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Dvorak and Wagner are two of my favorites. I went to a Phillip Glass Opera at the Chicago Opera House (a beautiful Art Deco opera house, very unique and a delight to the eye). It was one of his operas where each part of it is repeated over and over and over, ad nauseum (it was based on Mohatma Ghandi's life), until you wanted to scream or leave. My friend and I left. But all these elitist sychophants of whom I suspect at least 2/3rd's of them thought the opera sucked, clapped and clapped, so that no one would think of them as not avant garde enough. Blahhhhh.

I love the trend toward using ancient instruments, and in having more intimate performances. Where I live in the Chicago suburbs, there is an Arboretum (Morton's, the former estate of the great salt magnate, Joy Morton). They have a reasonably priced subscription series each year in a beautiful setting, where you can look out at the loveliness of nature while listening to the music. One time it was plain old idyllic; it was winter and looking out the window behind where the chamber orchestra was playing were a group of deer, frolicking in the snow. You can't beat that as an addition to a performance. Also, lots of libraries are sponsoring musical performances, small ones, such as a flutist and piano or violin, or quartets, etc. And, of course, the colleges, including junior colleges, and small private universities, many of which are scattered throughout suburbs and more rural areas. The junior college in my area (College of DuPage) has built a huge and lovely performing arts center. More performances on film, using Cable or Satellite TV would help, although obviously these are not live performances, but they help to stimulate interest in classical music and/or opera. I loved the musical film version of "Carmen", with Placido Domingo starring. Thought iwas very well done.

I wish there would be more performances with a sort of "musical briefing" before the performance by the conductor. And guides handed out even in small venues (with the miracle of computers, one can cheaply play out informational sheets by the dozens). I think this would draw in more people less familiar or not familiar at all with classical music. Give some history of the composer, perhaps mention any of the great conductors who favored that composer's work and a bit about them, and information on what to listen for in the piece itself, how the composer structured it, how parts of the piece might have held special meaning to the composer, the period the piece is from (romantic, baroque, etc.) and what that meant musically. And, if using ancient instruments, how they are different from today's, both structurally and sound-wise. So, part music history, and part playing the music itself. With more of that I would think one could build a broader audience among newbies, especially younger people. Using smaller venues and charging a reasonable price are key to this working though, and keeping these kind of info concerts at about 1 1/2 hours in length or so, would allow people with today's busy lifestyles to fit them into their schedules. The problem, of course, is that the musicians have schedules they must adhere to also; however, this is their bread and butter, is it not? And if there are no audiences, there are no performers eventually. It's a vested interest thing. New approaches have got to be considered here.

Whatever the ways chosen to spread the classical music word, it needs to be done quickly, or else large orchestras in particular, will go the way of the dodo bird. Getting members from orchestras out into the public schools to give talks, show their instruments, play a little ditty, etc. would work wonders in getting young kids interested. Too many public schools have dropped music from their curriculum, and this has got to be rectified.

I'm not totally discouraged though. My best friend has two girls, one of whom is playing violin, the other oboe. In the Chicagoland area, we have our equivalent of Tanglewood in Ravinia Park, a beautiful setting where one can also picnic (you can buy food or bring your own if you choose). Some of the small towns (Naperville, IL comes to mind) have outdoor bandshells, plus there are many area churches that have concerts also. I've gone to some lovely organ concerts at the Benedictine Abbey, in Lisle, IL. Their music auditorium is wonderful acoustically, and the music members of the Abbey are also faculty that teach at the Benedictine University across the road, as well as perform in concerts. So there are a variety of enclaves out there, where the classical music traditions are actively being upheld.

I don't believe classical music will ever take a total dive, and I will use myself as an example. I was weaned on rock music, and now, in my dotage, I can barely listen to it, and lean ever more toward classical music, as I suspect many of my fellow baby boomer generation are also doing. I think one key is if you have children, have them learn an instrument with classical music as the base of their learning on that instrument. I took piano lessons as a child, and have kept a toe in the classical music world ever since because of my early instruction in it.