UK Edition
Classical music must ditch its name and refer instead to 'orchestral music', Royal Philharmonic director says
It is a conundrum that has long puzzled the grandees of the art world: how to enthuse younger generations about the joys of classical music.
Now, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s (RPO) managing director believes he has found a solution. Classical music must ditch its name and refer instead to “orchestral music”, he has suggested.
There is a certain “stigma” attached to classical music which is off-putting for youngsters who see it as old fashioned, according to James Williams.
He said that orchestras must “recognise the need to change with the times” and “think more broadly” if they want to widen their appeal.
“Classical music has a certain stigma attached to it in certain people’s minds,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “There is a perception that classical music is for older people.”
He said that research commissioned by the RPO shows that they need to diversify their range of concerts in order to appeal to new audiences.
“Gone are the days of classical repertoire standing alone and just being enough,” Mr Williams said. “This approach would cater for less than half the new audience that wants to learn more about the genre. Classical music for a modern British orchestra has a new name – it’s simply called orchestral music.”
He said that young people will find the term “orchestral music” far more relatable since it is an art form which they come across incidentally in popular culture.
“Orchestral music is around us all day every day – when one turns on the television, whether it’s a sound track to a programme, the radio, pop and rock songs where there is often a string section, all forms of art and media,” he said.
“It is a real opportunity for us. There is an appetite for people to learn more about that art form.”
In May, the RPO is performing a Playstation concert, which will feature music from popular video games.
“We know that millions of young people in the UK play video games and experience orchestral music every day, they are just not aware that it is,” Mr Williams said.
Such is the popularity of video game soundtracks that they have been featured in Classic FM’s Hall of Fame poll. John Suchet, a weekday DJ on the classical music station, has previously said that he “didn't expect to be thanking the video game industry for introducing the genre to a new generation of people, but it's wonderful.”
The RPO commissioned a YouGov poll last month of 2,000 adults to ask which genres of music they would be interested to learn more about.
The most popular category was “orchestral/classical” which one in five (22 per cent) ranking this as their top choice. It was closely followed by Rock (21 per cent), with Jazz and Folk at third and fourth place.
An age break down of those who chose “orchestral/classical” music shows that this was the most popular among 18-25-year-olds.
However, among the under-25s who expressed an interest in discovering more about orchestral music, just one in five said they would want to listen to core classical masterworks.
They were far more interested in concerts featuring orchestral works from films, West End productions and pop music.
Mr Williams said: “It is very encouraging to see such an appetite from young people for discovering the orchestral genre.
“Beyond community engagement, it is clear from our research that orchestras also need to diversify concert programmes that fully resonate with what new audiences actually want.”