The repeated hearings issue, along with the attendent vicious circle you describe, have IMO long been at the core of the problem. But more fundamentally, there seems to be a lack of awareness amongst the general population that some music requires concentration and repeated listening at all, and thus that there is music that is geniuinely _difficult_ and not just _bad_ (same goes for other arts.) Getting this idea across is surely the first step to getting more people to consider "difficult music" without dismissing it out of hand if they don't like it after one listening at the office in the background. James Levine's philosophy is also an interesting one IMO, worth more discussion. -Francisco *********************************************** The CLASSICAL mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's HDMail High Deliverability Mailer for reliable, lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html