[pianozach]

OK. I just think that a station that played so much unknown music might attract people with its "Wow, listen to THAT - that is so cool and different" factor.

 

[fbjim]

Unfortunately radio isn't much of a thing anymore especially for young people. The equivilent might be playlists shared by friends or whatever Spotify or Youtube suggests.


I found this excerpt from a magazine interesting.

What does work, then? My evidence is admittedly anecdotal, but when I ask people what got them interested in classical music, they answer with things like: cartoons, movies, television shows, commercials, watching a live performance, learning an instrument. One thing that all these answers have in common is that they are all about experiencing classical music as music. Some other people mention getting interested through gateways like classical-esque sounds in the Beatles, or movie and video game soundtracks—though the division between “movie music” and “real music” has always been blurry (Shostakovich and Copland wrote for movies, after all), and there’s a whole scholarly subfield called ludomusicology devoted to the study of video game music. In any case, for most people I talked to, their interest was piqued not by being told that they should like the music, but by hearing music itself.

[...]

If you want to grow classical music’s audience (and you should), rather than arguing why people should like it, focus your efforts on giving them opportunities to encounter it and form their own associations with it. Share your favorite pieces. Organize performances for communities that might not otherwise get that experience. Again, don’t pre-interpret the music for them; let them come up with their own opinions. If they decide it’s cool, fine, but if not—that’s OK, too. After all, the opposite of “boring” isn’t “cool,” it’s “interesting.” ¶

(Classical Music Isn’t Cool)

 

[Strange Magic]

@fbjim: Excellent post. It would be interesting and possibly useful to create a video of as many examples as possible of where CM is or has been used in the wider culture. I offered before the fact that TV's Judge Judy's theme music are the opening notes of LVB's 5th symphony, the long history of the William Tell overture with The Lone Ranger radio program, and the March from Proko's 3 Oranges as theme for a radio crime drama. In addition there would many dozen ad background music examples, the Broadway musical Kismet, and film references; Proko's Alexander Nevsky only one example. Elvira Madigan Mozart PC reference. Popular songs that have mined CM melodies (Rach's Full Moon and Empty Arms). All embedded in the non-CM context This video to be shown where possible in schools or on public television or YouTube, with some serious advertising that People Will Love It! A modern-day Disney Fantasia, but more cool.

 

[pianozach]

@fbjim: Excellent post. It would be interesting and possibly useful to create a video of as many examples as possible of where CM is or has been used in the wider culture. I offered before the fact that TV's Judge Judy's theme music are the opening notes of LVB's 5th symphony, the long history of the William Tell overture with The Lone Ranger radio program, and the March from Proko's 3 Oranges as theme for a radio crime drama. In addition there would many dozen ad background music examples, the Broadway musical Kismet, and film references; Proko's Alexander Nevsky only one example. Elvira Madigan Mozart PC reference. Popular songs that have mined CM melodies (Rach's Full Moon and Empty Arms). All embedded in the non-CM context This video to be shown where possible in schools or on public television or YouTube, with some serious advertising that People Will Love It! A modern-day Disney Fantasia, but more cool.

Pretty much MOST of the music for Kismet was adapted from several pieces composed by Alexander Borodin.

The 1959 animated Disney film Sleeping Beauty liberally used music from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty ballet.

Way back in the 1960s the closing theme of the Huntley-Brinkley Report was the second movement of Beethoven's Symphony #9.

 

[verandai]

I think motivating more young people to play an instrument would be a good start. Playing an instrument increases the chances to get in touch with classical music (generally spoken - depending on the instrument).

I hope this opinion wasn't already stated in this thread, I didn't read all 12 pages yet...

 

[fbjim]

The question of "Organize performances for communities that might not otherwise get that experience" is an interesting one. Has anyone who plays an instrument or knows people who play instruments done this? I certainly think there are programs where you might be able to, e.g. play chamber music for youth centers or schools in areas which don't have the funding for proper arts programs, for instance.

 

[Andrew Kenneth]

In the eighties the dutch sunday night talk show "RUR" commenced to the tune of the 2nd act intro of "Die Walkure".

 

[pianozach]

Has anyone considered Classical Music "conditioning"?

Like, you know, putting out cake and ice cream while playing Classical,
and putting out vegetable plates while playing Hip Hop?

 

[jegreenwood]

I’m coming off a great success with my 9-year old grandniece - A Midsummer Night’s Dream to music by Mendelssohn. It’s her third ballet, following The Nutcracker (twice) and Coppelia. Before the performance we went down to the orchestra pit to identify the instruments. Several of the musicians warming up waved “hi.”

I know not everyone has access to live ballet, but there are videos. I purchased The Royal Ballet’s box set (for me), which includes a range of ballets from Giselle to contemporary works, most, but not all, set to classical scores. And there are times when good camerawork helps.

I’m now thinking of an orchestral concert video of encore pieces.