Music in the Modern Mode

In our day people, especially if they are young, say that classical music is boring. They would much rather listen to the latest pop hits or watch Justin Bieber gyrating on stage. When I go to orchestra concerts, I am struck by the overwhelming number of older people present. The ratio of people over forty is much greater than that of people under thirty. Our youth do not listen to classical music. They don't think it is relevant to them; the problems they are going through are expressed so much better in "Teenage Dream" or "Twenty-Two." So to make classical music "relevant" to today's youth, the symphonies of Beethoven and the concertos of Bach are given a touch of rock. Thus we have such atrocities as Walter Murphy's "A Fifth of Beethoven." Granted, that is from 1976, but that kind of "remixing" of the greats is still present. I hate to pollute the innocent ears of my readers, but this can only be understood with an example.

I hate it when people do this to beautiful music. It has always been my contention that in order to present something to young people we do not need to dumb it down. Thus my utter hatred of Christian rock. Just because something is called Christian does not mean it is good. (See Bad Catholic's post, "5 Reasons to Kill Christian Music.) Young people can be just as receptive to beauty as adults. They do not need Precious Moments to explain the faith to them. They do not need anything less than Beethoven's complete and unadulterated 5th Symphony.

I can understand a little the trouble, and why young people find classical music boring. After all, when you only hear Mozart and Haydn on the radio, what else are you to think? It's like showing someone the entrance to Arches National Park and not the majestic Double Arch or the stunning Delicate Arch. There are depths in classical music to which only Mozart and Haydn do not take you. You cannot simply stay on the surface and not explore the depths.

Yet there is hope. There are young people who love classical music, and even prefer it to the music their contemporaries are listening to. (Did you guess that I am one of those people?) Beauty and truth will not be ignored, now matter how much the other side presses forward. There are ways in which we can make good music relevant to today's youth without adding a drum set and electric guitars.

Recently I discovered a new phenomenon. Well, it is not exactly new to the world, but it is new to me. It is the classical flash mob. You know the principle of the flash mob: a group of people assembles suddenly in a public place to perform something for a brief time then quickly disperse. I was watching videos of such flash mobs on YouTube when I came across the Beethoven flash mob.

Since then I have watched this video many times. Every time it delights me. It is so wonderful, so powerful, so charming. One of the best things about it is the children. Granted, it is in Europe, and people are a bit more cultured there. All the same, it was delightful to watch the children throughout the video. The little girl who puts a coin in the bassist's hat stays to listen. A girl in red climbs a lamppost to have a better view and conducts from her perch. Two little boys dance and wave their arms around in time to the music. In general people are enjoying themselves. Who would not?

That kind of spontaneity lends a freshness to the music without changing it. When I see it, I think, this is what we need. Not necessarily classical flash mobs, though those would be fun. We need to clear the air around classical music. Classical music should not appear old and musty. I am all for the traditional appearance of classical music, but traditional in a fresh way. It is fresh because it is beauty. It is new because it is truth, and truth is present and relevant in any age.

And finally, as a conclusion, Peer Gynt on the metro. I love how the video portrays how beautiful music can lift us out of the humdrum routine of our lives while still being an essential part of our lives. Now this is a fresh take on classical music.