The world of classical music news
A violinist may not want to know about what's going on in a choir, and an organist in a parish church may not want to know what's happening in a contemporary music festival. Opera buffs and chamber music devotees may think that they inhabit different worlds, but of course the same composers wrote for each of them, and the lessons learned in one sphere of music translate easily to those in another.
The classical music way
The way to collect classical music news today is often through press releases. But nobody has the time to read their way through press releases - which are often written in a sort of formulaic way which only journalists understand how to process - so it's important to have sites which interpret them for you, extracting the information and suggesting links for you to visit for more information.
Classical music today, although still considered elitist, can actually have a surprisingly large fan base. Just look at the finalists of today's Maestro - Sue Perkins and Goldie. Neither of them are people you'd have chosen to label as classical music fans, but both of them now have a much better idea of the power of orchestral music. The latest series of Visionaries from the BBC gets famous people to put the case for some of the greatest composers, and there are some surprising names among the celebrities which have been chosen there.
Breaking down barriers
There's often great competition among classical music organisations to break down the barriers and attract more people into the concert hall or opera house. The same is true of chamber music. This attempt to attract people into the music of the past, whether it's by Handel, Schubert, Mahler or whoever, can be led by conductors or promotors, but often works, at least in the short term. But classical music isn't just about attitude and appearance. Many people listen to Classic FM or Radio 3 in the privacy of their own homes, or put on CDs and MP3s in their homes, computers or in their cars, as a way of getting their fix of classical music.
But like all hobbies and passions there's a danger that you may fall foul of the times, and while you're busy enjoying what you enjoy, the world has moved on. So make sure that when you switch on your PC, you visit one or other of the classical music new websites to catch up with the fun and frolics of the classical music world. It's inhabited by some larger-than-life characters as well as by the normal ones, so it should keep you gripped. Sometimes it's almost better than going to a concert or opera itself!
