Bill Pirkle wrote:

>I think the classical music is one of the greatest keep secrets in the
>world.  Many people would love it if they could just get exposed to it.
>But I think that it is important what one hears 1st since some of it can
>be a turn off if you are not prepared.  My 1st exposure was in college.
>I heard the Grieg A min and was blown away.  On the flip side of the lp
>was Rach Rhap on a theme of Pag which was exciting as well.

When I was young my parents told me classical music was depressing
"Like Death" and turned off the radio whenever it came on.  Later when
I was listening mainly to Eno, TRex and Pink Floyd one classical piece
transformed the world for me that was "The Planets".  I heard it at a
friend's place before going to a party and it set me up for the night.

But it was another 15 years before I did anything about it.  My first
purchases were "The Planets" and "The Four Seasons".

You are right it is important what you hear first.

But you also have to ask why people are so reluctant to listen to classical
music.  The main reason is that it is seen as being "High Brow".  I used
to find that classical music stores and concerts are full of condescending
snobs and they still are!  Just like BMW cars seem to attract lunatic
drivers so classical music seems to attract those who think they are
superior.

I wear a baseball cap and I swear that for this reason I get inferior
treatment by shop assistants in record stores and bad looks by the snob
shoppers.  I have no hair at all.  When I take my hat off most people take
me as I am.  But the classical fraternity is full of the small section of
the population that glare.  This fact puts me off going to concerts these
days.

I am in the UK but my experience of other (northern) european countries is
that the situation is even worse.

We cannot expect the populace to embrace classical music when we treat new
arrivals like illegal immigrants.

One measure I would propose to correct this is to have performers wear
normal clothes.  Ordinary people perceive a "them and us " situation about
bow ties and tails.

>I have a slight complaint in that our classical station plays a lot of
>obscure classical music (a little flute and violin sonata by a 16 century
>Spanish composer that I have never heard of) when there is so much great
>music to hear.  Few people are going to be drawn into classical music by
>hearing the obscure works - there's a good reason that they are obscure.

You're way off beam here.  There is plenty of obscure but approachable
music out there.  Try Micheal Haydn's clarinet concerto for instance.
A newcomer would, I feel, find this far more attractive than a Mahler
symphony, for example.

Why music is 'obsure' is another matter but it often has very little to
do with the value of the music itself.

>I think we need a "top 40" type classical station that just plays the great
>works to introduce the masses to classical music.  So I am going to start
>a thread - Top 10 compositions to introduce classical music.  The premise
>will be this "I you had to pick only 10 compositions to excite someone
>about classical music what would they be?"

Great? What is great? Similar threads have been done before with only one
certain conclusion we all have to agree to disagree.  Thank goodness.

Bob Draper
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