When classical music was taken seriously

In a transcribed interview archived in the Smithsonian Institute, John Cage describes the Seattle arts scene in the late 1930s: 

What was important in Seattle was that so little was going on that anything that did go on was taken seriously. At that time, the gallery at the University of Washington would have a show that would last a month or six weeks and we would go and go and go and talk and talk and think about that one thing. Or if something came to the theater we would go to it and take it very seriously. 

Is streamed classical music taken seriously by today's multi-tasking and shortened attention span listeners? If listening to Apple Classical, Spotify and other streaming services is not a serious activity, does this explain why the earnest atmosphere of live concerts deters new classical audiences? Was Benjamin Britten right when he told us "Music demands ... some preparation, some effort, a journey to a special place"?

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