Klarinet Archive - Posting 001285.txt from 1998/07

From: Craig Earl Countryman <cegc@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Classical Music and Young People
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 15:40:01 -0400

OK, so let me revise my thesis somewhat and see if it is more acceptable.
Rather than saying classical music was the popular music at the time, let me
say it was the most socially accepted. Society's views were determined by the
elite because, as you said, the poor did not have time to be taking in
concerts and listening to music. The middle-class was non-existant, though
this was changing. So while Mozart's music was not "popular" in the sense
that everyone listened to it, it was the accepted art form among those who had
the time and means to listen.

Popular is ambiguous because it implies that everyone (rich and poor) listened
to it, while in reality it was only the rich who listened to it. Therefore
the words "socially accepted" make more sense because the rich were the ones
who determined that and they were the ones who liked the music.

You didn't mention that there were other types of music during that era, so I
am thinking that you are just trying to clear up some confusion that such a
general statement as what I originally said may cause. Am I correct in that
assumption?

Edwin V. Lacy wrote:

> On Tue, 28 Jul 1998, Craig Earl Countryman wrote:
>
> > Mozart's music was the popular music at that time.
>
> I have to comment on this statement. This is a very widely held
> misconception. Mozart's music or the music of any of the greatest
> composers was the domain of the very highest echelons of society. Only
> the richest and most aristocratic people had access to it.......There was
> hardly any middle class in the 18th century, although the beginnings of a
> redistribution of wealth were occurring. The great majority of people were
> rural peasants, barely removed from conditions of slavery. There was no
> time and no resources for anything so frivilous as
> music or any other arts........

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Craig Earl Countryman
cegc@-----.net
http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet/YPP/Craig.html
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/1711/
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