Is Classical Music Dying?

[Harold falcon]

This is crap, it's not dying at all. Just because people aren't rushing out to buy the latest cover version of Rachmaninoff doesn't mean the industry is dying. How many more copies of Beethoven's 9th do you really think the record industry is going to be able to sell me?

If classical music can't make money, it can't stay alive. And it's notable that recordings appear to do worse than concert ticket sales. If everyone who attended the National Symphony Orchestra on a given night bought a copy of the same album, that album would leap to the top of the classical charts every week.

Again, the works aren't going anywhere. Just because a bunch of overpaid record execs can't find a way to make money of three or four hundred year old compositions doesn't mean Classical Music is dead.

 

[thenanyu]

Originally Posted by harvey_birdman

Again, the works aren't going anywhere. Just because a bunch of overpaid record execs can't find a way to make money of three or four hundred year old compositions doesn't mean Classical Music is dead.
How much do you know about the subject? Which 3 to 4 hundred year old composers do you listen to? Mozart just turned 254. Old works are great, but performers have to be alive to keep the tradition going. New works have to be composed and published to continue the genre's development.

 

[Harold falcon]

Originally Posted by thenanyu

How much do you know about the subject? Which 3 to 4 hundred year old composers do you listen to? Mozart just turned 254.

Old works are great, but performers have to be alive to keep the tradition going. New works have to be composed and published to continue the genre's development.

Pachelbel and Froberger, just off the top of my head.





And classical music as a genre doesn't develop. That's why it's classical music. There may be very minor changes in performances over the years but that should always be secondary to the performance of the piece. If you want contemporary versions of classical music for modern audiences you get this:



No thank you. I'm happy to know that I've got Furtwangler's version of the 9th on CD and I don't need to buy another copy. Frankly, I don't care which flavour of the week is putting out another version.

 

[Artisan Fan]

Originally Posted by harvey_birdman

This is crap, it's not dying at all. Just because people aren't rushing out to buy the latest cover version of Rachmaninoff doesn't mean the industry is dying. How many more copies of Beethoven's 9th do you really think the record industry is going to be able to sell me?

I think in some ways it is "dying" but perhaps we need to define what dying is...going away completely? No. Diminished sales? Yes.

 

[Milpool]

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

I think in some ways it is "dying" but perhaps we need to define what dying is...going away completely? No. Diminished sales? Yes.

Diminished sales of what? Tickets to the symphony? CDs?

Are diminished sales of CDs really indicative of classical music dying or of the recording industry in general dying?

 

[Thomas]

Norman LeBrecht has been bemoaning and lamenting this same topic for years now, and thinks that the answer lies in downloads and increased flexiblilty in ensembles to accept lower fees for their recordings.

Whether that works or not, we're still faced with the lionization of a few select (dead) composers and a glut of young talent to tread the same ground over and over. I'm not sure how many more Rach 3rd's I care to buy, particularly since I have both Argerich's version AND Helfgott's.

 

[StephenHero]

I'm listening to more and more classical music. Maybe I'm getting older and 24 year olds singing about broken relationships don't appeal to me anymore, but the variety of moods it can compliment and its subtlety of technical merit is second to no other genre. I've been listening to Erik Satie quite a bit this week after getting his complete piano works on cd, as well as digging deeper into Beethoven, Debussy, and Prokofiev.

 

[Artisan Fan]

Originally Posted by Milpool

Diminished sales of what? Tickets to the symphony? CDs?

Are diminished sales of CDs really indicative of classical music dying or of the recording industry in general dying?

Both CD sales and symphony tickets are down.

 

[Milpool]

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

Both CD sales and symphony tickets are down.

I honestly don't know much about this, but was this a trend before the economy went to hell?

 

[Artisan Fan]

Originally Posted by Milpool

I honestly don't know much about this, but was this a trend before the economy went to hell?

Yes, unfortunately.

 

[A Y]

Originally Posted by Thomas

Norman LeBrecht has been bemoaning and lamenting this same topic for years now, and thinks that the answer lies in downloads and increased flexiblilty in ensembles to accept lower fees for their recordings.

LeBrecht is like the Roubini of the classical music world, except even less accurate.

The world is changing and people are listening and accessing the classical arts in different ways. Those organizations that can't change to adapt are dying, and this is what we're seeing now. There are also arts organizations that are thriving, like the LA Phil, KUSC, and the Met.

--Andre

 

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by StephenHero

I'm listening to more and more classical music. Maybe I'm getting older and 24 year olds singing about broken relationships don't appeal to me anymore, but the variety of moods it can compliment and its subtlety of technical merit is second to no other genre. I've been listening to Erik Satie quite a bit this week after getting his complete piano works on cd, as well as digging deeper into Beethoven, Debussy, and Prokofiev.
I listen to it daily as I work. After a stressful day, there is no other type of music I want to hear in the car on my drive home.

 

[amerikajinda]

Originally Posted by audiophilia

How many downloads on iTunes, Amazon, HDTracks, etc? That's where the juice is nowadays. 20 years ago, a massive classical 'hit' moved 25,000 copies. It's all about the downloads today. We're about 5% of the market. Always have been.

Then, of course, there's this.

Thought the figure was 3%?

"The classical charts have always been looked at as in the 3-percenter club," says Alex Miller, general manager of Sony Masterworks. "Three percent of total music sales are in classical music."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...012904193.html

 

[amerikajinda]

...although on iTunes, Classical makes up 12%?

"And apparently - even though the clichÃ

classical music listener is stodgy and gray - classical music is more popular on the Internet than it was in stores. Whereas classical music made up only 3 percent of CD sales in retail stores, it actually accounts for 12 percent of all sales on Apple's iTunes."

http://www.chicagoclassicalmusic.org/blog/108?page=2

 

[Lostinthesupermarket]

Originally Posted by thenanyu

Listen to it on a $20k+ (small timer I know) system and you will never move from your couch again.
What format are you listening to the music on, as a matter of interest?