James Tobin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>In a context of classical music, if the term "elite" is meaningful in
>anything close to a precisely definable way, I would suggest that the OED's
>1968 usage example ("Formal schooling which a generation ago was still
>confined to a small elite") might be the most helpful for framing a
>discussion.  Classical musicianship does require considerable formal
>training as a rule, whereas non-classical musicianship generally doesn't,
>in my observation.  However, simply liking to listen to classical music
>rather than non-classical music depends simply on taste rather than
>training.

This is how I would use the term as well, and how I used it in the post
that generated some of this discussion.  Tobin, however, asserts the term
cannot apply to classical music listeners, as this is not a skill.  I would
differ.  While it's true that classical music can be enjoyed by those who
have not been trained in "listening skills," there's no question that
having been taught those skills in college greatly improved my ability to
appreciate the art.  Classical music is not as readily accessible to the
general population as is popular music, and that some training, self-taught
or not, is almost always a prerequisite to its fullest enjoyment.

D. Stephen Heersink
San Francisco, California
[log in to unmask]