Steve Schwartz wrote:

>On the other side, the audience seems to expect to hear pieces they
>immediately understand, to put in almost no work whatsoever.

The prevalent mind-set is probably to put in "absolutely" no work
whatsoever.  But, what's wrong with that? Who said that music should
entail work on a listener's part? I think that throughout history, music
has been seen by the bulk of human-kind as an "entertainment" to be loved
and enjoyed.  Even more so than with books.

Len Fehskens asked why classical music is marginal in this culture.  My
view is that classical music tends to take more "work" and concentration
than the typical entertainment.  And just about everyone wants to be
entertained, including highly educated individuals.  That's the way it is,
and those of us who like to get more out of music than pure entertainment
just have to accept the fact that we are in the minority.

Don Satz
[log in to unmask]