How do people actually like classical music?

Precious Roy wrote:

I have two degrees in orchestra performance and spent five years as a freelance orchestral musician before packing it in for law school. I will readily admit that I find a lot of classical music to be very boring to listen to. There are many exception, but as a general rule, I almost never listen to any early music, baroque or early classical period. I really do not care for most of Mozart's works, although I do understand why he is regarded as a genius. It is really from Beethoven through the mid 20th century that is the sweet spot for classical music. Then, it all starts to fall apart again when you get to the modern stuff like the atonal composers and all the aleatoric garbage from the 1960s and 70s from the likes of John Cage et al. So, if you turn on your local classical radio station or pick a random classical playlist on spotify, etc., odds are pretty good you will either run across some very boring baroque piece or a very weird dissonant modern composition (more likely the former).

Also, in today's world, the barrier to entry into appreciating classical music is high because so few people ever learn how to play a musical instrument. Lorde (the singer of Royals, etc.) never picked up an instrument as a kid and composed all her music using computers. Back in the Victorian era when classical music was probably at its nadir in terms of popularity, if you wanted to listen to music, you had to play it on a piano or violin or whatever you had at home or sign it. Through most of the 20th century, most everyone learned to at least play piano when they were a kid. Those numbers have dropped massively, although the kids who do play instruments have really great opportunities at some high schools as music education has improved drastically over the past 30-40 years. But for most people, getting into classical music without ever touching a musical instrument or playing in band is a tall task.

But fear not, as the one thing people have today that I did not have when I was a kid is the ability to access a massive library of classical music both on streaming and on video at a very low cost. If you are willing to spend some time at it, you will more than likely be able to find some classical music that you really do like and will be able to branch out from there. I would recommend watching Bernstein's young people's concerts. You can find most of them on youtube. They were meant for little kids, but the music selections and the presentation is really good and for all ages, including adults. You should also look for some of the classical music that is ubiquitous in pop culture, movies, etc. and listen to recordings of the original works. Here is a good list of works you will probably recognize:

Beethoven 5th symphony, first movement

Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture (the part you will know is the last half)

Wagner Ride of the Valkyries

Rossini William Tell Overture

Then, try some film scores. You should recognize just about anything from John Williams (Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, etc.). If you like classic cinema, watch On the Waterfront. It has a great score by Bernstein that stands up as its own orchestral piece. Kubrick was great at using orchestral music in his movies, although some of the stuff was crazy modern stuff like Ligeti. 2001 a Space Odyssey and The Shinning have great soundtracks using classical music. The Disney Fantasia movies are also a good collection of user friendly classical music if you need some visual stimulus.

Once you have started making some connections to classical pieces, then it is time to go exploring. Here are some good accessible pieces that would be the next step towards developing an appreciation for classical music:

Dvorak: Carnival Overture. Symphony No. 9

Beethoven complete symphonies. Odd ones are the better ones. 9th is the most popular aside from the first movement of 5.

Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique. Roman Carnival Overture

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4; Nutcracker suite

Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5; Lt. Kije suite; Alexander Nevsky; Scythian Suite

Shostakovich Symphony Nos. 5 &10, Festive Overture

Mahler Symphonies No. 1, 2, 5 & 7 (a lot going on with Mahler)

Stravinsky Firebird, Rite of Spring, Petroushka

Aaron Copeland Fanfare for the Common Man, Symphony No. 3; Appalachian Spring; Rodeo (might start with Copeland over the other ones--very accessible music without going light on quality)

Respighi: Pines of Rome; Roman Festivals (last movement is a barn burner)

Borodin: Peer Gynt

If you give all off these a try, odds are pretty good that you will start finding stuff that you like and based on your tastes will be able to expand out from there. Then, you should definitely try to attend a live symphony concert. Tickets to the symphony are not cheap, but are pennies to the dollar compared to what it costs to go to Taylor Swift or an NFL game. Also, if you live in a big city with a conservatory or good music school, you can go see a student concert for cheap or even free. You won't be able to tell the difference between a college level orchestra and the pros until you have spent a good bit of time listening to classical music and going to concerts.

Precious Roy wrote:

Armstronglivs wrote:

I think what explains your perception of a decline in interest in classical music is because of reduced exposure to it. It will apply to any art form. The biggest change to music in the 20th century was the advent of recorded music, which opened up choices to the listener that were hitherto not available. What replaced classical music (and folk musics) was pop. It became the diet of the masses. It is music that is easy to listen to and easy to like - it wouldn't be commercially successful if it wasn't. It is in that respect the opposite of classical music, which requires the cultivation of a taste (as do other art forms like jazz). Beethoven was never for the masses but is even less so in an age when we live by instant and undemanding gratification.

Rumors of classical music's demise have been greatly exaggerated. When I was trying to get an orchestra job in the early 1990s, everyone was saying that the orchestra will be dead in 10-20 years because so many of the patrons are old and young people only listen to pop music. Now 30+ years later, orchestras are doing well and music schools are full of talented musicians. Social media has actually helped expand audiences, with a lot of classical musicians and orchestras establishing a social media presence. Video games (of all things) have attracted a lot of people to special concerts that feature the orchestra playing music from the big video games. Same for live orchestras playing along with Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and other films. There are even big EDM concerts in Europe that feature live orchestras. These are big gateway experiences for people to get into classical music.

So, I really think by the 1980s, pop music had fully established itself and the damage was done. Since then, if anything, classical music has become more accessible because there is no longer the establishment/rebel dynamic between classical music and pop music that existed in the 60s and 70s is gone. Your parents probably listened to AC/DC and are now accountants. Everyone listens to pop music. Listening to classical music is no longer "square" or establishment.