Masters of the Future?

omg_teh_funnay and I were talking about classical music and some interesting ideas came up. So I thought I would post about one of them here. I’m going to preface the idea by asking the detail oriented folks to put it on hold for a while. I know that these statements are generalizations and there are many exceptions. The point isn’t to find the one true answer but to discuss the idea.

The one that I’m posting about is that the classical composers of the past were not artists creating unapproachable works, but musicians creating music for the people. We see them as artistic geniuses today because they happened to create profound music that stood the test of time. As such they have a lot more in common with the Beatles than John Cage. For another comparison I can’t imagine anyone rioting at the opening performance of anything by Philip Glass but the opening of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring had a lot in common with some rock concerts.

So the idea is what popular music of from the 60s and later will be considered classical three hundred years from now. What should be quickly forgotten? What has been largely forgotten but should be remembered? I think the Beatles will be remembered. Sadly I think that Kansas will not although they should be.