Let's not worry too much that our classical music concert audiences seem to be made up almost entirely of people in the "third age", says pianist Stephen Hough
"Greying audiences? I Iove them! With old age comes wisdom, patience, subtlety, contemplation – all qualities needed to appreciate great and complex music...I've been playing professionally for over thirty years now and there's always been a sea of grey beyond the footlights. So what? A new grey has replaced the old grey. In the leisure of retirement or in the freedom from the responsibility of looking after children people can finally find the time to go to concerts. This is not in any way to discourage young people from loving classical music and from joining us in the concert halls. In Asian countries especially it's thrilling to see large numbers of students at concerts, clutching scores and taking photographs, and for the young of all nations there should be as much education, encouragement, accessibility and affordability as possible. But not at the expense of making our old people feel less welcome, as if we only tolerate them because we can't attract a younger, hipper audience."
Read the full article in The Telegraph here
"Greying audiences? I Iove them! With old age comes wisdom, patience, subtlety, contemplation – all qualities needed to appreciate great and complex music...I've been playing professionally for over thirty years now and there's always been a sea of grey beyond the footlights. So what? A new grey has replaced the old grey. In the leisure of retirement or in the freedom from the responsibility of looking after children people can finally find the time to go to concerts. This is not in any way to discourage young people from loving classical music and from joining us in the concert halls. In Asian countries especially it's thrilling to see large numbers of students at concerts, clutching scores and taking photographs, and for the young of all nations there should be as much education, encouragement, accessibility and affordability as possible. But not at the expense of making our old people feel less welcome, as if we only tolerate them because we can't attract a younger, hipper audience."
Read the full article in The Telegraph here
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