Bob Summers writes:

>The classical music world has to make a connection with the youngest
>two or three generations.  Where is the future audience?

The future audience will come from those younger generations as they
advance in age.

>My estimate of the average age of BSO attendees is about ninety years
>old.

I always had the suspicion than Bostonians enjoyed better medical care
than folks in other parts of the country.

>How long can this last?

With continuing medical advances, it can last long into the future.

Overall, I feel that classical music naturally appeals more to mature
adults.  A fine appreciation of classical music takes patience and some
degree of insights gained by life's experiences.  I don't expect young
people to care much for classical music; actually, I think it goes against
the grain of the typical teenager who wants quick gratification.  Heck,
when I was a teenager, instant gratification took too long.  I never would
have paid any attention to the attempts of folks in the classical music
world to rein me in.

Getting back to the Stones, there's a song of theirs which I never
appreciated as a teenager which I now consider my favorite song from them.
I think the song title is something like "Under my Thumb", and I currently
really love this song.  Its tension is unbeatable and constant.  Of course,
the words aren't exactly a role-model for equality between the sexes, but
rock music was never intended to be politically correct.  Rock music is
very much about rebellion and bad-mouthing the established order.  That's
all to the good, because adults tend to be so immersed in the established
order that they can't see the obvious negatives.

Don Satz
[log in to unmask]