I think you hit it right on the head when you said that it takes "too much
effort" to appreciate Classical Music today.  People of today are generally
lazy, want something for nothing, screw the other guy to bolster yourself
types.  Modern societal influences goad them into being narcissistic
hedonists (a la Britney Spears and all of her ilk).  Anything that is seen
as "old fashioned" is either 1) nerdy, 2) not cool, or 3) too much work to
understand.  I am a teacher, and I know from experience that work is an
allergy to most school children (unless of course it is learning all the
secret cheating codes for their favorite video games).

Speaking as a gamer myself, I know how fun and challenging learning games
can be (I also play bridge competitively and am a Director in the American
Contract Bridge League), but I can appreciate things in life that require
work to understand.  I have been a classical music fan since I was 6 (30
years).  I get goose bumps when I hear something played well.  When it's
played exceptionally, I might shed tears.  I am also a professional
musician and have extra appreciation for the intracacies of classical
music.

Today, though, everything is supposed to take place in 4.3 seconds (or,
in the case of pop music, in 3 minutes and assorted seconds).  It appeals
to the "I have no attention span" crowd of aforementioned narcissistic
hedonists.  As an aside, I find it quite ironic that most of the popular
bands today hire the same guy to write all their music, and he's a
classically trained Swiss composer named Max Martin.

Maybe I'm rambling, but I also seem to remember than 25 years ago, some
pop music was actually worth someething (not that disco trash).  I remember
Jimmy Paige experimenting with different guitar tunings in songs such as
"The Rain Song." Pink Floyd's "Several Species of Small Furry Animals
Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" is also an
experimental stroke of originality.  Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman made
important pop music contributions in Yes, and Keith Emerson actually wrote
a worthy piano concerto.  In today's world, though, even these are "too
much work" for people to understand.  It's a sad commentary on the
degeneration of our society.

Our symphony *where I play principal Clarinet* packs them to the rafters
when we do Celtic Music with Irish Dancers on Stage or when we bring in
Mark DuBois or Michael Burgess for some Broadway style stuff, but when we
work our butts off doing the Rachmaninoff Second Symphony, we play to 65
people in a hall that seats 1200.

Perhaps this post is a rambling wreck, but I had to air some of these
opinions.  Forgive me if I've insulted anyone.

Sincerely,

Charles L. L. Dalmas
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http://www.winternet.com/~davion ICQ: 5420025