Video: Everyone can love Classical Music (TED talk by Benjamin Zander)

[michel dvorsky]

Thought it was a great little seminar.

[opus10no2]

No.

[mikebechstein]

If only the world had more people who inspired others like that.

If only the world had less elitists who excluded others and then complain that there are too many ignorant  people. Why do they feel so smug that they are educated (rather than feeling grateful that they have been lucky enough to get that education?) Classical music listeners (and art appreciators in general) seem to include so many smug elitists. Why is that? How many posts start with something like a simple quote of someone said that, because they don’t know a lot about classical music, is amusing to those who do? How many of those threads are then littered with posts by people who seem offended that these lesser people should keep their uneducated and ignorant mouths shut rather than risk offending musically knowledgeable people with their comments? Do they really feel so insecure in themselves that they need to voice their snobbery to pump up their own egos? I should ask a psychologist I suppose. It just annoys me that such a huge proportion of the people with the same tastes in music as me seem to be such condescending, patronising, snobby (and therefore insecure) people. It’s just music! Can’t we just live with it and enjoy it and help others to enjoy it if they want to and accept others who don’t as equals with different tastes, and not think of them as lesser people?

My sincere apologies to the many of you who do not fall into the type stated above if they feel that I have been tarring everyone with the same brush. That was not my intention.

[rc]

Excellent stuff!  Thanks for sharing...  I also believe that classical music is for everyone, mostly just because I've come to enjoy it so much that I figure anyone can.  I'm coming to think this way about all art.  After seeing a documentary explaining the meanings behind different kinds of art, I enjoy it so much more and realize that only the day before I never had any idea of such beauty.

I've also been reading an old book (The Music Life by Thomas Tapper), where one of his ideas is that people of different abilities/inclinations serve different purposes in the world of art.  Some can serve well by being a sort of bridge between the layman and the art world - like Zander here.  Others have different specialties, like the professional pianist who could play better than Zander, but couldn't give such a seminar because that's not what they're about.

So I suppose there's a certain elitism, in that some musicians are directing their efforts to a more classical-familiar audience than others, but I agree wholeheartedly that any sort of condescention does no good at all.  We may know more about music than our neighbours, but there are many things that we're ignorant of and I also appreciate when the mechanic doesn't treat me badly because I know so little about cars.

[mikebechstein]

Thanks RC.

BTW, I love the mechanic analogy; I’ll be using that as an example from now on whenever the conversation gets round to elitism.

[rc]

hahah, thanks.  It's the first thing that came to mind since I'd just come home after being stranded with car troubles out of town for a couple days 

[kard]

I think the major divide between those who can at least appreciate it and those who can't is that the average player doesn't make any definite attempt to guide the listener...
The people of those older eras had strong cultural backgrounds and experience to support their listening. They knew what to look for. They knew what to expect.

 Modern culture caters to modern pop. music, not classical. So if we want our music or message to make sense, we have to extend that extra pull. In my opinion, a great device is rythm (Zader touched on it a bit i think). That doesn't mean being metronomic necessarily, it just means that whatever liberties you take have to make sense with regards to the overall pulse of the piece. Even things like small talks or insights before a performance would make a big difference I think.