Is Classical Music Dying? – No! But Education is Vital

By Chris Billingham

Another day, another person claiming that classical music is dying. This week’s statement comes from Conductor Kent Nagano who is reported to have said that classical music could be “gone in a generation”. He cited budget cuts and a lack of music education as his reasoning for this, stating that “"there is a problem in communication” and the modern generation see classical music as "something that belongs to the past". 

It is very easy to dismiss this as something that has been said a hundred times before. There is however, in my opinion, a lot to consider in the idea that a lack of music education could have devastating effects. Not just necessarily on the classical music industry, but the music industry as a whole. Whilst there are many commendable efforts to resolve the situation, in the UK for example The Arts Council, on behalf of the Department for Education, have invested more than £171 million of funding between August 2012 and March 2015 in a network of 123 Music education hubs across England. As well as this smaller community and musical groups are also running local programmes (find out more about our own programme here). However a recent report from Ofsted on music in schools reported, “far too much provision was inadequate or barely satisfactory. Nearly all schools recognised the importance of promoting a diverse range of musical styles but far fewer had a clear understanding about how all students should make good musical progress as they moved through the curriculum”. A situation that appears to be repeated worldwide, in 2009, California diverted $109 million from music programs. This led to the closure of music departments across half of California's 10,000-plus public schools.

This isn’t just worrying from a “classical music is dying” point of view. Teaching music directly benefits learning and aids learning and growth in other subjects too. From the science seen in a musical score, the mathematics in rhythms, the physical education from the use of muscles when playing and the knowledge of culture and foreign language that comes from historical pieces. The reasons to insist we teach young people music really are endless and for me the most important element of Kent Nagano’s comments.

In terms of his wider comments about classical music dying, well… this is a debate that isn’t going to end with his comments anymore than it began with them. You can argue that funding cuts have led to less avenues for people to explore music, however you could also argue that technology has made classical music more accessible than it has ever been. When I was younger it would have cost me a lot of money to purchase a range of classical music pieces on cassette and CD. Now someone could lose days exploring titles and numerous performances of these titles on YouTube.

Another argument those fearing classical music is nearing its end use is the fact that its audience is traditionally older. The counter argument to this is the fact that cinema, video games and new mainstream pop acts (do I need to talk about Clean Bandit on this blog AGAIN?) are introducing classical music to new audiences. Whether it’s traditional performances at the BBC Proms or events such as the OAE Night Shift series designed to be unique and reach a new younger audience, attendance figures of all ages are still high.

In my opinion Kent Nagano doesn’t need to be as negative on the wider situation, as he is, however he is definitely right about music in education. The exciting and appealing thing about this topic is this is just my opinion, every classical music fan has a different opinion on this subject and that is why it keeps coming up and is constantly discussed.

What are your thoughts? Is classical music dying? How serious is the situation in music education? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter.