How Are We Going To Fix This?

As a classical musician, I have played my fair share of pieces, everything from Beethoven, Stravinsky, to new art that is just making its debut to the world. I always enjoying listening to the applause after the performance, not because I am that self centered, but because you can get a sense of just how much the audience liked the music, or disliked it for that matter. When I was in high school that applause was always roaring because....well the audience was made up of parents and friends. I guess they did not have to be so nice, but they were so I know that we all appreciated their love and support. As I continued to perform in new venues and the audience expanded to include everyday classical music lovers, I realized a change in the applause. When the piece was considered to be modern/contemporary, the applause was never quite as energetic.

While the classical music industry has been in what we might call a "recession", orchestras, as well as the rest of the classical music community, have finally started to realize that contemporary music is not for everyone. Some of the world's major classical groups, like The Met, are leading the way in fixing this problem. They have helped make the classical community realize that contemporary music is not for everyone. However, they have found there is a large target audience for modern classical music. In order to bring that audience, they must market the music differently from the more standard music of Bach and Brahms.

This issue of how to market contemporary classical music has finally made its way to the forefront of important issues to resolve in the classical music world. The biggest reason for this is that orchestras were having trouble staying afloat, simply because there was not enough money coming in from ticket sales. If there is no money coming in, the orchestra cannot continue to perform concerts.

I think another important factor is that orchestra management, and of course other group like operas, realized not everyone enjoys contemporary music. That is not a bad thing though. Furthermore, they found that they could not force contemporary music onto their listeners. There is always going to be an audience for classical music and contemporary classical music. The community has finally realized that the audience is not the same for each genre.