Benjamin Zander: Classical music with shining eyes

This is a great TEDTalks segment on Classical music appreciation. Ben Zander wants everyone to know that they can all come to an appreciation of Classical music and he can open the door for them. All they need to do is go in.

I have appreciated Classical music since I was a boy. My Dad had some Classical albums in his collection so he appreciated it. I have written about his record collection in previous posts...it wasn't a huge collection but it was really good listening for a young boy. When we moved to the big city of Pueblo, Colorado I had access to libraries and would borrow recordings to play on my very own phonograph that I received as a Christmas gift from my parents. Over the years, I have collected many Classical music albums that have given me great pleasure and taught me much. I don't understand why more people don't appreciate its many forms.

Most kids appreciate Classical music. Their eyes really do light up when they hear it. For some reason, some young people have a hard time admitting that they enjoy Classical music as they get older. Mass media doesn't present Classical music to the people in very good measure. I remember seeing some amazing Classical music programs on broadcast TV when I was a boy. It wasn't just on PBS either...all networks brought excellent music programming to the American viewer. You can see some of this programming on YouTube. Things changed in the late sixties and early seventies. The marketing emphasis changed to the youth culture. Youth culture, as portrayed by the mass media, is supposed to reject what parents like and only listen to what's popular among youth. This makes for big sales in certain market segments and a very narrow understanding of music on the part of the young listener. Too bad...Classical music really does add a wondrous soundtrack to the beauty that is in the world. RR