Klarinet Archive - Posting 001207.txt from 1998/07

From: mandywilliams1@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Clarinet Column
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1998 22:42:54 -0400

>> I'm writing an article for the Toronto Star on why teenagers are
>turning
>> away from classical music.

>Are you sure that they are turning away from classical music? I
>graduated
>from high school in 1955, from a school which had a good music
>tradition,
>and I was the only person in my school who had an interest in
>classical
>music. How could they be turning away from it more than that?
>
>In the interest of fairness and accuracy, you ought to write another
>article about teenagers who are very much involved in classical music
>and there are tens of thousands of them.

Excellent point! As a teenager (I am eighteen.) I do don't feel that my
generation has turned "away" from classical but changed it a little bit.
For example, we have evolved in it through the media. I have grown up
loving classical music simply because it was different and it didn't "go
out of style" like its other counterparts. Ever since I could remember
as a child there were television programs that had hidden classical
pieces deep within their cores. As I got older and purchased my first
classical cd (because it was sale rack, I might add), I discovered that
all those songs I would hear as background music as a child were really
the works of the great masters. . . Mozart, Beethoven, ect. I was amazed
how such great symphonies could last centuries and still hold such an
universal truth!

As for the rest of my generation, I am not the only one with an interest
in classical music. Many, and I do mean many, of my peers share my same
interest. However, "today's" classical music does lie in a different
arena than that of yesteryear. I have been an avid collector of
soundtracks for about ten years now and I have come to believe that
soundtracks are the classics of the future. Yes, they are instrumental
and most are truly recognizable such as "classical music." The works of
John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, and James Horner are more and more
readilly becoming compared to the old masters of classical music. Ever
hear sections of "Star Wars", "Gone With the Wind" or even *gasp*
"Titantic" without thinking, "Haven't I heard that somewhere?" These are
the songs that are slowly becoming "classics" among members of my
generation. There is nothing wrong with Wagner, Chopin, or Bach. . .
they are the greats and will always be known as such, but my generation
is opening our minds to our "new" classical composers--the only way we
know how. . . the media. The true classics will be immortal and they
will always be loved. . . even by the. . . teenage audience. It is just
unfortunate that classical music isn't promoted as much or it would have
the appeal that the alternative bands do. It is something to think
about. . .

Mandy Williams
http://user.icx.net/~mwilliams

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