Is classical music fading?

[chopincrazy23]

Hi everyone,

I am still very young, and my dream was to become a concert pianist. However, I read MANY articles on classical music fading away due to their largest audience, which is older people, dying. Now, I am a little bit worried about my concert pianist dream. So, I need some help, I don't know weather to keep working toward being a pianist? Or, since I am also a composer, pursue composing instead? Maybe something entirely different and more popular like a songwriter?

[hfmadopter]

If the intention with this is to support yourself, you might do better to become a certified nurses aid. The chances of employment are way greater. They are in demand everywhere, to include benefits and the work week leaves room for either of your dream pursuits. Not to mention you could go on further in the medical field.

In other words, don't give up your day job. Actually for the time and effort put in to becoming concert level you could become a brain surgeon.

Just saying !

[le_poete_mourant]

The hysteria about classical music dying is dramatically overstated. Young people are enrolling in music school at as high a rate, if not higher, as always. I don't think it is in danger of dying out.  Many people are finding ways to make successful careers in classical music.

Even if it were dying out at a faster rate, if it is truly your dream, that shouldn't stop you. But just because it is hard, don't sell out and go into something "easier" (you know what I mean) like songwriting if it is not your passion.

[timothy42b]

In other words, don't give up your day job. Actually for the time and effort put in to becoming concert level you could become a brain surgeon.

Just saying !

Or a pro athlete.

Your chances are better.  There are about the same number of pro athletes as classical musicians.  But athletes have a limited career due to wear and tear on the body, so there are always openings.

That isn't so much true for orchestral and classical musicians.  Contrast Brett Favre, who finally retired after 16 seasons with Green Bay, with Adolph Herseth, who held down the principal trumpet job at Chicago for 52 years.  

[g_s_223]

Hmmm, well I also read there's a demographic surge in boomers who (probably) will become part of the classical concert going public (arena pop concerts having become too taxing on the bladder).

The competition and expected standards for concert pianists are so high, you really would have to be quite exceptional to make it. The question of the "market" really isn't what will determine your success. Have you any idea of the sort of competition you would meet at music college?

Be a composer? Who said the only good composer was a dead one?

Take an objective look at all your abilities in every subject, and see what makes sense all round.

[sirpazhan]

think of it this way,, there are more astronauts than active classical concert pianists make high 6 figure or even million dollar incomes.

factor in the years of hard work with the income you'll be making. see if that makes you happy..  that's why many of them venture off to different areas of music.. areas that offers a larger payout.  

I'm going to bring Liberace in for a moment (just finished watching the HBO film) -- Liberace was originally a concert classical pianist... and once he was asked by an interviewer at what point did he decide to abandon being a classical pianist.. and he answered:

"when I decided to make a living" - L

[chopincrazy23]

factor in the years of hard work with the income you'll be making. see if that makes you happy..  that's why many of them venture off to different areas of music.. areas that offers a larger payout. 

What do you mean by different areas?

[hfmadopter]

What do you mean by different areas?

That would be playing piano in a different category than classical concert. The example was Liberace changed his career from concert pianist to what ever you call it that he was ( entertainer I guess).

[sirpazhan]

what I meant is sometimes you need to broaden your horizon. music industry is very difficult to break-in and become successful,, so you need factor alternatives and back-ups, new territories etc,, for instance you mentioned you compose.. well, a film score composer is an example.. guys like hans zimmer, james horner, danny elfman etc all have been influenced by classical music & composers. 

as an actual pianist, a good example is Victor Borge who was an accomplished classical pianist,, but its because he incorporated comedy into this performances is why we remember him today.. he thought out of the box,, he tried a different approach and he gained more success than he would of if he remained a concert pianist.  I brought up Liberace because he knew he wouldn't be able to make a living as a concert pianist,, so he incorporated entertainment and showmanship into his performances,, and as a result, he became extremely successful in the 50-70's.

[virtuoso80]

The problem is supply outstripping demand from both ends. Tons of kids learn piano. Every major college has a music program. If classical piano playing were a niche activity, it wouldn't be so bad, but the reality is that there are TONS of good players out there, and so there is extremely stiff competition.

As far the the other side - yes, elderly people are dying, but that's hardly anything new. I don't think people will stop loving Beethoven any time soon, but playing music from 200 years ago will always be a niche thing, just like Shakespeare is still enjoyed by many, but will never make as much money as a contemporary Hollywood movie.

I would say to keep your horizons open. If you want to be a musician, be a musician, but realize there's no restriction on exactly how you approach that. Even consider getting a degree in something else and getting a day job, and doing music in your spare time. I actually find that to be extremely freeing - I can play and compose what I want, and don't have to worry about whether it will pay to do so.

[j_menz]

Fading? More people, and a bigger percentage of people, listen to it now than ever before.

[chopincrazy23]

and getting a day job, and doing music in your spare time. I actually find that to be extremely freeing - I can play and compose what I want, and don't have to worry about whether it will pay to do so.

By the way, I am actually not old enough to get a "real job" yet :/ I was just trying to figure out my future.

[j_menz]

By the way, I am actually not old enough to get a "real job" yet :/

Chimneysweep is a real job.  Stop bleeding your parents dry!



 

[chopincrazy23]

Chimneysweep is a real job. 

 

Yeah sure, in like the 1800s! haha lol 

[j_menz]

Yeah sure, in like the 1800s! haha lol 

Nope:

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/chimneysweep.aspx

[outin]

By the way, I am actually not old enough to get a "real job" yet :/ I was just trying to figure out my future.

