In a typically thoughtful contribution to my post Why not play the premier league composers more often? Richard Bratby - who is professionally involved in classical music - mused "speaking solely from my own experience - there is a very noticeable falling-off in ticket sales when a symphony orchestra programmes pre-Beethoven repertoire, irrespective of the quality of the performance or the music, or the energy with which it is marketed. But why?" Now Kea has answered Richard's question with the following comment: Wagner, Mahler, Shostakovich, etc, all sound more or less like film music (or -- more accurately -- film music sounds more or less like recycled bits of Wagner, Mahler, Shostakovich, etc) and therefore don't require any intellectual involvement or serious effort to listen to. Understanding the music of Bach, Mozart or Haydn, etc (or for that matter Schumann, Brahms, Webern, Cage, etc) actually requires people to listen actively rather than being pulled alo...
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Maybe we should start a fund to give Mr. Sarkozy some geography lessons!
Except for Constantinople, a traditionally European/Chrsitian city until capture by Turkish/Muslim imperialists in 1453, the vast majority of Turkey is indeed in Asia, and it is wishful thinking - culturally, politically, and economically - for fashionable multi-culti leftists to pretend Turkey is as "European" as any of the EU states.
And Dennis, comments are very welcome on the path, name calling isn't - and I'm very strict on that one.