Olivier Solanet replies to Judith L. Zaimont:

>>At least in this little Arizona house, classical music flourishes!
>
>And thank heavens it does! But are we not becoming a cottage industry?

No, we have already gone global.  Never have people communicated so much
on the topic of classical music, people from all over the world, and the
effects are snow-balling.  If your local store does not have the music
you want to hear or the score you need, you can find it in Lithuania or
Georgia or Japan or elsewhere.  Music is available at all times online,
you can listen to concerts (I listened to one in Croatia just last
Saturday), radio programmes or pieces on sites promoting a particular
composer or musician.  If you need information, there it is - knowledgeable
articles, reviews or bibliographies.  I think we must be thankful for
the internet but even our libraries hold more music and scores than ever
before.  Were there as many concerts outside capital cities and as many
recordings made and selling in the 1950s for example...?  Were there as
many people attending colleges of music and conservatories?

If you have always moved in musical circles, especially professional,
or if you live in a big city, you may not agree with me, but if you live
out in the wilds, or nearly as I do, then you just might.

As for the greying concert audiences, well, new grey heads are growing
up to fill the halls for you all the time.  It just so happens that older
people are often the ones with the necessary personal freedom and time
- when money is not too great a problem - but the fair and the dark are
there too.

Regards,

Christine Labroche

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