Q. Let classical music speak for itself.
Why dumb it down?
A. The European classical arts in America flourished after WWII with a flood of immigrant artists, audience and patrons, plus a major foundation willing to stabilize them. And then popular music & sports grew into spectacular entertainments competing for commercial dominance and often kitschy protest parties throwing off the blessings of the bourgeoisie. After that, video games, cable TV, and personal computers ushered in a revolution of amateur capacity and time-sucking that left little interest in the steep learning curve of classical music, except among those who studied it.
As artistic standards for the fine arts continued to rise despite less instruction in public schools, fewer would benefit from them as the arts industry passionately resisted compromising for study-averse song-and-beat lovers. Only those with the cultural knowledge could access classical music, and fortunately we had plenty of them… until the last 20 years.
Today, outside the arts bubble, cultural democracy and technology leave classical music isolated, even as recent targeted gains for women and African-Americans begin to turn the tide. Classical music is hardly connected to, owned by, or renewed by the American populace.
Concerts and listening habits became wonderfully art-centric (focused) over the 20th-Century. Starting the 21st, the growth of commercial music, two great recessions, the Digital Revolution, and the subsequent freefall of the recording market prove exactly why our orchestras and their audiences need to open up, step outside, and make sure newcomers can see themselves reflected inside the bubble. Building New Classical, CutTime® explains the tradition inside the concert hall, where the potential spiritual impact is maximized and completely personal. Taking the perspective of newcomers to give them what they need is an audience-centric (broadened) paradigm. Consistent, designed exposures and experiences over months or years will build hunger for concerts, or at least for the music.