Classical Music for Those Who'd Love to Love it, but Never Learned it.

[zeitchef]

I'm a professional conductor working in Europe and would entertain such a notion. Feel free to send me a message to discuss what you have in mind. Great idea!

 

 

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[zeitchef]

I don't know what it is that makes people love some genres of music and not others. It's no more necessary to "understand" classical music in order to love it than it is to understand Rock or Jazz.

I must say, I completely disagree with this statement. In my education work, I find that audiences are much more engaged with music when they have more "intellectual" information about a piece of music. For me, it's not a matter of "love" but of "appreciation."

 

For example, I love a good bourbon whiskey, and I find the more I know about it, the process that it goes through, makes me appreciate it all the more deeply.

[zeitchef]

I think the important point would be centering in on the ideal audience, someone like Chris, who has a passion for music but needs a little help appreciating why they love it. The Guardian did a wonderful series on contemporary classical music recently: a series of 50 articles centering on a single composer with a high-level overview of why they are so important and critical works in their oeuvre.

 

I could imagine a series of listening guides, aimed towards our target audience that might go much deeper than these articles allowed. For example, what makes Mahler's Second Symphony so great, with a detailed "what to listen for" guide and recommended recordings. Other general interest articles might included basic performance practice items such as the audible differences between European and American orchestras (how can I hear the difference between the Chicago Symphony and the Vienna Philharmonic?), the basics of "HIP" performance (and other performance practice trends), and important works of the 20th/21st centuries (which sadly are largely ignored).

 

I'm somewhat of an expert with modern music as a performer, and my primary audio passions center around recordings of Mahler symphonies, Romantic and Modern opera, and general orchestral repertoire. If any of that sounds interesting, I'll be happy to contribute in some way.