Arri Bachrach wrote:

>I think we have to realize and accept the fact that classical music is
>"culture" to a very small fraction of the population.  Many classical
>musicians, and I know and play with more than a few (professional and
>amateur) are NOT "cultured" individuals EXCEPT for the fact that they
>are musicians or music lovers.  And to many highly if not most educated
>people, classical music means nothing.
>
>It takes a special talent to appreciate classical music or play an
>instrument and the vast majority of people are not "musical" as I
>understand it.
>
>So why should NPR concentrate on classical music when most who listen
>are not musically inclined??

The only answer to this is several more questions, among which is why
should I donate to public radio?  The reason *I'm* upset is because if
you have no experience with the first-rate, you have no idea what second-,
third-, or even fourth-rate is.  This happens throughout the culture,
not just with music - literature, history, and ideas in general.  It
seems to me that public radio has a mission to educate, not to confirm
the comfortable predisposition and prejudices of the audience.  *That's*
the only way I can justify the money I give it.  We don't all have money
to educate ourselves, particularly when it involves an initial capital
outlay (the hi-fi system) plus ongoing expenditures of CDs, tapes, DVDs,
or whatever.  I believe the United States in particular needs a resource
like *educational*, as opposed to what's known as public, broadcasting
in order to insure its political health, among other things.  I also
believe the vital part of the culture is dying, simply because it so
seldom pays.  Sure, I'm a snob - no question about it.  But I'm willing
to do what I can to ensure that I have somebody other than barbarians
and other know-nothings to talk to.

It's not as though serious art exists for my benefit alone, however.  I
see all around me people who simply cannot enjoy themselves or occupy
themselves unless they're spending money.  Serious art and serious
considerations of ideas allow one the pleasures of re-looking, re-listening,
re-reading, and continual thought.  You get a lot of bang for your buck
out of Beethoven's Fifth and Stravinsky's Pulcinella.  Furthermore, if
you've heard Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Joan Morris, or Mildred
Bailey, why would you bother to listen to Britney Spears or the Simpsons
(J&A) more than once?  If you've heard Ellington, Parker, or Basie, what
would be the attraction of rap?  Knowing the first-rate tends to clear
out a lot of tripe.

Steve Schwartz