Youngsters and increasingly more older people are turning their backs on classical concerts. This is not because they do not like classical music or lack the education that enables them to enjoy the music. They simply cannot cope with the classical concert etiquette anymore and thus they feel increasingly uncomfortable. The etiquette here has become too formal and too elitist. They prefer the informal concert situations of pop music where there is more space to move around, people can react to the music, and do not have to be quiet for the entire duration of a concert.
Our society has been undergoing a fundamental process of informalization since the 1950s. Different art worlds respond to this process in different ways. The classical music world's response has so far been one of resistance and denial. Here the code of conduct has actually become even more formal over the past fifty years.
The current subsidy systems in various European countries enables the classical music world to remain largely unaffected by change. If this situation will continue unheeded, the classical concert will lose more and more of its market share.
Hans Abbing is professor of art sociology at the University of Amsterdam where he holds the Boekman chair. Among his publications is the book Why Are Artists Poor? The Exceptional Economy of the Arts (Amsterdam University Press, 2002). He is also a visual artist.