Scott Peterson writes:
>One of my oldest friends is a fan of New Age piano music. She heard
>me playing some of Debussy's piano music recently and commented that
>it was beautiful, and asked what it was. She was surprised that it
>was considered classical and not New Age, then asked what the difference
>was between Debussy and George Winston. I started to sputter something
>about the advanced harmonies and revolutionary use of....
>
>Can anyone here help me out? What SHOULD I have said?
Two books:
Theodore W. Adorno; "The Sociology of Music"
Julian Johnson: "Who Needs Classical Music?: Cultural Choice and Musical
Value"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195146816/classicalnetA/
Doug Fields
[Be sure to read John Grabowski's excellent review of Johnson's
interestng book At Amazon's site (follow the link and scroll down
to reviews). -Dave]