Classical music is often considered elitist, boring and old-fashioned, but that’s no reason to celebrate public disdain for it, says Alexandra Wilson.
Desert Island Discs. With its cosy format, gentle theme tune and the warm feeling we get from knowing it’s been around forever, this is a programme that could hardly be more uncontroversial. Yet, goodness, does it have the capacity to provoke a row amongst people who care deeply about music.
It happened again the other day on the platform we are no longer supposed to call Twitter. Alice Roberts, medic, academic and presenter, posted what probably struck her as a throwaway remark. “How refreshing,” she wrote to her 400,000+ followers, “to hear @AdrianEdmonson daring to say he hates classical music.”
Cue a howl of outrage from music lovers and performers, followed by a backlash against the backlash from other music lovers and performers, who said it only confirmed everyone’s worst perceptions about the preciousness of the classical-music world. An all-too familiar hoo-ha — the latest storm in a teacup amidst the million such daily storms on X — but there is a bigger reason why this sort of thing matters...Keep reading on The Critic Magazine.
Desert Island Discs. With its cosy format, gentle theme tune and the warm feeling we get from knowing it’s been around forever, this is a programme that could hardly be more uncontroversial. Yet, goodness, does it have the capacity to provoke a row amongst people who care deeply about music.
It happened again the other day on the platform we are no longer supposed to call Twitter. Alice Roberts, medic, academic and presenter, posted what probably struck her as a throwaway remark. “How refreshing,” she wrote to her 400,000+ followers, “to hear @AdrianEdmonson daring to say he hates classical music.”
Cue a howl of outrage from music lovers and performers, followed by a backlash against the backlash from other music lovers and performers, who said it only confirmed everyone’s worst perceptions about the preciousness of the classical-music world. An all-too familiar hoo-ha — the latest storm in a teacup amidst the million such daily storms on X — but there is a bigger reason why this sort of thing matters...Keep reading on The Critic Magazine.