chopinisawesome

It's also often regarded as elitist and too high-class. There are always two sides to a coin.

Zhanteimi

OP, are you a classical composer or performer? Are you closely related to someone directly involved in classical music?

RoxyRollah

Who says its relaxing? Who advertises classical really? I mean adverts in your local paper for your town symphony orchestra doesn't count.I've heard it makes you smarter.....in utero. But thats litterally the last big media sensation classical has made in my memory anyways.

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chopinisawesome

On the website for Classical MPR, I saw an advertisement trying to encourage people to support "another year of relaxing music". There are all sorts of albums of classical music that say "Relaxing Classical for Sleeping","Music for Studying", "Calm Piano Sleep Music ", etc. Maybe there aren't even that many advertisements, but the few advertisements that are there do have an effect. If that's what the supporters of classical music advertise it as, wouldn't someone assume that they must be right, and that relaxing is all it is.

Just look up "relaxing classical" on Google, iTunes, Spotify, Youtube, Amazon, etc. There will be all sorts of those albums.

grindy

Those are people selling a product, not supporters or fans.
They sell this product as a kind of functional music. They do this because a lot of classical music works really, really well that way.
It just does, no matter how it's advertised.

To see beyond this deceptively bland, relaxing facade, people would have to pay close attention to the details of the music. Much closer than with most pop/rock etc., since those usually have a simpler, immediately catchier compositional structure and therefore require less attention to appreciate.
Wait, didn't someone already say all that somewhere in this thread?

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A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.

chopinisawesome

Well. That's kind of a cynical, depressing way to look at it. It doesn't exactly make the future of classical music look very bright. But I suppose it's true, sort of.

grindy

I'm pretty sure there was no point in history where classical music was the predominant and most popular form.
It still prevailed unfazed, having a steady stream of dedicated composers, performers and fans.
Nothing depressing or cynical here, unless you really try to bend it that way.

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A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.

grindy

And where and how does this mysterious advertising come into play?

EDIT: Roxy beat me to it.

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A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.

RoxyRollah

Why you a slave to da man homie?

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chopinisawesome

I'm sorry, I really have no idea what you mean.