Quote:
Originally Posted by Quality Cucumber
The thing that makes classical music classical music is that it has a tradition. I agree that there are certainly popular "classics" that get played out more (or at least get funded more), but not every program is so conservative. Maybe it's because I live in a major metropolitan area (Los Angeles), but I can find entire concerts consisting of music written in the last decade on any night of the week. I rarely go to the LA Phil's concerts, but Jacaranda, Green Umbrella (the LA Phil's "new music" program), People Inside Electronics (PIE), and various ensembles, festivals, and groups that I follow are extreme;y active with new music programs during the regular season. The art is far from stagnant. The general public usually doesn't get Franco Donatoni, though. Instead, the institution of classical music thinks that music that was relevant in 1794 would be similarly relevant today.
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Evidence of the geo-cultural gaps that exist in the US, I'm sure. It's not to say that new music absolutely never gets performed where I'm from in the Midwest, but in my experience, if it does, it's largely by college ensembles. But then, my experience is limited, so maybe I'm just missing something right under my nose. Either that or I'd be better off not living in the Midwest.