>Jon Bernard inquires how members of this List came to value CM.

What brought me to CM?  First of all, it was finding, as a child, that
music could provide companionship and stimulate my mind, then being
exposed to the music, especially when played by great musicians.  Classical
music provided more variety in all aspects of music, form, timbre, style,
etc.  Also of great importance to me is the range of expression that can
be found within a piece of classical music.  There is rarely any dynamic
or rhythmic contrast in popular music.

I can still remember the first time I heard Bill Schuman's Third Symphony.
I was a sophomore in High School.  The finale was one of the most
brilliant, overwhelmingly optimistic, expressions of joy I had ever
heard...a celebration of life.  It still has the same effect on me.

What keeps bringing me to classical music is, that while it can be about
our lives, much of it speaks to me of all that there is.  No, I am not
a new age kind of guy.  It is the lack of specificity that appeals to
me.

It is difficult for me to understand how children of today can be drawn
to classical music with children's concerts that play things like
Variations on Pop goes the Weasel...maybe that will work on the five
year olds, but for those in high school...I don't think so.

Karl