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]