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3 April 2023

Exposed Magazine

In today’s fast-paced culture, it sometimes seems like trends are gone before you even realise that they’re here in the first place. The instant availability of more music than the human race has ever been able to make before has made it a constant battle for musicians to make themselves heard, even when they’re at the cutting edge of style and genre.

Can classical music – which, by its name alone, evokes a particularly old-fashioned image – find its place in the music industry for years to come?

The current state of the art

The supposed death of classical music has been bandied around for years, usually to little real result – after all, the field survived the advent of the Beatles and hip-hop.

But it’s fair to say that classical music is experiencing something of a scare in terms of money. Audiences have not flocked back to pre-Covid numbers in the time since vaccines became available, and funding is a particular worry as it has been for many of the arts in the UK over the last few years.

Many in the industry were alarmed recently when it was announced that the BBC Singers, a nearly-century-old choir of significant international renown, would be closed down. It’s a symptom of wider struggles to promote uptake of classical music in the next generation of potential stars – after all, while the UK has a proud legacy of achievement in classical music, that’s not enough on its own to support careers in the field.

Is classical music still relevant?

While classical music might have a stuffy, elitist reputation in the eyes of some people, the truth is almost certainly that people don’t realise how much they appreciate it – and how much they experience it on a regular basis. Classical pieces are still go-tos for massively popular films and TV shows – even down to advertising. The genre has timeless popularity on its side, and the fact that so many iconic pieces from even hundreds of years ago remain relevant today bodes well for keeping alive the general practice.

Classical music is always likely to be able to benefit from a baseline awareness among musically inclined people as learning its instruments provides a fantastic grounding in musical principles for youngsters.

It’s also well documented that learning to play classical instruments like the piano or violin can offer particular health benefits, so the component pieces that go into classical music are themselves extremely unlikely to disappear.

What does the future hold?

There are further good signs about the long-term prospects for classical music. While government cuts continue to affect the industry, there are still other avenues to access funding for musicians as those with a passion for the arts push to promote them.

While the battle for success on music streaming services is as cut-throat as it’s ever been, these services also make it easier for young people to listen to classical music – and they are taking that opportunity. Reports indicated a surge in listenership among young millennial and Gen Z people during the early Covid lockdowns. This naturally favours the most well-known names in the history of classical music but exposure to the greats makes it possible to become interested in the up-and-comers.

As long as classical music continues to move with the times and embrace the possibilities of the modern era, there is sure to be the will to develop its great legacy further still.