I think usually the ones who become successfull in anything requiring tons of work without any security of ever being rewarded for it don't actually have much choice. I don't think they contemplate whether they want to be a doctor or a concert pianist. They simply don't have a choice, since their drive and passion won't let them give up even when all the odds are against them. So you could also question yourself whether you really could do something else for a living?

The good thing is that if you try and haven't gone anywhere with classical music before you are 30, there's still time to make another career...One just needs to know when it's time to change the course and take the opportunities that will occur instead of hitting one's head to the wall.

But if it's money and/or fame one really wants, then it might not be worth to even try... 

[bronnestam]

Follow your passion, and people will follow you.

 

[chopincrazy23]

Nope:

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/chimneysweep.aspx

 "From 1775 onwards there was increasing concern for the welfare of the boys, and Acts of Parliament were passed to restrict, and in 1875 to stop this usage."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimney_sweep

First of all I am a girl. Second, this restriction was meant for kids, and I am young enough to be considered a kid.

[thepianist09]

More and more older people are listening to classical music, even if they enjoyed modern music in their youth, and by the time of 2030 over half of our population will be over 65. Hopefully it shall grow.

[tdawe]

Art music has definitely fallen out of the mainstream and into the realms of academia. Modern composers making innovations are simply too inaccessible to the common listener. Compare this to, say, the early 20th Century and the arrival of Modernism - despite controversy, composers such as Stravinsky and even Schoenberg garnered wide mainstream acceptance. I feel many people still listen to the canonical classical music, but that new music that pushes the boundaries has totally slipped away from the mainstream audience. Perhaps in a sense that was always the way, it was just that the concert hall used to have a much larger role in public life.

[the_fervid_pig]

I wouldn't have said so no, and with sites like Youtube it's far more accessible now that it ever has been, and it's far easier to get some exposure. A great man once sang about people getting kicks stomping on dreams and if that's your dream then you're obliged to follow it, but bear in mind that it's a lot of work, you won't be alone, and it may never happen, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

[j_menz]

Art music has definitely fallen out of the mainstream

Art music was never IN the mainstream.

[tdawe]

Art music was never IN the mainstream.

That's simply not true. All the way up to the early-middle 20th Century new music was in the mainstream. Composers such as Strauss, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Debussy, Mahler, et cetera all had their works performed to large audiences whilst making large bounds in stretching musical theory. This gradually shifted over the course of the 20th Century and now anything innovative seems resigned to only being heard by a few listeners.

[j_menz]

That's simply not true. All the way up to the early-middle 20th Century new music was in the mainstream.

The mainstream simply couldn't afford it. It was the domain of the wealthy aristocracy. The masses were listening to something else.

[outin]

The concept of "mainstream" would have been very different those days. It's the masses now because they have money to spend (at least in some parts of the world). Those days only the the higher classes could pay much for entertainment. The majority of people were not mainstream, they were invisible. For them music was either self made or by someone with very simple means.

[ted]

Classical fading ? Certainly not. A much deeper, and far more knowledgeable love of it exists now than ever before, and among people in all walks of life. However, the ways in which it is played and heard have changed with technology and will continue to change. The primary mode of listening, as with all music in developed countries, is no longer the public concert but the privately heard recording, and more recently mp3 files. The benefits of these developments to classical music, and indeed to all music, are immense. Anybody with a computer, and they are almost ubiquitous now, can, for a few dollars or less, have instant listening access to anything in the whole history of music. A composer or musician can create or play something and five minutes later a listener on the other side of the world also hears it. It happens every day on this forum, and is a truly wonderful state of affairs.

Classical music, indeed any sort of historical music can only thrive in these circumstances. And I conjecture that, far from diminishing, the concert experience will also thrive.

[outin]

Classical fading ? Certainly not. A much deeper, and far more knowledgeable love of it exists now than ever before, and among people in all walks of life. However, the ways in which it is played and heard have changed with technology and will continue to change. The primary mode of listening, as with all music in developed countries, is no longer the public concert but the privately heard recording, and more recently mp3 files. The benefits of these developments to classical music, and indeed to all music, are immense. Anybody with a computer, and they are almost ubiquitous now, can, for a few dollars or less, have instant listening access to anything in the whole history of music. A composer or musician can create or play something and five minutes later a listener on the other side of the world also hears it. It happens every day on this forum, and is a truly wonderful state of affairs.

I wonder... since more and more poeple do listen to classical music by computers and mp3 players. Will this have an effect on what is listened. Some types of classical music will sound better than others with these devices...

[jknott]

it's certainly true that concert audiences for classical music are ageing.  at 53 I rarely see people of my own age at concerts - mostly 10-20 years older. and my teacher - also a concert pianist - says his audiences are pretty old.

of course that doesn't necessarily mean classical music is fading - there are lots of other ways to listen (i-tunes, spotify) - but do they earn much/any money for the artist?

brahms gave concerts to make money when he was broke - i think those days are gone!

[tdawe]

The mainstream simply couldn't afford it. It was the domain of the wealthy aristocracy. The masses were listening to something else.

The concept of "mainstream" would have been very different those days. It's the masses now because they have money to spend (at least in some parts of the world). Those days only the the higher classes could pay much for entertainment. The majority of people were not mainstream, they were invisible. For them music was either self made or by someone with very simple means.

This is very true, I hadn't really considered it at all. That period of history was written almost entirely by an elite upper class. Invisible is a good way to put it.