Is it OK to NOT like classical music?

It's perfectly OK not to like classical music (or any other genre)

Music should be a pleasure, a joy, not an imposition

 

Some forms of art, music or literature require more from the audience than other forms of art. Then there is a continuum within each genre of the art form from easy to complex. High art in any genre was initially fostered by and created for aristocrats. Even the Beowulf bard or Homer were supported by the warlords or aristocracy to have the time to perfect their craft. The composers in the Renaissance were supported by the Church as well as the nobles. Were all these nobles intellectually brilliant? Of course not but they had constant access to the best and they could make relative judgements. So you had a small group of connoisseurs that competed for and subsidized the best artists and musicians. In the 19th century, the growing middle class wanted to emulate the aristocrats so they started to read the same books and listen to the same music. If you spend enough time with something you tend to become more knowledgeable and sophisticated in your judgments. So a large swath of the middle class began to enjoy classical music and opera. But then the aristocrats died out in WW1 and WW2 so people started following celebrities from mass art such as TV or popular music instead. Even if the celebrities liked classical music they generally didn't admit it or discuss it much (Mick Jagger etc) because they were afraid of alienating their audience. Cultures with more respect for the upper class as in Europe and Asia have correspondingly greater interest in classical music. If I had to make a prediction I think opera is likely to survive longer than instrumental classical music because it is a spectacle as well as classical music.

 

It can't be that silly. A lot of people have chimed in with opinions, even you!

This is what i'm getting at. As soon as someone says they don't like classical music, people look at them like they should be put in a psych ward.

 

Silly in that I can't see anyone saying "No it's not OK". At least not seriously, anyway.

 

You waste the time you have left in this life, trying to be what others expect of you.

 

Only if by 'Classical Music' you mean 'The Beatles'.

I've never been aware of any stigma associated with not liking classical music: if anything, quite the contrary.

 

It's OK not to like The Beatles either.

 

And the Mono UK AYE reissue too

 

And Pet Sounds
And The Monkees
And The Grateful Dead
And Neil Young.

Oh man, I'd better start running....

 

I've never liked classical music music. I like everything else though. Everything from Grand Funk Railroad to Black Oak Arkansas and everything in between.

 

I don't like it and I sleep well at night. Does nothing for my, by and large.

Ed

 

Do you like prog rock which is influenced by classical? In many cases using exact melodies? Like A whiter Shade of Pale or almost every ELP record.

 

ELP and Yes are not in between Grand Funk Railroad and Black Oak Arkansas so I probably won't like them.

 

As has been stated, the term "classical" music encompasses over 500 years of music from simple chant to atonal music and everything in between. When someone says "I don't like classical music" my first response is generally, "what have you listened to?". I really don't know anyone who has cast a wide net into the classical ocean and not liked something. If you have ever watched a movie and enjoyed the score chances are you will enjoy something in the classical canon. Also, it is very common for people who are into classical music to change what they enjoy and listen to over time. When I first got into classical I was attracted to the more aggressive pieces with large orchestras (Mahler, Shostakovich etc). Now I am more likely to listen to a small chamber work or a piece for solo violin or piano. The first time as a teenager I played a recording of Bach's Mass in B Minor I did not get it at all. Now, I think it is one of the most sublime creations from the human mind.

 

Ok I thought you were illustrating a range but I see they are pretty close. Got it.

 

Take out Harrison's vocal from Within you Without out and Paul's from Yesterday or Eleanor Rigby or John's from How Do You Sleep along with the middle and end of A Day in the Life, and you got yourselves some classical music.

 

I'm just messin' around...I've recently listened to The Takacs Quartet interpretations of the Bartok String Quartets and Luigi Nono.

 

there is no accounting for taste, nor should there ever be. thank god we are all different people. by all means, please like what you like and dislike what you dislike because all of this and more is the nature of life's rich tapestry.

such a statement by members of this forum (and music heads in general) is a slightly different matter when I hear it, only because "I don't like classical music" (or jazz, or country, or hip-hop, ahem) is quite the statement coming from someone who knows a bit more than your average Joe about how vast musical genres are. I'm glad many people have pointed this out on this thread. just like all the rest, classical has a billion genres within it. I'm not particularly fond of the classical period, which tends to be the focus of much interest in 'classical', but I love lots of new music and early music and baroque music and more. if you audition some stuff and don't like it, then more power to you. but there's a lot more to classical than Mozart and Brahms, and I do worry a bit that even those who are really into music may be unaware of this.

 

I think most people do listen and like classical music - in the form of film soundtracks. It never crosses most people's minds to investigate further and buy some.

But really classical music is so varied that I don't believe there is something for everyone to enjoy. If you say you don't like it you're lying because there will be pieces you do like, even if it's the 2001 soundtrack or Star Wars.

I think it's something maybe you get into as you mature, when you are 17 you want to listen to loud angry people or music you think is cool.

 

Classical takes up by far the most of my listening time, and 98% of my record buying. I couldn't care less if other people don't care for it and are in fact repelled by it. Other Classical listeners should take the same attitude. Arthur Fiedler himself said that he didn't care if young people listened to a great deal of Rock music. The important thing to him is that they were interested in music. And he was right.

 

Wh

Which Black Oak album is that on?

 

After reading a list of their albums to try and make a witty joke I've come to the conclusion they appear to be nothing more than adult film titles...X-Rated, Balls Of Fire, High On The Hog, Street Party, The Black Attack Is Back, Hot And Nasty...

 

I don't agree with the argument that Classical requires any extra effort on the listener's part to appreciate, or that any style requires it. Sound hits the ears and all that's required is listening. Mahler isn't hieroglyphics, just a bunch of notes. Same with Miles Davis or anyone else considered "difficult listening." Don't believe it, just forget everything and listen. Easy.

 

Not sure I know what a "pure music lover" is.

How in the world do you know this?

 

I don't consider myself as a fan of classical music. The only two composers that ever evoked any kind of emotion in me are Aaron Copland and Tchaikovsky. I think if I took the time to explore the genre more, I'd discover there's a lot more out there that I would enjoy, I just haven't started down that road yet.

You like what you like though... a lot of rock fans will tell you you have to like Bob Dylan, and I can't stand him.