Originally Posted by Pet_Sounds

Been meaning to respond to this for some time now.

Ask the average person to name three classical composers. Chances are, you'll hear Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach. Those three are like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Led Zeppelin of classical music. However, most of those people would only be able to hum a brief snatch of Beethoven's 5th, a brief snatch of Beethoven's 9th, and maybe "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring". Anyone who's into classical music is familiar with both other, less notable composers from their eras and possibly the current. Just as anyone who's into rock music is aware of The Kinks.

I said "possibly the current" earlier because just as you don't expect a metalhead to enjoy sludge metal, power metal, black metal, folk metal, death metal, and grindcore, or a jazz listener to enjoy big band, free jazz, cool jazz, acid jazz, and Afro-Cuban jazz, you shouldn't expect a classical listener to enjoy Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionist, and opera. The term "classical" refers to such a large umbrella of styles that it's unreasonable to expect anyone to enjoy it all.