In these articles, we are focusing on different organisations who each have an idea how to encourage a new generation into classical music. We frequently read articles going over the same ground, namely that audiences are aging and suggesting that classical music is in terminal decline. We rarely see articles talking about the work being done by wonderful, tireless individuals and organisations and by entrepreneurs who want to foster a love of music in more of the population. Taken individually no single idea will halt the much-vaunted decline, but when taken together, these ideas can make a big difference.
Anyone reading these articles and wishing to tell us what work they are doing in this field can reach us either through twitter or the contact us page.
Checking through my Barbican programme the other day I noticed a heading “Family Music Intro Concert” by the BBC Symphony Orchestra which offered a free talk and tickets for the evening concert for each family member for just £5 (accompanying child up to 16 years old essential.) Last Friday the orchestra were performing the following programme: Martinu's Symphony no. 2, Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs, Mahler's Adagio from Symphony no.10 and Strauss' Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche.
Margaret Steinitz is a lady determined to make a difference. She wants to bring Bach's music to a young generation and to showcase his music with that of contemporary musicians in an informal setting, with unusual programming and time for debate. She has not dreamed up a new idea, but instead takes her inspiration from 18th Century Leipzig.
Of the many people I have met in the last two years running Bachtrack.com, two who have impressed me hugely are the Majaros. Pamela and Simon Majaro have spent the last ten years, at an age when most might be reducing their bridge playing, or giving up gardening, working extremely hard to introduce children to chamber music. This has not been a desultory attempt amid a host of other interests, it has been a full time job creating and enlarging the scope of operations under the banner of the Cavatina Chamber Music Trust.
I did not quite know what to expect from The Junction, a venue more attune to punk, rock and reggae, now playing host to an evening of both DJed and live classical music put on by The Parnassus Club.
Stepping inside felt almost like being transported back to a pre-1950s bar (or at least what I’d imagine that to be like), an impression created wholly by the music itself and perhaps, on a more negative side, the dated sound quality of some of the recordings. Ranging from Mozart to John Adams, the DJs’ selections were broad and with a primarily orchestral focus.
Not quite the utopian fantasy of metalheads and local crack-dealers swooning to the sounds of Elgar’s Enigma Variations, as some might have hoped; the crowd would not have been out of place at any other concert. But the difference here was in the ethos of the whole spectacle. The raw enthusiasm of the two DJs for the music they played was as refreshing as seeing an audience enjoying classical music in a more laid back context, void of the rules and expectations that can put-off potential classical music lovers. The DJs were even open to requests, allowing a platform for the sharing of musical enthusiasm that is so rare in classical genres outside of a very limited sphere.
A combination of possibly the vastest array of audience I have ever seen – Club K brought out both young and old for this unique event – from miniskirts and makeup to ties and suits (neither of which seemed out of place) it seemed much of the audience was as intrigued about the event as I was, with an atmosphere of mystery and anticipation surrounded the BIC Solent Hall.
Many people interested or involved in classical music are worried about its future. They may reminisce of the ‘good old days’, when children could be caned for misbehaviour and respected their elders enough not to dismiss classical music as something clearly not for them. The public image of classical music inadvertently presented by the media is too often one of a quite snobbish, pretentious and exclusive nature. Though there have been programmes and schemes trying to engage with young people, such as Gareth Malone’s recent exploits in Glyndebourne, these efforts always seem to be from the top down, importing profound art to the unaware, rather than allowing them to discover it for themselves on a fundamental level. Like a grandfather giving his grandson a Werther’s Original, these top-down imports are about as likely to encourage young people to go to a classical concert as that archetypal grandson is likely to choose a bag of Werther’s over a packet of Haribo. Some would argue that a person’s musical palate matures over time in the same way as their food preferences, suggesting that young people’s apathy towards the world of High Art is inevitable. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, however, has made real progress with schemes encouraging more young people to attend live classical concerts, proving that it can be done.
By Bristol Choral Society
I'm sure we've all looked around at the audience at a classical concert and found it, in general, depressingly grey. This seems a perpetual question of concert promoters: How do we attract more young people to concerts, and how do we encourage that love of listening to music?
One way must be to make concert-going something that is just normal to children as they grow up - to make it part of what they do, rather than what 'the elite' do, or something that is for 'other people'.
While the main venues in cities are often quiet in the summer, the choice of where to go to listen to live classical music and opera is extraordinary. Festivals take place in all manner of locations, from cities like London or Paris to small European villages. They are often more relaxed than the rest of the year's concert schedule, as concertgoers enjoy the sunshine, loiter in the streets, and picnic on the grass.
We have highlighted some wonderful festivals around the world which you might like to visit. Take a look at festivals browsing by country, or browse by festival type instead. Whatever your interest, you will find some festivals here that really appeal.
In the years we’ve been running Bachtrack, we’ve gradually become used to the ebb and flow of the year’s activity: April is the month where many of the top orchestras and venues publish details of their seasons which will start in the autumn. We get to see this giant wave of information as it goes into our database and we’d like to share some of the highlights with you. Here are things that caught our eye - do take a look and see what catches yours!
“It may... strike you as presumptuous to think of starting a Music Society which has no intention of furnishing any but the best music, nor of inviting ‘stars’ to perform at their concerts. The promoters of the scheme however indulge the hope that there are in Oxford those whose love for music is earnest and real, and to whom it would be a pleasure to hear good music well played by performers who are thoroughly competent, although their reputation is not yet world-wide.”1
