Robert Clements wrote regarding the elitist image of Classical Music:

>...the image tends to stick, when the picture seems to fit.

IMHO all serious art is inevitably "elitist" because it demands
sustained attention in order to be created or apprehended.Jazz,for
example, ceased being a popular music form as its rhythms became more
flexible and its performance expanded beyond the limits of a three
minute song.That's not to say that art can't be found in three minutes
or less, but that there are so many other organic forms that occupy
more space.

Likewise, the art of a Henry James, will always be limited in its appeal.
James' demand of the artist to "try to be one on whom nothing is lost"
meant that he both gave and required much-no cheap grace,here.  The ability
to give Art time and attention is in part a function of leisure as well as
education,two factors that often correlate with income.  While I lack the
income traditionally associated with Classical Music lovers, I offered my
attention, thought, and time in the belief that I was enriched by the
exchange.Thank God the Arts have a public subsidy so that tickets aren't so
skyhigh that I can never attend to live music making and that I can have an
educational access through public institutions.  Hooray for the rich who
decide to support the Arts-they easily could spend their money on private
pleasures, instead of sharing for the greater good.  Thats enough of my
soapbox for now.

Jeff Tedford aka [log in to unmask]