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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Who is Sir David Tang?
Sir David Tang ... is a Hong Kong businessman and socialite best known as the founder of the Shanghai Tang chain ... Known for his love of Cuban cigars, Tang is also Honorary Consul of Cuba in Hong Kong ... Tang is the founder of the China Clubs (Hong Kong, Peking and Singapore), the Shanghai Tang stores, Havana House and Pacific Co Ltd (the exclusive distributor for all Havana brands in Canada, Asia and Australia). More recently Tang opened the Cipriani in Hong Kong and the China Tang restaurant at the Dorchester Hotel. Tang is also a director and advisor to a number of boards which include Tommy Hilfiger.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Tang