Cultivate your orchids

Edward Rothstein in The New York Times:

I also don’t idealize the idolatry that once enshrined the long 19th century of music (roughly 1785-1915) that forms the heart of the Western art-music tradition. But it is astonishing how little is now sensed about what might well be lost with it. And traditions do come to an end. The reading of ancient Greek and Latin — once the center of an educated person’s life — now seems as rarefied as the cultivation of exotic orchids.

I may be falling into the ranks of the guilty, since my children aren’t particularly being inculcated with the love for classical music that I developed as a child (nor do I see any sign of their following my interest in ancient Greek). I was largely self-motivated to explore classical music, although when the passion manifested itself, my parents thoroughly indulged it.

It’s conceivable that one or both of my sons may catch on. I need to see if some more Schubert and Stravinsky can be tolerated over the strains of World of Warcraft.

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