How quickly the pendulum swings. Seems like it was only yesterday when stories auguring classical music's imminent death, demise or, at the very least, downturn kept elbowing each other out of the spotlight. Now a report at guardian.co.uk says classical music is enjoying a rebirth, and that edgy contemporary classical music, not Beethoven, is leading the way. Programmers for London's most prestigious arts centers and for British radio have lined up over the next several months rich offerings of new musical works, compositions once thought to be too aggressive for the concert hall. These programming plans come after a notable string of successes in performances of avant garde music - including a sold-out weekend festival of Iannis Xenakis' difficult woks - in England's capital. There's some speculation that eclectic listeners of pop music are finding contemporary classical music and rushing to experience it in live performance as part of today's diverse and ever-changing musical culture. Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, as quoted in the Guardian, says technology is getting people interested in the music - of whatever styles and genres - that's going on here and now:
There's a trend in our culture to be constantly up to date because we're connected through the internet, and an art form that would be entirely backward-looking and museum-like would make no sense. People are interested in what's happening right now.
What do you think? Do you like contemporary classical music, aka "new music"? Do you think contemporary classical music can entice pop listeners to check out the classical music of the past? Read more: Audiences flock to 'difficult' contemporary classical music (Guardian)
