I think the level of ignorance in society in general in the USA is increasing, so it would not be surprisising to see it increasing in the audience of classical music. And at least in the US, the information given over classical music stations, while sometimes quite good, would not replace a music theory class. As a fairly unsophisticated listener, I can't really comment on the level of ignorance today as compared with previous times. However, this "boomer baby" is confident that over his lifetime, audiences have become less respectful of the music, the musicians, and fellow audience members, and I find it distressing. When I heard Ormandy's Philadelphia Orchestra in the 1960's, I am almost certain audiences did not fidget to the extent they do in Washington DC today and applause between movements was not nearly so common as today. Many on this list don't need to be told that Kurt Mazur walked off the stage a couple of years back in disgust at the audience's lack of attention. Larry