It's ALIVE!

Thousands of horns have heralded the impending death of classical music. And it's hard not to appreciate that there are many issues facing the genre: audiences that are getting both smaller and older, a population whose attention spans may be shrinking to the point that a 15-minute piece of music (let alone a 2-hour concert) is simply too long to follow, an old-fashioned and stuffy concert hall experience that turns off a younger generation, to name a few. As a lover of classical music (and a member of the classical music "industry"), I hope with all of my hopes that classical music doesn't die.

Occasionally there are glimmers of hope. There is the oft-cited popularity of (le) Poisson Rouge in NYC, which regularly programs contemporary classical music in a bar/lounge setting. There is the success of the Met Opera's live HD broadcast program. And then there is the following YouTube clip that I came across this morning. It features a 3-year old conducting the final movement of Beethoven's famous 5th Symphony.

Here is a child who hasn't yet learned that classical music is stuffy, that classical music is for old people. He is physically engaged with this music, grinning the whole time as he wiggles around. He occasionally claps, and laughs, and at one particularly adorable moment exclaims, "It's my favorite part!" as the symphony accelerates into its final, triumphant moments. What a contrast to the typical classical music experience! I'm not sure where to go with this, but I'm pretty sure that the classical music world can learn something from Jonathan.

Beethoven - Symphony No. 5: IV. Allegro (YSI)

Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 4: II. Andante con moto (YSI)