Check the Numbers: Rumors of Classical Music's Demise Are Dead Wrong

new york times ^ | 5/28/06 | ALLAN KOZINN

[mathprof]

EVERYONE has heard the requiems sung for classical music or at least the reports of its failing health: that its audience is graying, record sales have shriveled and the cost of live performance is rising as ticket sales decline. Music education has virtually disappeared from public schools. Classical programming has (all but) disappeared from television and radio. And 17 orchestras have closed in the last 20 years.

All this has of late become the subject of countless blogs, news reports, books and symposiums, with classical music partisans furrowing their brows and debating what went wrong, what can still go wrong and whether it's too late to save this once-exalted industry. Moaning about the state of classical music has itself become an industry. But as pervasive as the conventional wisdom is, much of it is based on sketchy data incorrectly interpreted. [snip]

The numbers tell a very different story: for all the hand-wringing, there is immensely more classical music on offer now, both in concerts and on recordings than there was in what nostalgists think of as the golden era of classics in America.

[snip] The Internet has become a primary resource for classical music: the music itself as well as information about it.

On Apple's iTunes, which sold a billion tracks in its first three years, classical music reportedly accounts for 12 percent of sales, four times its share of the CD market. [snip]

In their first six weeks on iTunes, the New York Philharmonic's download-only Mozart concert sold 2,000 complete copies and about 1,000 individual tracks, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic's two Minimalist concerts, combined, sold 900 copies and about 400 individual tracks. Those numbers, though small by pop standards, exceed what might be expected from sales of orchestral music on standard CD's.

[mathprof]

Nice to hear that classical music is doing well.

The Mozart concert that they mention is excellent. It is a great $9.99 value on iTunes of a vibrant live recording of Mozart's last 3 symphonies.

[ml/nj]

You want a great Mozart value? Check out the Complete Mozart Set from Brilliant Classics via Amazon US or even cheaper via Amazon Ger. (France has it too but I had more trouble with their website and/or language. Note that the disparity in price was much greater even a month ago with US Amazon charging something like $300. I think I paid $117 with shipping.) FTR, I'm someone who probably already had about half of Mozart's work in my collection. I've been listening to the early operas as I drive. What a delight! And to random disks at work, also a delight. Right now I'm listening to Cosi. It's better than the Met this year, but not as good as the Boehm set from EMI.

ML/NJ

[mathprof]

I know about the Brilliant Mozart collection--in fact, I posted information about this great value a month or so ago.

I love the Brilliant collection.

The complete works of Bach will be coming out for about the same price. I preordered it from Amazon.de (german site).

[ml/nj]

I'm still listening to the Cosi (with a couple of breaks).

It's moving closer to glorious!

ML/NJ

[gusopol3]

thanks, this is extremely heartening