What a big question for my tiny blog! But seriously, I'm tired of people telling me, a college age, mixed-race, female classical flutist that "Classical music is for old, white men." That statement can't be true. At least, it's no more true than "Only young goths with lots of tattoos enjoy heavy metal", because my Dad enjoys heavy metal, and he is neither goth, or young (sorry Dad). And I'm pretty sure he doesn't have any tattoos.
Saying that old white men are the only ones who can enjoy Tchaikovsky is as ridiculous as saying that only African-American women can enjoy the singing of Ella Fitzgerald (ah, j'adore!).
Of course, the stereotype of old white men being the main fans of classical music didn't come from nowhere. There are a few reasons why people think classical is snooty.0
The first being, most well known composers were, in fact, white men. Tchaikovsky? White. Ravel? White. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov? White. Wagner? White
and controversial!
There's no getting around the fact that all the big names in music are white men. But why does that have to stop us from enjoying them and their music? The answer to the diversity problem in music is NOT to shun composers like Beehoven and Debussy, but to add to their numbers by exploring composers of different backgrounds! If it really bothers you that all the composers in your playlist are white men, than add some Cecile Chaminade! Go ahead and explore the works of Arturo Marquez! Share what you find with your friends, and make sure that more people find out about these wonderful composers.
I'm tired of hearing people say that classical music isn't inclusive when I learned so much about different cultures in- guess where?- the youth orchestra I spent high school in! The conductor of said youth orchestra is a native of Turkmenistan, a country which, at the risk of sounding hipster, you've probably never heard of. He is absolutely in love with the music of Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov. But guess what? We played music from
many corners of the world, alongside the aforementioned Beethoven and others. We played a piece from Turkmenistan that had never been played in America before, and the following year, we had a guest artist from Vietnam who arranged some traditional Vietnamese-style music for us to play. Even when we weren't playing that kind of music, we were still learning so much about different cultures, just because our conductor was so passionate about spreading a love of music to every corner of the world.
There is a problem with classical music education only being available to rich people. I myself have been very lucky, being able to score enough scholarships to make my education possible. But a lot has to be done to make this accessible to everyone. It's something that actually bothers
me about classical music society. People at fancy galas pat themselves on the back for being cultured, and talk about how kids need to be more into being cultured too. And then they turn around and charge $70 dollars per ticket for concerts. I think that a lot has to be done to make classical music education available to everyone. After all, isn't music an important part of our humanity?
To me, classical music is not snooty, or elitist. Music embodies all the experiences and emotions that human beings have had, and will ever have. You can find this grand tapestry of human emotions in Jazz, Soundtrack, even Rock. When I listen to classical music, I can always find something that suits me at any moment. Feeling sad? Tchaikovsky! Feeling nostalgic? Pavane for a Dead Princess by Ravel. Just feeling really cheerful? Capriccio Espagnol by Rimsky-Korsakov! It's a world of experiences and thoughts that I've inherited from musicians before me, and guess what? You've inherited it, too. Because even if you don't play in instrument or know anything about music, music belongs to you. It belongs to everyone!
So do I think classical music is snooty? Heck no! A lot of the people who like it are snooty, but are we going to disown an entire ongoing chapter of human history just because
some people who like it are jerks? No! Just like how we don't abandon our cars when we hear that some people who drive cars are jerks. I think that in the world of classical music there is something for everyone. And if you find nothing that is to your liking? That's okay! Listen to what you like, and what speaks to you. But don't call me a snob because I like classical music. I'm tired of hearing it, and I hope that I have managed to defend my position with this silly blog post. :)
