the state of "classical music" all we want but
until it is
demanded by the public as what they want to hear rather than as what
they feel
they 'ought to' want to hear, it will remain right where it is and has always
been.>  
True, true.  Education and exposure are the keys...and tolerance for
opinion and taste different than our own make it work.  God help us all if
the time ever comes when we only see and hear what sells big, offends
no one, and asks nothing from us but quiet acceptance.  Some classical
artists exploit their looks, or quirks - to wit: Ofra Harnoy, Josh Bell, but,
hey, if it inspires a listen from the rock n roll crowd, it's ok by me.  The
Three Tenors sure jammed the LA Colisseum.  So we classic buffs resort
to a few gimmicks. The top forty crowd has been doing it successfully
for decades.  Farinelli was a cult favorite in his day.   Perhaps it is a
shame our government is too shortsighted to see the value of subsidizing
the arts, and allow the artists to work unconcerned with their ratings. 
But it is. So live with it. Support the arts in your community. All of them. It
will be interesting to see, centuries hence, what will have endured as
"classical" that we now regard as popular.  Ol Ludwig and Johann
Sebastian were under constant pressure to produce new stuff
constantly.  I think what we have really lost is a willingness to accept,
even encourage,  the new while reverencing the old.  "The mind is like a
parachute.  It only works when it's open". Just my opinion, sorry I got a
little long winded.
Steve