CLASSICAL MUSIC
Sir.-Your correspondent, "Anti-Blues" suggested that classical music belongs to a past era. In case others think the same, may I have space to point out that the word "classical" means "belonging or pertaining to the first class-that is, the highest standard or quality." Classical music has nothing to do with fashion, either old or new, for it is still being written by living composers, and will still be written by others to come. It is not a matter of era, but of quality. Light music, pretty tunes, catchy songs, and dance melodies, are all necessary, and have their own place. Many people who like classical music, can also appreciate these. But they are written primarily to please the ear, or for dance rhythms; whereas classical music is a language which reaches beyond the ear and speaks to the spirit. It is not a language of dreariness — it can express pathos, merriment, joy, sorrow, comfort, humour. There are those who understand it instinctively, others who learn to know it only after long and patient training, and many who never understand it at all. In England, not long ago, a working man who had always derided classical music, wandered in to a symphony concert because he had nowhere to go. He came out afterwards, sought the conductor, and said with amazement: "Guess I never caught on before, but you’ve got me now! I'm a blinkin’ highbrow, and I never knew it!"
CLASSICAL
(Papatoetoe),
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19411017.2.10.5
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 121, 17 October 1941, Unnumbered Page
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243CLASSICAL MUSIC New Zealand Listener, Volume 5, Issue 121, 17 October 1941, Unnumbered Page
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